We have compiled nearly 3000 stratigraphic columns across five continents using oil wells, measured columns and seismic data. We divided the fossil-bearing rock record into six packages of sedimentation based on the “mega-sequences” concept of Sloss. We propose a new progressive Flood Model that aligns with both Scripture and the rock record. The earliest megasequences (Days 1-40) show the least extent and lowest average thickness of sediment. These earliest three megasequences are almost exclusively filled with marine fossils. Subsequent megasequences (Days 40-150) show progressively more coverage and more sediment volume and progressively more land animals and plants. The five continents show a maximum peak in surface coverage and a maximum peak in volume during the 5th sequence (about the K-Pg boundary, Day 150). We interpret these data to represent a progressive Flood that aligns with the catastrophic plate tectonics (CPT) and runaway subduction models of Baumgardner. Initial plate motion and the creation of limited amounts new seafloor spread the thinnest and earliest megasequences across limited portions of the continents. In many places, but not all, the beginning of the Flood is marked by the deposition of the Sauk megasequence. Continued creation of hot, new ocean lithosphere caused the seafloor to rise, pushing the water level progressively upward. This process peaked near the end of the 5th sequence (Zuni). Although plate motion continued unhindered during the Tejas, making roughly one-third of the ocean seafloor, subsequent cooling of the older seafloor caused ocean basins to sink, drawing water off the continents. This caused a shift in sedimentation to the offshore as the Flood receded during the 6th sequence (Tejas, Days 150-314). In addition, our research has found that the Tejas megasequence has the second most volume of any individual megasequence, totaling 32.5% of the global Phanerozoic deposits. These data suggest the post-Flood boundary is high in the Cenozoic, near the top of the Neogene, near the end of the Tejas. Continuous deposition of limestone and marine rocks from the Cretaceous up through the Neogene across Turkey and the surrounding regions confirms this conclusion. Independent verification of CPT, and the rapid formation of new ocean crust during the Flood, is supported by strontium ratios in the marine rock record. ABSTRACT I. INTRODUCTION There have been few truly comprehensive Flood geology models proposed since the one described in The Genesis Flood (Whitcomb and Morris, 1961). A few ideas have been proposed as a general model of the Flood, such as hydroplate theory (Brown, 2008), and other pieces have been added, such as catastrophic plate tectonics (Baumgardner, 1986, 1994a, 1994b; Austin et al, 1994), but certainly none that were based on a detailed examination of the sedimentary rocks across the globe. Since 1961, much has been added to the general geological database, including the first ocean bathymetry maps, the collection of deepsea drilling cores, and the gathering of new types of geophysical data across the oceans. This has led to the general acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics among conventional geologists. New technology has also contributed greatly to the knowledge base, with extreme deep-water oil wells and seismic tomography. Any model needs to adopt a mechanism that fits and explains as much of these data as possible. This paper presents a new and globally comprehensive model for the Genesis Flood. It is based primarily on sedimentary rock data across five continents, entailing nearly 3000 compiled stratigraphic columns. We conclude that the data are best explained as a progressive Flood that utilizes catastrophic plate tectonics (CPT) as the most likely mechanism. We also incorporate the Biblical timeline into our data, matching Days 1, 40, 150 and 314 of the Flood to our stratigraphic data. In addition, the stratigraphic data are consistent with a high Flood/post-Flood boundary in or above the Pliocene (Upper Cenozoic). We suggest the top of the Pliocene or N-Q boundary (Neogene-Quaternary) as the end of the Flood. A progressive Flood model also provides a framework for the fossil record. Our data suggest that the Flood waters buried the same ecological zones at approximately the same time globally. As the Flood progressed upward, it inundated similar topographic elevations on each continent simultaneously, and different ecological zones. This provides an explanation for the consistent changes in the fossils that are observed across every continent. The mechanism of CPT, and its ability to rapidly form new ocean lithosphere, tracks consistently with the results of our stratigraphic study. Seismic tomography data collected in the last few decades across many of the world’s subduction zones further confirm the modeling of Baumgardner (1986, 1994). CPT can also explain why the Flood peaked on Day 150 (Johnson and Clarey, 2021) and Timothy L. Clarey, and Davis J. Werner, Institute for Creation Research, 1806 Royal Lane, Dallas, Texas 75229, tclarey@ICR. org © Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of Cedarville University. 9th 2023 Clarey, T.L., and D.J. Werner. 2023. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Creationism, pp. 412-445. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism. A PROGRESSIVE GLOBAL FLOOD MODEL CONFIRMED BY ROCK DATA ACROSS FIVE CONTINENTS KEYWORDS megasequence, progressive Flood, CPT, strontium ratio, fossil record, Flood boundary
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