PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2025 NEW SCHOLARS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CREATIONISM APRIL 4—5 FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA USA Edited by John H. Whitmore © Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism Cedarville, Ohio USA New Scholars 2025
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the International Conference on Creationism and Canyon Ministries, I would like to welcome you to Flagstaff and the New Scholars Conference! We have some exciting days planned along with some optional field trips. Following the 2023 International Conference on Creationism, the board of directors decided to maintain a four-year schedule for the large ICC conferences at Cedarville University. In addition, smaller, intermediate conferences will be held in the intervening years at various locations. The inaugural of these smaller events is named “New Scholars.” The title aims to inspire students to engage in Creation research and publication, encouraging them to develop and present full papers at the next ICC conference in 2027. We noted that previous conferences featured many established scholars, and we wanted to take steps to motivate the younger generation in research and publication. This conference will feature short oral presentations and poster sessions, showcasing contributions from both seasoned scholars and a significant number of new scholars. We will also have some longer presentations and some time for discussion. To support student participants, the ICC is providing stipends to help cover travel expenses to Flagstaff. Please note that peer-review for conference abstracts like this are not as stringent as peer-review for full length papers. Canyon Ministries is co-sponsoring the event alongside Cedarville University’s International Conference on Creationism. We extend our gratitude to Flagstaff Bible Church and Pastor Joel Anderson for hosting this conference. The proceedings from the conference will be published on the Cedarville University Library Digital Commons page, where previous ICC Proceedings are also accessible. For these abstracts, we have followed the model of the Creation Biology/Geology/ Theology Societies and have allowed longer abstracts with some references, so that most of the abstracts are like “mini-papers.” Posters will not appear in the printed conference proceedings, but will appear in the online library pages. Dr. John H. Whitmore, editor © 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. 2 2025 New Scholars Whitmore, J.H. 2025. Preface. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 2. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism. PREFACE New Scholars 2025 THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CREATIONISM The International Conference on Creationism was initially established by the Creation Science Fellowship of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and sponsored the conferences in 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018 in the Pittsburgh area. The organization was then transferred to Cedarville University in 2020 and a new board of directors was selected. Cedarville consequently hosted the ninth ICC in 2023 and plans to host the tenth ICC in 2027. The current Board of Directors is Dr. Aaron R. Hutchison (Chairman), Professor of Chemistry, Cedarville University Dr. Sharon R. Cooper, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology Dr. John R. Gilhooly, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Cedarville University Dr. Steven Gollmer, Dean and Senior Professor of Physics, Cedarville University Dr. Jeremy Lyon, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Truett McConnell University Dr. Robert L Paris, Professor of Biology, Cedarville University Dr. Clayton Schultz, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the West Institute Dr. John Whitmore (Editor), Sr. Professor of Geology, Cedarville University
3 2025 New Scholars SCHEDULE New Scholars 2025 Thursday and Friday, April 3—4 Morning and afternoon (optional field trips: on your own, or as an informal group). If you would like to attend or lead an informal Friday field trip meet at the church at 8:30. Options: Wupatki, Walnut Canyon, Petrified Forest, Lee’s Ferry, many other possibilities. Friday evening, Flagstaff Bible Church, 520 N. Switzer Canyon Dr. 6:30-6:45 PM Aaron Hutchison Introduction and welcome (from ICC) 6:45-7:00 PM Nate Loper Introduction and welcome (from Canyon Ministries) 6:45-7:45 John H. Whitmore Did lakes have an important role in the post-Flood geomorphology of the Colora- do Plateau? Saturday April 5 (morning), Flagstaff Bible Church, 520 N. Switzer Canyon Dr. Session1: Catastrophic Plate Tectonics 8:00-8:20 AM John Baumgardner How was the ocean lithosphere generated during the Flood cooled to its present state? 8:20-8:40 AM Oluwafemi S. Dada, John Baumgardner, and Heechen Cho Genesis Flood and tsunami run-up: A study of zero water depth using the shallow water equations 8:40-8:50 Break Session 2: Flood Boundaries 8:50-9:10 AM Nathan W. Mogk Does Biostratigraphy Work Without Faunal Succession? 9:10-9:30 AM Spencer Allen Potential Flood Boundary Implications of the Superfamily Djadochtatherioidea in the Extinct Multituberculata Order Relating to the K-Pg Boundary Using the PBDB 9:30-9:50 AM Edward A. Isaacs A differential geometry approach to fold belt reconstruction for rigorous Flood and post- Flood erosion estimates and isostasy modeling 9:50-10:10 AM Fred Bauhof How do we geologically determine the end of the Flood? 10:10-10:50AM Various Flood Boundaries Panel Discussion 10:50-11:00 AM Break Session 3: Fossils and Fossilization 11:00-11:20 AM Keane Zook A call for extensive investigation into microbial roles in fossilization 11:20-11:40 AM J. Luke Sullivan, Addison K. O'Brian, Carissa Shipman, Andrew J. Fabich, Steve Taylor, and Joseph E. Deweese Developing tools for extraction and sequencing of DNA from fossil samples 11:40AM-12:00 Ellie Johnston, Faith Vandenberg, Ryan Anderson, and Joel Brown Establishing decay rates for bone collagen in different oganisms using Fourier Trans- formed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).
4 2025 New Scholars SCHEDULE New Scholars 2025 Saturday (continued) Afternoon Session 4: Astronomy and other topics 1:20-1:40 PM Cameron Ward, Tichomir Tenev, and Mark Horstemeyer Gravitational Waves as vibrations on the cosmic fabric 1:40-2:00 PM Greg S. Jorgensen Exploration of a 360-day year 2:00-2:20 PM Hannah R. Klein Uniformitarianism and creationary astronomy 2:20-2:40 PM Paul Miles Creationism versus post-fascism: How the divine institutions model could inform us in current geopolitical issues 2:40-3:00 PM Faith Vandenberg, and Joel Brown Investigating baraminology in an iconic group of desert plants, Family Cactaceae 3:00-4:00 PM Various Poster session Session 5: Geology and Earth Sciences 4:00-4:20 PM Jack Bradley Ice sheet texture and fabric reflect a Young-Earth model 4:20-4:40 PM Gabriel M. Nulk, and Nathan W. Mogk Weibull analysis of arch collapses 4:40-5:00 PM Gordon D. Craig Making coal in the laboratory by simulating natural conditions 5:00-5:10 Break 5:10-5:30 PM Edward A. Isaacs Mount St. Helens in the Rearview Mirror: Developing A Philosophy of Science for Ap- plying Analogues in Flood Geology 5:30-5:50 PM John H. Whitmore, and Paul A. Garner Helble’s critique of creationist reseach on the Coconino Sandstone fails 5:50-6:10 PM John Swan Engineer & Technologist Matching Program Dinner Evening Discussion and Closing Comments 7:30-8:30 PM Various Panel Discussion: Advice for someone starting out in Creation Research 8:30 PM Aaron Hutchison Closing comments Sunday Optional Worship and Field Trip to Grand Canyon (sponsored by Canyon Ministries)
John H. Whitmore, School of Science and Mathematics, Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, Ohio 45314. johnwhitmore@cedarville.edu KEYWORDS Colorado Plateau, fossil lakes, geomorphology, Grand Canyon, Green River Formation, Hopi Lake, Lake Bidahochi, lake deposit criteria, lake overspill, post-Flood boundary ABSTRACT The geology of the Colorado Plateau has been of interest to both conventional and creationist scientists alike because of the Grand Canyon and its implications for earth history. Irrespective of one’s philosophical views, the carving of Grand Canyon must be near the end of geological events in the area because its canyons and river systems dissect most other geological formations including purported lake deposits. There is no agreement upon a mechanism, in either camp, for the carving of Grand Canyon. In recent literature, both camps have contemplated whether Lake Bidahochi (also called Hopi Lake) may have played a role in the origin of the Canyon. The purpose of this effort is to survey some of the purported lakes of the Colorado Plateau area, especially those older than Bidahochi. Lakes can have a significant role in geomorphology as established by well-recognized dam failures of Lake Bonneville (Snake River Canyon) and Missoula (Channeled Scabland), which are just outside of the region of interest. Austin et al. (2020) summarized how Lake Bidahochi may have breached to form the Grand Canyon and Floyd (2025) theorized this lake may have been much bigger than previously thought. The identification of lakes and their timing in the geological record has been previously considered (Whitmore 2006). As continents and mountains rose after the Flood, basins would have formed in the low spots between mountains. If these basins had no outlet, a lake would have been formed depositing its sediments near the top of the stratigraphic column. Basin-fill deposits caused by tectonics are well-documented throughout the western North American Cordillera (Dickinson et al., 1988). A lake can breach a dam in a variety of ways, including being overfilled with water, tectonic forces, and mass movements—all potential factors in an early post-Flood mountainous region. Generally, lake basins are surrounded by fluvial deposits and then filled with fine grained sediments, having a bullseye pattern of coarse to fine from the edge of the basin toward the center. Lake margins contain features like stromatolites, bird tracks, desiccation features, abundant plants, burrows, terrestrial fossils, and more poorly preserved fish fossils. Deeper waters tend to lack these features and have better preserved fish. Lake deposits generally have all the features of complete ecosystems (biology and geology) as you would expect from an in-situ deposit, which is an unexpected feature of current-transported biology and sediments during the Flood over long distances. Additionally, post-Flood lake basins would typically have unconformities below them (because of tectonic uplift), and be regional deposits compared to the more widespread marine-deposited Flood deposits below them (pre-tectonic uplift). Using these criteria, potential candidates for post-Flood lake or lake/fluvial systems on or near the Colorado Plateau include (using basin names) San Juan Basin (Paleocene-Eocene: northwest New Mexico); Fossil Basin (Eocene: southwest Wyoming); Greater Green River Basin (Eocene: southwest Wyoming); Uinta Basin (Late Cretaceous to Eocene: northeast Utah); Piceance Creek Basin (Paleocene to Eocene: western Colorado); Claron Basin (Paleocene to middle Oligocene: southwestern Utah); Flagstaff Basin (Paleocene to early Eocene: central Utah); and Bidahochi Basin (Pliocene to Late Neogene: northeastern Arizona, western New Mexico). These basins are of various ages with multiple formations within each but note that the majority of basin-fill is Eocene in age, except for Bidahochi which may overlie some of the eroded remnants of the earlier basins. It appears that Lakes Missoula, Bonneville, and perhaps Bidahochi had catastrophic failures cutting downstream canyons. Are the sediments of Bidahochi superimposed on previous lake failure topography, post-Flood runoff, or both? If previous lakes on the Colorado Plateau failed (cutting canyons), would there still be a basin to contain Hopi Lake? REFERENCES Austin, S.A., E.W. Holroyd III, and D.R. McQueen. 2020. Remembering Spillover Erosion of Grand Canyon. Answers Research Journal 13:153188. Dickinson, W.R., M.A. Klute, M.J. Hayes, S.U. Janecke, E.R. Lundin, M.A. McKittrick, and M.D. Olivares. 1988. Paleogeographic and paleotectonic setting of Laramide sedimentary basins in the central Rocky Mountain Region. GSA Bulletin 100:1023-1039. Floyd, A. 2025. Volume of a potential lake in the Colorado Plateau Basin In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, pp. 26-27. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [poster presentation]. Whitmore, J.H. 2006. The Green River Formation: A large post-Flood Lake. Journal of Creation 20(1):55-63. 5 2025 New Scholars Whitmore, J.H. 2025. Did lakes have an important role in the post-Flood geomorphology of the Colorado Plateau? In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 5. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. DID LAKES HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE POST-FLOOD GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU? New Scholars 2025
John Baumgardner, School of Engineering, Liberty University, DeMoss Hall 3300E, 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, Virginia 24515. jrbaumgardner@liberty.edu KEYWORDS catastrophic plate tectonics, Genesis Flood, lithospheric cooling, mega-sequences ABSTRACT An important aspect of the earth today is the layer of basaltic crust 6-7 km in thickness that forms the igneous seafloor below the earth’s deep ocean basins. All this basaltic ocean crust across about 70% of the earth’s surface appears to have been generated at a mid-ocean ridge, where tectonic plates had pulled apart, basaltic magma had risen to the surface and had cooled and crystallized. A basic aspect of plate tectonics, of course, is that new oceanic plate is produced at mid-ocean ridges where plates are pulling apart and hot rock from below rises to fill the gap between the diverging plates. A major finding from the 1960’s when radioisotope dating methods were first widely applied to igneous rock samples from the ocean bottom was that the igneous ocean floor rocks everywhere on earth were no older than Mesozoic. That implied that all the continental sediment record containing fossils considered Paleozoic in age had already been deposited before any of today’s basaltic ocean crust had cooled and crystallized. It implied that the entire Atlantic basin had opened since the latest Paleozoic animals had been buried and fossilized. When understood at face value, Genesis 1-11 reveals that a global Flood cataclysm is responsible for all but the topmost portion of the fossil-bearing portion of Earth’s geological record. This automatically implies that essentially all the Phanerozoic plate motion occurred during that year-long cataclysm. The framework that understands these Phanerozoic plate motions as occurring during this brief interval is known simply as catastrophic plate tectonics (CPT). One of the major issues that arises in the CPT framework is the need for rapid and extraordinary cooling of the newly forming ocean plates. Silicate rock is a good thermal insulator, and therefore heat diffuses through it very slowly. Using a typical value for the thermal diffusivity of mantle rock of 8x10-7 m2/s, plate cooling time t is given to good approximation by t = 0.01z2, where t is in years and z is in meters ( Sandwell, 2001). From this relation a plate 80 km thick requires 63 million years to cool from the thermal state it had at the spreading ridge from which it originated. As pointed out in the very first paper proposing CPT (Baumgardner, 1986), extraordinary cooling is required for CPT to be viable. Without enhanced cooling of the newly forming ocean lithosphere, that lithosphere would remain hot and buoyant, the runaway process would stall, and CPT would come to an abrupt halt well before the continents reached their current locations. Since the first paper on CPT in 1986 and until recently, it has been assumed that the required enhanced cooling of the new oceanic lithosphere occurred at a steady and uniform rate and has been modeled simply by increasing the value of the thermal diffusivity by an appropriate factor during the year of the Flood. Since in the 1960’s, however, data from the petroleum exploration community have revealed that the fossil-bearing sediment record displays a remarkable structure consisting of six massive sediment layer packages known as mega-sequences that are separated from one another by global-scale erosional unconformities. Since 2023 I have realized that a simple causal mechanism for these features exists within the CPT framework (Baumgardner and Navarro, 2023). In contrast to uniform cooling of the new lithosphere, when cooling instead occurs in discrete episodes, it yields abrupt drops in global sea level and produces the spectacular erosional unconformities. This new approach assumes episodes of cooling sufficient to cause a 600 m drop in average sea bottom height and produce the erosional unconformity observed at the base of each of the first five mega-sequences. A final, less abrupt era of cooling beginning at the top of the fifth mega-sequence results in an additional 1,500 m of sea bottom drop that allows the water that had covered the continent surfaces to drain back steadily back into the deepening ocean basins. This talk will describe the latest version of this new perspective. REFERENCES Sandwell, D.T. 2001. Cooling of the oceanic lithosphere and ocean floor topography. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2025, from https://topex.ucsd.edu/pub/ sandwell/geodynamics_notes/07_1_lithosphere_cooling.pdf Baumgardner, J.R. 1986. Numerical simulation of the large-scale tectonic changes accompanying the Flood. In R.E. Walsh, C.L. Brooks, and R.S. Crowell (editors), Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism, Vol. 2, pp. 17-30. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. Baumgardner, J., and E. Navarro. 2023. The role of large tsunamis in the formation of the Flood sediment record. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Creationism, pp. 363386. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism. 6 2025 New Scholars Baumgardner, J. 2025. How was the ocean lithosphere generated during the Flood cooled to its present state? In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 6. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. HOW WAS THE OCEAN LITHOSPHERE GENERATED DURING THE FLOOD COOLED TO ITS PRESENT STATE? New Scholars 2025
Oluwafemi S. Dada, John Baumgardner, Heechen Cho, School of Engineering, Liberty University, DeMoss Hall 3300E, 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, Virginia 24515. osdada1@liberty. edu KEYWORDS Genesis Flood, tsunami run-up, shallow water equations, sediment transport, and numerical modeling ABSTRACT Accurately modeling tsunami run-ups on land has long been a tough assignment in numerical modeling for geophysicists. One of the most critical issues in modeling tsunami wave propagation is representing the behavior of water as its depth approaches zero, particularly at the dynamic boundary between water and dry land (Kristina et al., 2014). The zero water depth condition presents significant numerical errors due to thinning of the water layer, which can lead to instabilities, particle clustering, and numerical diffusion when employing discrete particle methods. Understanding and resolving these challenges is important because it allows for a more realistic simulation of sediment transport and erosion during catastrophic events such as the Genesis Flood (Baumgardner, 2016). Accurately capturing water behavior in wet-dry domains not only contributes to modeling tsunami run-up accurately and the interaction with coastal structures but also deepens our understanding of ancient geological processes that have shaped continental landscapes (Scardino et al., 2022). This research builds on the foundational work of Dr. Baumgardner, who utilized the MABBUL code to demonstrate that repetitive giant tsunamis generated by catastrophic plate tectonics during the Genesis Flood could plausibly account for the observed sedimentary record (Baumgardner & Navarro, 2023). While Dr. Baumgardner’s work provided evidence of the sedimentary record left behind by such cataclysmic events, it also highlighted the limitations of existing numerical schemes in accurately representing the transition region where water depth tends to near-zero values. Addressing this limitation is the primary focus of our study, which seeks to answer the following question: How does the use of the advanced numerical schemes in tsunami run-up simulation account for scenarios where the water layer thickness approaches zero at the interface between water and dry land? What numerical issues arise from this condition, and what numerical techniques can be developed to overcome the inherent limitations of representing extremely thin layers with discrete particles? To address these challenges, our study will employ a mesh-based method that effectively tracks discrete particles as they propagate through the computational domain during tsunami events. We are currently working with an implicit numerical scheme, specifically the Crank-Nicolson method for modeling, to overcome these issues. This implicit approach is chosen for its ability to handle stiff equations that arise in wet-dry conditions and to stabilize the numerical solution in regions where conventional explicit methods fail. Preliminary results from one-dimensional (1D) simulations indicate that incorporating the implicit Crank-Nicolson scheme significantly mitigates the numerical instabilities encountered at the wet-dry land interface. We expect this research to advance our understanding of the major role that tsunamis played in the generation of the sediment record during the Genesis Flood. REFERENCES Baumgardner, J. 2016. Numerical modeling of the large-scale erosion, sediment transport, and deposition processes of the Genesis Flood. Answers Research Journal 9:1–24. Baumgardner, J., and E. Navarro. 2023. The role of large tsunamis in the formation of the Flood sediment record. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Creationism, pp. 363386. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism. Kristina, W., O. Bokhove, and E. Van Groesen. 2014. Effective coastal boundary conditions for tsunami wave run-up over sloping bathymetry. Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 21(5):987–1005. Scardino, G., A. Rizzo, V. De Santis, D. Kyriakoudi, A. Rovere,M. Vacchi, S. Torrisi, and G. Scicchitano. 2022. Insights on the origin of multiple tsunami events affected the archaeological site of Ognina (south-eastern Sicily, Italy). Quaternary International, 638:122–139. 7 2025 New Scholars Dada, O.S., J. Baumgardner, and H. Cho. 2025. Genesis Flood and tsunami run-up: a study of zero water depth using the shallow water equations. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 7. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. GENESIS FLOOD AND TSUNAMI RUN-UP: A STUDY OF ZERO WATER DEPTH USING THE SHALLOW WATER EQUATIONS New Scholars 2025
Nathan W. Mogk, Independent Scholar, Tucson, Arizona. nm8911@gmail.com KEYWORDS biostratigraphy, faunal succession, correlation, graph theory, completeness ABSTRACT Biostratigraphy is a methodology for determining relative timing of sedimentary deposits based on their fossil content. It foundationally assumes faunal succession—that fossil ordering arises because different organisms lived exclusively in different eras of history. Accordingly, first appearances and extinctions would be globally unique single moments in time. The highly dynamic Genesis Flood violates this assumption with all fossilized forms existing simultaneously at the beginning of the Flood and burial potentially occurring at any time dependent on specific process. To date, no one has simulated the fossil record under conditions expected during the Flood to test the effectiveness of biostratigraphic methods on the Flood-deposited fossil record when the fundamental assumptions have been transgressed. Can this lead to distorted interpretations of relative timing in some cases? Differences in character between Flood and post-Flood fossil assemblages could be used as a criterion for identifying the Flood terminal boundary (Whitmore and Garner, 2008). In this study, I simulate fossil records with different ordering style (true order, process order, successive inundation, endemism, and random), degree of ordering, and per-column fossil density. I then statistically compare the resulting timescales generated by automated graph-based biostratigraphic analyses. An additional set of experiments was run which compared the compatibility of geographically restricted biostratigraphic analyses with ones produced with full global knowledge. This simulates the historical development of the geologic column framework in Europe being later applied to new discoveries across the globe. The results of the simulations show that biostratigraphy consistently recovers the correct ordering of the fossil record when one exists. However, the method will also reliably produce a self-consistent global ordering even in cases where one does not exist, leading to timing distortions between distant columns. Higher precision in the interpreted biostratigraphic timescale increases time distortions. This timing distortion comes from having only a small number of index assemblage permutations preserved in direct relationship with each other in particular locations—an extremely stringent notion of the “completeness” of the fossil record. When such combinatorial completeness is low, as it is in the real fossil record, then global consistency of observed fossil “aboveness” cannot distinguish between a highly ordered and unordered fossil record. The experiments also show that fossil range extensions are positively correlated with timing distortions, as they represent inconsistencies between the interpreted biostratigraphic timescale and the actual fossil record. In the experiments testing the expansion of an initial framework to the global set of observations, the majority of simulations show complete consistency between restricted framework and global framework for all styles and degrees of ordering. The random and process order cases had significant minorities of simulations result in inconsistencies between frameworks, which could be manifest in reality as region-specific index taxa or initial index taxa becoming superseded. Zeller (1964) showed that both correlations of sections and interpretation of cyclicity could be made for sequences that had been generated from completely random data. Far from suggesting that these interpretations were always spurious, he provided a warning of applying interpretive methods in situations where they are inapplicable. He exhorted his readers to distinguish random events versus the necessary consequences of events, which are non-random, as a guide to careful interpretation of correlations. Similarly, biostratigraphy should be reliable when core methodological assumptions are met, but can yield false correlations otherwise. I consider several possible independent lines of evidence for relative timing that could validate the conditions necessary for successful biostratigraphic interpretations including radiometric methods, global isochronous events (e.g. impacts, megasequence boundaries), distant fossil-strata correspondences, and stratomorphic series. Currently, these independent chronometers can support coarse ordering consistent with the various creationist proposals for generation of fossil ordering during the Flood, but cannot distinguish between them. Further research in these areas may be able to test for more fine-grained precision in fossil ordering. REFERENCES Whitmore, J.H., and P.A. Garner. 2008. Using suites of criteria to recognize pre-Flood, Flood, and post-Flood strata in the rock record with application to Wyoming (USA). In A.A. Snelling (editor), Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Creationism, pp. 425–448. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship; Dallas, Texas: Institute for Creation Research. Zeller, E.J. 1964. Cycles and psychology. Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 169:631–636. 8 2025 New Scholars Mogk, N.W.. 2025. Does biostratigraphy work without faunal succession? In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 8. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. DOES BIOSTRATIGRAPHY WORK WITHOUT FAUNAL SUCCESSION? New Scholars 2025
Spencer Allen, School of Science and Mathematics, Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, Ohio 45314. spencerallen@cedarville.edu KEYWORDS multituberculates, Flood boundary, mammal dispersion, K-Pg extinction ABSTRACT Defining the flood boundary in the fossil record has immense creation narrative value. Global extinction events are of major importance in identifying trends in the fossil record because a global flood would clearly cause major biotic turnover. Organisms which appear on either side of a major extinction event can reveal patterns of their dispersion given the event in question is the end of the flood. This idea ties closely to Arment’s Marsupial investigation, which demonstrates that Marsupials appear almost exclusively in Australia, suggesting a flood boundary after their appearance in the fossil record asserts that they migrate to the Ark and then immediately back to the same geographic location (2020). Studying other trends around proposed flood boundaries can reveal the unlikelihood of such chance migration. Multituberculates are an extinct group of mammals which appear on either side of the K-Pg boundary. Because the K-Pg is often proposed as the end flood boundary, the pattern of this order reveals the likelihood of this boundary given dispersion patterns. The Multituberculate order has several superfamilies, the focus of which is Djadochtatherioidea. There is a large amount of undetermined phylogeny in the order, lending the opportunity for analysis of past taxonomical decisions and some regrouping. The first goal was to locate the global occurrences of the Djadochtatherioidea superfamily in the Paleobiology Database. The papers corresponding to the database entries were then used to study the specimens, as well as local stratigraphy, to determine the validity of the specimen and the validity of its date relative to the K-Pg boundary. The largest family in Djadochtatherioidea is Eucosmodontidae, found throughout North America on both sides of the K-Pg, and in Mongolia. Flynn describes specimens from the Cretaceous of New Mexico which are morphologically identifiable as Eucosmodontidae (1986). Krause similarly describes specimens from the early Eocene of Wyoming (1982). Both papers demonstrate the presence of Eucosmodontidae and Djadochtatherioidea on both sides on the North American K-Pg boundary. Lesser specimens are found in Mongolia. Analysis of papers linked with the PBDB localities of Djadochtatherioidea in Mongolia reveal only Cretaceous specimens. These patterns demonstrate that the Djadochtatherioidea superfamily is likely a baramin which occupied modern North America and Mongolia and then dispersed to North America after the flood. The morphological similarity of the superfamily lends itself to single baramin classification, though more detailed work needs to be done to verify this. The global distribution of the superfamily does not prohibit the K-Pg boundary from being the end flood boundary, as it is entirely feasible that the kind existed in a few places, migrated to the ark, stayed morphologically similar during the flood years, and then the surviving individuals migrated to North America where some radiation occurred. Given the lack of return to Mongolia for the superfamily, it is not a case of unlikely remigration. It is important to note that this is a preliminary report on such findings. First, greater analysis of specimens must be done, Principal Component Analysis being the most obvious, before complete conclusions can be drawn on the baraminology of the group. Further, the order Multituberculata contains more superfamilies than Djadochtatherioidea, meaning more research regarding these other superfamilies must be conducted to determine if different patterns are present. However, this serves as a solid starting point regarding the Multituberculates and their story in the flood and its potential boundaries. REFERENCES Arment, C. 2020. To the Ark, and back again? Using the marsupial fossil record to investigate the post-Flood boundary. Answers Research Journal 13:1-22. Flynn, L. 1986. Late Cretaceous mammal horizons from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico. American Museum Novitates 2845:1-30. Krause, D. 1982. Multituberculates from the Wasatchian Land-Mammal Age, Early Eocene, of western North America. Journal of Paleontology 56(2):271-294. 9 2025 New Scholars Allen, S. 2025. Potential Flood boundary implications of the Superfamily Djadochtatherioidea in the extinct multituberculata order relating to the K-Pg boundary using the PBDB. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 9. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. POTENTIAL FLOOD BOUNDARY IMPLICATIONS OF THE SUPERFAMILY DJADOCHTATHERIOIDEA IN THE EXTINCT MULTITUBERCULATA ORDER RELATING TO THE K-PG BOUNDARY USING THE PBDB New Scholars 2025
Edward A. Isaacs, Genesis Apologetics. Folsom, California. creationgeoexplorer@outlook.com KEYWORDS erosion, fold system reconstruction, structural geology, isostasy, Mount St. Helens ABSTRACT Rapid and regional-scale erosion remains one of the most pivotal yet debated arguments within Flood Geology (Oard and Klevberg, 2008; Whitmore, 2013). This is particularly true in the Flood/postFlood boundary debate on the regional-scale erosion of hundreds to thousands of meters of stratigraphy across many anticlines and fold systems (Matthews and Oard, 2015; Isaacs, 2020). Even so, no previous studies of erosion of anticlines have developed a rigorous mathematical model for systematic and repeatable modeling of fold surfaces for erosion estimates in data scarce locations. This is in part because fold systems remain one of the most challenging features to mathematically model in structural geology, often requiring up to hundreds of GPS points as well as drill hole data in order to tightly define the shape of the fold (Bergbauer and Pollard, 2004; Carrera et al., 2009; Hou et al., 2023). However, this study proposes a boundary value problem approach for reconstructing symmetric and non-verging anticlines. Through this method, only a single point, the slope of that point (or bed dip), and its position between the adjoining fold maximum (anticline) and minimum (syncline) are needed, making it optimal for reconstructing symmetric and approximately non-verging folds in data scarce locations. Furthermore, the modeled fold system may then be compared to its mapped counterpart to yield margins of error, thereby providing a gauge in the quality of the estimate. In application to a fold in the Mount St. Helens region (Washington), the model described characteristics of the half-wavelength of the fold system within 15% of its mapped extent. The modeled surface resulted in a calculation of 6.16 km of vertical relief eroded from the current topography, a value that could be increased to 10.1 km when transferring the modeled surface to the outermost observed fold surface. In continued research, this approach can be applied to the Colorado Plateau. Such a reconstruction can be integrated with surface topographic data and published isostatic models to investigate the interplay of erosion and tectonics in producing the regional scale erosion of fold belts we observe today. As such, this technique represents a first step towards developing an easily deployable yet rigorous approach to model fold systems for repeatable and consistent erosion estimates. REFERENCES Bergbauer, S. and Pollard, D.D. 2004. A new conceptual fold–fracture model including pre-folding joints, based on the Emigrant Gap anticline, Wyoming. Geological Society of America Bulletin 116: 294–307. Carrera, N., J.A. Muñoz, and E. Roca. 2009. 3D reconstruction of geological surfaces by the equivalent dip-domain method: An example from field data of the Cerro Bayo Anticline (Cordillera Oriental, NW Argentine Andes). Journal of Structural Geology 31(12):1573-1585. Hou, W., Y. Chen, H. Liu, F. Xiao, C. Liu, and D. Wang. 2023. Reconstructing Three-dimensional geological structures by the multiple-point statistics method coupled with a deep neural network: A case study of a metro station in Guangzhou, China. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 136:105089. Isaacs, E.A. 2020. Tremendous erosion of the Cascade Anticlinorium near Mount St. Helens: part 1: structure and calculations. Creation Research Society Quarterly 57(1):30-44. Matthews, J. and M.J. Oard. 2015. Erosion of the Weald, southeast England part II: A Flood explanation of the mystery and its implications. Creation Research Society Quarterly 52(1):22–33. Oard, M.J. and P. Klevberg. 2008. Green River Formation very likely did not form in a postdiluvial lake. Answers Research Journal 1:99-108. Whitmore, J.H. 2013. The potential for and implications of widespread post-Flood erosion and mass wasting processes. In M. Horstemeyer (editor), Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Creationism, (33 pages). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. 10 2025 New Scholars Isaacs, E.A. 2025. A differential geometry approach to fold belt reconstruction for rigorous Flood and post-Flood erosion estimates and isostasy modeling. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 10. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. A DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY APPROACH TO FOLD BELT RECONSTRUCTION FOR RIGOROUS FLOOD AND POST-FLOOD EROSION ESTIMATES AND ISOSTASY MODELING New Scholars 2025
Fred Bauhof, Logos Research Associates. Stuart, Florida. fbauhof@live.com KEYWORDS Flood, post-Flood, chronostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy ABSTRACT The primary goal of this abstract is to recommend guidelines for Flood/Post-Flood discussions and approaches to geologically determine the end of the flood. Chronostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy are two fundamental branches of stratigraphy. Chronostratigraphy deals with the age of rock strata and is used to construct the geological time scale. It often relies on key fossils or radiometric dating techniques. For example, the Jurassic System comprises rocks formed during the Jurassic period. In the context of the Flood, geologic layers were deposited between Genesis 7:11 (fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of heavens were opened) and Genesis 8:13 (the waters were dried from off the earth). This is also a “Biblical” definition of the Flood. However, these deposits could be any geologic materials (igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks) deposited during the Flood period, which may not always clarify discussions. Lithostratigraphy focuses on the physical and compositional characteristics of rock layers. Lithostratigraphic units, like formations, groups, and members, are identified based on distinct rock characteristics. An example is the Morrison Formation in the western United States, known for its red sandstones and dinosaur fossils. A practical application of lithostratigraphy is that once marine floodwaters drop permanently below a certain elevation, the Flood is considered over for that elevation and above at that location. In North America, floodwaters drained first from the high Rocky Mountains, then lower elevation mountains, and lastly from coastal lowlands, possibly over more than five months. Lithologies deposited by sediment-laden floodwaters or geomorphic features resulting from erosion during the recession phase of the flood are good examples of this concept. A simple diagnostic, such as when marine floodwaters have drained off the continent and stabilized at the coastline, may indicate the end of the Flood. However, most geologic studies require a more comprehensive evaluation. Whitmore and Garner (2008) proposed a quantitative methodology using 28 criteria of Flood and post-Flood processes. Although comprehensive and useful, this methodology has not yet become widespread. Other researchers have been compiling additional geologic evidence to evaluate the Flood/Post-Flood boundary issue. Michael Oard (2025) has been evaluating criteria to support his position that the Flood/post-Flood boundary is in the Late Cenozoic (i.e., Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary). Tim Clarey (2020) has presented additional evidence through his work on the Column Project at the Institute for Creation Research, mapping out the sedimentary rock record of the global Flood across the world’s continents. Nathan Mogk (Mogk, pers. comm., 2025) is incorporating all these criteria into a draft quantitative methodology with 43 criteria in a process like Whitmore and Garner (2008). Frequent utilization of Whitmore and Garner’s methodology and others published in the future will be beneficial in geologically determining the end of the Flood. As these quantitative methods are applied to multiple areas, refinement of the methodology will result in more accurate and definitive conclusions. Biostratigraphic data are also commonly used to help determine where the boundary between Flood and post-Flood strata should be placed. By carefully applying suites of criteria to distinguish which rock layers belong to the Flood and which to the post-Flood period, we can gain a more accurate understanding of the biostratigraphic patterns preserved in the geologic record. REFERENCES Whitmore, J.H., and P.A. Garner. 2008. Using suites of criteria to recognize pre-Flood, Flood, and post-Flood strata in the rock record with application to Wyoming (USA). In A.A. Snelling (editor), Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Creationism, pp. 425-448. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship; Dallas, Texas: Institute for Creation Research. Oard, M. 2025. Summary of Thirty-Two Evidences (Chapter 34). Retrieved February 28, 2025. http://michael.oards.net/pdf/PostFloodBoundary/Chp34Version3.pdf. Clarey, T. 2020. Carved in Stone, Geologic Evidence of the Worldwide Flood. Dallas, Texas: Institute for Creation Research. 11 2025 New Scholars Bauhof, F. 2025. How do we geologically determine the end of the Flood? In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 11. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. HOW DO WE GEOLOGICALLY DETERMINE THE END OF THE FLOOD? New Scholars 2025
Keane Zook, School of Science and Mathematics, Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, Ohio 45314. keanzook@ cedarville.edu KEYWORDS fossilization, preservation, taphonomy, microbes, environment, minerals, deposition ABSTRACT The process of fossilization is a multiple-path maze that uses different roads, or various combinations of roads to take a variety of input factors such as; organisms, environment, sediment, etc., and produces a preserved record of that starting organism or trace of an organism. One of the factors that often gets overlooked in depictions or accounts of preservation is the effect that bacteria have, not only in destroying the tissue but also in preserving it through biomanipulation of the microclimate, precipitation of minerals on the soft tissue or producing a microbial film to glue an organism to the bottom of an environment long enough to be covered by sediment. (Gab et. al. 2020, Lin et. al. 2020, Janssen et. al. 2022) Determining the role of microbes in fossilization and the microbes responsible for it is both an achievable and important step in understanding the rapidity and process of fossilization. Experiments would include finding microbes that occur naturally in depositional environments that can change the chemical composition of the surrounding environment to balance the conditions needed for the preservation of the organism before it decays or is completely consumed, potentially by the same microbes. The goal of these experiments would be to observe and document the effect that the bacteria would have not only on the preservation process of the organic material but also the microbes’ effects on the surrounding sediment and matrix, comparing the results to known soft tissue preservation. This could be used to estimate the upper and lower time limits for the preservation of organic material. As well as the environments in which the organisms died and were buried. Due to the wide overlap of disciplines in play, it would be suggested that at least three people collaborate on these experiments, having specialties in organic or inorganic chemistry, microorganisms, and geology or fossils. REFERENCES Gab, F., C. Ballhaus, E. Stinnesbeck, A.G. Kra, K. Janssen and G. Bierbaum. 2020. Experimental taphonomy of fish-role of elevated pressure, salinity, and pH. Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-02064651-8 Lin, C.Y., A.V. Turchyn, A. Krylov, G. Antler. 2020. The microbially driven formation of siderite in salt marsh sediments. Geobiology 18:207224. DOI:10.1111/gbl.12571 Janssen, K., B. Mahler, J Rust, G Bierbaum, and V. E. Mcoy. 2022. The complex role of microbial metabolic activity in fossilization. Biological Reviews 97:449–465. 449. doi: 10.1111/brv.12806 12 2025 New Scholars Zook, K. 2025. A call for extensive investigation into microbial roles in fossilization In J.H. Whitmore (editor), New Scholars Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 12. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. A CALL FOR EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION INTO MICROBIAL ROLES IN FOSSILIZATION New Scholars 2025
J. Luke Sullivana, Addison K. O’Briana, Carissa Shipmanb, Andrew J. Fabichc, Steve Taylord, and Joseph E. Deweesea, aBiological, Physical, and Human Sciences Department, Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, Tennessee 38340; bDepartment of Biology, Huntington University, 2303 College Avenue, Huntington, Indiana 46750; cIndependent Scholar, Gainesville, Georgia; dDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, United Kingdom. luke.sullivan@students.fhu.edu. KEYWORDS DNA sequencing, fossils, aDNA, DNA extraction, nanopore sequencing ABSTRACT In recent years, the popularity of investigating biomolecules such as proteins in soft tissues from fossil samples has grown significantly. However, research on other macromolecules, like nucleic acids, found in fossil samples is relatively scarce. Schweitzer and colleagues have demonstrated the ability to stain for DNA in fossil dinosaur bones (Schweitzer 2013, Bailleul 2020), which has been repeated by other groups . Yet, published reports of sequencing attempts are scarce, which may result from assumptions about the age of fossils within the conventional old earth paradigm and whether intact DNA can be extracted from fossilized material. However, in a young earth model, it is possible that DNA could survive in fossilized materials in trace amounts and be studied. Further, any method that is used to analyze this DNA would need to reduce contamination or be able to distinguish between contaminant and original source DNA. A novel, bench top, method of DNA sequencing has been developed in recent years: Oxford Nanopore Sequencing (ONS). This method avoids the replication of damaged or short DNA strands as it does not require PCR. This also potentially prevents the oversampling of contaminant DNA (eDNA, human contamination, etc.) by avoiding a PCR amplification step. Furthermore, ONS is also relatively inexpensive compared to traditional techniques. To test ONS on ancient samples, several fossil samples of varying ages from 500 years old and beyond were obtained through collaboration. Samples were primarily prepared through physically crushing or through core drilling to expose internal portions of the fossil. Then, after the soaking of the sample in buffer and post-soak filtering, the filtrates were examined using a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)-specific fluorescent dye. Two fossil samples have been tested so far including an ~500year old cow femur and a ~2,000 year old pig rib bone both from England. Both samples have already been shown to have endogenous collagen present. Further, both samples were found to have dsDNA in samples that were prepared through grinding of the bone. DNA sequencing of these samples demonstrated both samples yielded DNA fragments (cow femur mean fragment length = 80-110 bp; pig rib mean fragment length = 100-200 bp). Metagenomic analysis provides evidence of some contaminant DNA fragments of bacterial, human, or plant origin. However, most of the sequence fragments were not identified. While analyses are preliminary, the evidence indicates that the extraction and sequencing of intact DNA from fossil bones is possible. In addition, this work provides the foundation for testing fossils of increasing age using additional protocol refinements with the intention of sequencing DNA from fossils formed during the Flood and the post-Flood Ice Age including dinosaurs. REFERENCES Schweitzer, M.H., W. Zheng, T.P. Cleland, and M. Bern. 2013. Molecular analyses of dinosaur osteocytes support the presence of endogenous molecules. Bone 52:414-423. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2012.10.010 Bailleul, A.M., W. Zheng, J.R. Horner, B.K. Hall, C.M. Holliday, and M.H. Schweitzer. 2020. Evidence of proteins, chromosomes and chemical markers of DNA in exceptionally preserved dinosaur cartilage. National Science Review 7:815-822. doi:10.1093/nsr/nwz206 13 2025 New Scholars Sullivan, J.L., A.K. O’Brian, C.Shipman, A.J. Fabich, S.Taylor, and J.E. Deweese. 2025. Developing tools for extraction and sequencing of DNA from fossil samples. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the 2025 New Scholars International Conference on Creationism, p. 13. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism [oral presentation]. DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR EXTRACTION AND SEQUENCING OF DNA FROM FOSSIL SAMPLES New Scholars 2025
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