fauna from off of the highest hills, it spread those deposits outward toward the continental margins. Animals and plants that lived in areas that are now exposed crystalline rock (Precambrian shields) were transported great distances and deposited on top of the Zuni strata and sometimes older exposed strata too. During the receding phase, the massive deep-water Whopper Sand was deposited in the Gulf of Mexico as the water began to drain off the North American continent (Fig. 25) (Clarey 2015d). Continental shelf regions all over the globe trapped thousands of feet of sediment that drained off the land. The thickest and most extensive coal seams in the world were created at this time in the Flood (Clarey, Werner, and Tomkins 2021). Thick and extensive deposits of coal are also found in Paleogene and Neogene sediments offshore Asia also (Fig. 26) (Clarey 2021a). These were apparently washed offshore during the Flood’s receding phase. As the water drained and the mountains uplifted, vast canyons were rapidly carved including Grand Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon, the two largest canyons in the USA (Clarey 2021b), and Denman Canyon in Antarctica and the Greenlandic megacanyon (Clarey 2021b). Other areas exhibit broad planation surfaces formed by erosion as the water drained seaward. As most humans were likely drowned late (close to Day 150), few were likely buried deep enough to become fossils. Instead, they most likely rotted at or near the surface, or were eroded away during the 4500 years since the Flood event. By Day 314 or so (Gen 8:13), Noah looked out of the ark and saw that the whole Earth was dry. Because there was insufficient vegetation growth right after the Flood, Noah and the animals were held by God on the ark for two more months before exiting (Johnson and Clarey 2021). By Day 371, Noah and the animals began to exit the ark (Gen. 8:18-19). D. Summary and Implications The megasequences show a clear progression of the sedimentary rocks across the globe (Figs 7-15), supporting the interpretation of a progressive Flood. The first five megasequences show a visible and Figure 25. Mapped extent of the Whopper Sand in the Gulf of Mexico. Contours in feet (Clarey 2015d). The circles represent stratigraphic columns used in the study. Yellow represents sand. Blue represents marine carbonate rock. Brown represents clay (most offshore clastics are unlithified). This is a section from the Tejas megasequence basal lithology map for North America, not shown in its entirety. discernable pattern of increasing extent, reaching a peak extent in the Zuni. This matches the Biblical account as written in Genesis 7, and the predictions of CPT, where the production of new seafloor was the primary driver of increasing flood levels. Initial plate motion and the creation of small amounts of new seafloor spread the earliest megasequences across limited portions of the continental crust. These earliest three megasequences stack one on top of the another in most locations. Continued creation of new seafloor pushed the water progressively upward, peaking in the Zuni megasequence (Figs. 7-12, 14, 15, Table 1). Subsequent cooling of the new 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 megasequence (Tejas). The interpretation that the Tejas is the receding phase is supported by the extent of the Tejas that is still observable across the continents and the sheer volume that was deposited (Figs. 12, 14, 15 and Table 1). The progressive Flood model also provides a framework for the fossil record. The fossils reflect a steadily changing record of different ecological zones. The earliest three megasequences (Sauk, Tippecanoe and Kaskaskia) seem to have inundated only shallow marine environments as the fossils within these megasequences are almost exclusively marine (Fig. 22). We interpret that these megasequences were deposited in the first 40 Days of the Flood (Fig. 23). As the water rose higher, floating the Ark (on or after Day 40) and flooding portions of the dry land, the first massive coal seams appear and the first land animal fossils appear in great numbers. These coals are the lycopod coals from the coastal regions (Clarey 2015a). This process continued flooding higher and higher elevations and new ecological zones, depositing the Absaroka and Zuni megasequences between Days 40-150 of the Flood, until the water covered the highest hills (Fig. 24). The fossils of the Absaroka and Zuni mostly reflect lowland and wetland ecological zones. All are universally mixed with marine fossils (Clarey 2015b; 2020). Finally, the plants and animals living on the pre-Flood highest hills (many large mammals) were swept off and distributed on top of the dinosaur-bearing rocks. These became the fossils found in the Tejas megasequence deposits and the massive Tejas coal deposits composed of metasequoias and many types of flowering plants. 1. Progressive Flood Model Helps Define Flood Boundaries a. Lower Flood Boundary One of the most important aspects of any Flood model is definition of the boundaries. Most creation scientists assume the beginning of the Flood record is marked by the rocks of the Sauk megasequence, and which at times coincides with the Cambrian Explosion (Clarey 2020). In other locations, later megasequences like the Absaroka and Zuni were deposited directly on crystalline basement as the water rose higher and flooded more of the continents (Thomas and Clarey 2021). These locations demonstrate that the onset of flooding at these sites was not reached until later in the Flood. This is a pattern best explained by the progressive Flood model. However, in some locations, particularly near areas that experienced Late Proterozoic volcanic activity, Flood deposition likely began prior to the Sauk megasequence. These P3657mre-Sauk rocks may represent sediments and volcanic rocks deposited and extruded during the earliest days or weeks of the Flood, part of the aforementioned “fountains of the great deep” activity. Previously, Sigler and Wingerden (1998) and Wingerden (2003) defined and applied pre-Flood/Flood boundary criteria in Western CLAREY AND WERNER Progressive Flood model 2023 ICC 433
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