"VITAL ARTICLES ON SCIENCE/CREATION'

June 1987

No. 168 - THE ICE AGE AND THE GENESIS FLOOD

By Michael J. Oard, M.S.'

The origin of the ice age has greatly perplexed uniformitarian

scientists. Much cooler summers and copious snowfall are

required, but they are inversely related, since cooler air is

drier. It is unlikely cooler temperatures could induce a change

in atmospheric circulation that would provide the needed moisture.

As a result, well over 60 theories have been proposed.

Charlesworth states:'

"Pleistocene phenomena have produced an absolute riot of

theories ranging 'from the remotely possible to the mutually

contradictory and the palpably inadequate.' "

A uniformitarian ice age seems meteorologically impossible.

The necessary temperature drop in Northern Canada has been

established by a sophisticated energy balance model over a snow

cover. Summers must be 10' to 120C cooler than today, even with

twice the normal winter snowfall.2

The Milankovitch mechanism, or the old astronomical theory,

has recently been proposed as the solution to the problem.

Computer climate simulations have shown that it could initiate an

ice age, or at least glacial/interglacial fluctuations. However,

an in-depth examination does not support this. The astronomical

theory is based on small changes in solar radiation, caused by

periodic shifts in the earth's orbital geometry. It had been

assumed too weak to cause ice ages by meteorologists, until the

oscillations were "statistically" correlated with oxygen isotope

fluctuations in deep-sea cores. The latter cycles are believed

related mostly to glacial ice volume, and partially to ocean

paleotemperature, although the exact relationship has been

controversial. The predominant period from cores was correlated

to the 100,000-year period of the earth's eccentricity, which

changes the solar radiation at most 0. 17%.3 This is an

infinitesimal effect. Many other serious problems plague the

astronomical theory.4,,' Although models can test causal

hypotheses, Bryson says they ". . are not sufficiently advanced,

nor is our knowledge of the required inputs, to allow for climatic

reconstruction. . .'16

'Mr. Oard is a meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Bureau,

Montana.

The climate change following the Genesis Flood provides a

likely catastrophic mechanism for an ice age. The Flood was a

tremendous tectonic and volcanic event. Large amounts of volcanic

aerosols would remain in the atmosphere following the Flood,

generating a large temperature drop over land by reflecting much

solar radiation back to space. Volcanic aerosols would likely be

replenished in the atmosphere for hundreds of years following the

Flood, due to high post-Flood volcanism, which is indicated in

Pleistocene sediments.7 The moisture would be provided by strong

evaporation from a much warmer ocean, following the Flood. The

warm ocean is a consequence of a warmer pre-Flood climate and the

release of hot subterranean water during the eruption of "all the

fountains of the great deep" (Genesis 7:11). The added quantity

of water must have been large to cover all the pre-Flood

mountains, which were lower than today. Evaporation over the

ocean is proportional to how cool, dry, and unstable the air is,

and how fast the wind blows.8 Indirectly, it is proportional to

sea-surface temperature. A IOOC air-sea temperature difference,

with a relative humidity of 50%, will evaporate seven times more

water at a sea surface temperature of 30'C than at O'C. Thus, the

areas of greatest evaporation would be at higher latitudes and off

the east coast of Northern Hemisphere continents. Focusing on

Northeast North America, the combination of cool land and warm

ocean would cause the high level winds and a main storm tract to

be parallel to the east coast, by the thermal wind equation.9

Storm after storm would develop near the eastern shoreline,

similar to modern-day Northeasters, but with much more moisture,

and would drop frequent heavy snow over the continent. Once a

snow cover is established, more solar radiation is reflected back

to space, reinforcing the cooling over land, and compensating for

volcanic lulls.

The ice sheet will grow as long as the large supply of

moisture is available, which depends upon the warmth of the ocean.

Thus, the time to reach maximum ice volume will depend upon the

cooling time of the ocean. This can be found from the heat

balance equation for the ocean, with reasonable assumptions of

post-Flood climatology and initial and final average ocean

temperatures. However, the heat lost from the ocean would be

added to the atmosphere, which would slow the oceanic cooling and

regulate the rate of ice growth. It would also cause a "mild" ice

age with cool summers and warm winters. The time to reach maximum

ice volume must also consider the heat balance of the post-Flood

atmosphere, which would strongly depend upon the severity of

volcanic activity. Considering ranges of volcanism and the

possible variations in the terms of the balance equations, the

time for glacial maximum ranges from 250 to 1300 years.10

The average ice depth at glacial maximum is proportional to

the total evaporation from the warm ocean at mid and high

latitudes, and the transport of moisture from lower latitudes.

Since most snow in winter storms falls in the colder portion of

the storm, twice the precipitation was assumed to fall over the

cold land than over the ocean. Some of the moisture re-evaporated

from non-glaciated land would end up as snow on the ice sheet, but

this effect should be mostly balanced by summer runoff.

The average depth of ice was calculated at roughly half uniformitarian

estimates. The latter are really unknown. As Bloom states,

"Unfortunately, few facts about its thickness are known

.. we must turn to analogy and theory. . . ."'l2

The time to melt an ice sheet at mid-latitudes is

surprisingly short, once the copious moisture source is gone. It

depends upon the energy balance over a snow or ice cover.12

Several additional factors would have enhanced melting.

Crevassing would increase the absorption of solar radiation, by

providing more surface area.13 The climate would be colder and

drier than at present, with strong dusty storms that would tend to

track along the ice sheet boundary. The extensive loess sheets

south of and within the periphery of the past ice sheet attest to

this. Dust settling on the ice would greatly increase the solar

absorption and melting. A mountain snowfield in Japan was

observed to absorb 85% of the solar radiation after 4000 ppm of

pollution dust had settled on its surface."

 

Earth scientists believe there were many ice ages-perhaps more

than 30-in regular succession during the late Cenozoic based on

oxygen isotope fluctuations in deep-sea cores." However, the ocean

results have many difficulties, and sharply conflict with the

long-held four-ice-age continental scheme. Before the early 20th

century, the number of ice ages was much debated. Some scientists

believed in only one ice age, but the sediments are complex and

have evidence of anywhere from one to four, or possibly more till

sheets, separated by non-glacial deposits. Four ice ages became

established mainly from gravel terraces in the Alps, and

reinforced by soil stratigraphy. Much has been learned about

glacial behavior and sedimentation since then. The Alps terraces

are now viewed as possibly ". . a result of repeated tectonic

uplift cycles-not widespread climatic changes per se."16 Variously

weathered "interglacial soils" between till sheets are complex,

and practically always have the top organic horizon missing. It

is difficult to know whether they are really soils." Besides, the

rate of modern soil formation is unknown, and depends upon many

complex factors, like the amount of warmth, moisture, and time.18

Therefore, the number of glaciations is still an open question.

There are strong indications that there was only one ice age.

As discussed previously, the requirements for an ice age are very

stringent. The problem grows to impossibility, when more than one

is considered. Practically all the ice-age sediments are from the

last, and these deposits are very thin over interior areas, and

not overly thick at the periphery. Till can sometimes be laid

down rapidly, especially in end moraines. Thus the main

characteristics of the till favor one ice age. Pleistocene

fossils are rare in glaciated areas, which is mysterious, if there

were many interglacials. Practically all the megafaunal

extinctions were after the last-a difficult problem if there was

more than one.

One dynamic ice age could explain the features of the till

along the periphery by large fluctuations and surges, which would

cause stacked till sheets.19 Organic remains can be trapped by

these oscillations.20 Large fluctuations may be caused by variable

continental cooling, depending upon volcanic activity. In

addition, most of the snow and ice should accumulate at the

periphery, closest to the main storm tracks. Large surface slopes

and warm basal temperatures at the edge are conducive to rapid

glacial movement.21

In summary, the mystery of the ice age can be best explained

by one catastrophic ice age as a consequence of the Genesis Flood.

1.

2. Chariesworth, J.K., 1957, The Quaternary Era, Vol. 2, London,

Edward Amold, p. 1532, Williams, L.D., 1979, "An Energy

Balance Model of Potential Glacierization of Northern

Canada:" Arctic and Alpine Research, v. I 1, n. 4, pp.

443-456.

3. Fong, P., 1982, "Latent Heat of Melting and Its Importance

for Glaciation Cycles:" Climatic Change, v. 4, p. 199.

4. Oard, M.J., 1984, "Ice Ages: The Mystery Solved? Part 2: The

Manipulation of DeepSea Cores:" Creation Research Society

Quarterly, v. 21, n. 3, pp. 125-137.

5. Oard, M.J., 1985, "Ice Ages: The Mystery Solved? Part 3:

Paleomagnetic Stratigraphy and Data Manipulation:" Creation

Research Society Quarterly, v. 21, n. 4, pp. 170-181.

6. Bryson, R.A., 1985, "On Climatic Analogs in Paleoclimatic

Reconstruction:" Quaternary Research, v. 23, n. 3, p. 275.

7.

8. Charlesworth, 0p. Cit., p. 601.

Bunker, A.F., 1976, "A Computation of Surface Energy Flux and

Annual Air-Sea Interaction Cycles of the North Atlantic

Ocean:" Monthly Weather Reuiew, v. 104, n. 9,

p. 1122.

9. Holton, J.R., 1972, An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology,

New York, Academic Press, pp. 48-51.

10. Oard, M.D., "An Ice Age Within The Biblical Time Frdme,"

Proceedings of the First International Conference on

Creationism, Pittsburgh (in press).

ii. Bloom, A.L., 1971, "Glacial-Enstatic and Isostatic Controls

of Sea Level," in K.K.

Turekian, ed., Late Cenozoic Glacial Ages, New Haven, Yale

University Press, p. 367.

12.

13. Patterson, W.S.B., 1969, The Physics of Glaciers, New York,

Pergamon, pp. 45-62. Hughes, T., 1986, "The Jakobshanvs

Effect." Geophysical Research Letters, v. 13, n. 1, pp,

46-48.

14. Warren, S.G. and W.J. Wiscombe, 1980, "A Model for the

Spectral Albedo of Snow.

ii. Snow Containing Atmospheric Aerosols:" Journal of the

Atmospheric Sciences,

15. v. 37, n. 12, p. 2736.

16. Kennett, J.P., 1982, Marine Geology, New Jersey,

Prentice-Hall, p. 747.

Eyles, N., W.R. Dearman and T.D. Douglas, 1983, "Glacial

Landsystems in Britain and North America," in N. Eyles, ed.,

Glacial Geology, New York, Pergamon, p. 217.

17. Valentine, K. and J. Dalrymple, 1976, "Quaternary Buried

Paleosols: A Critical Review:" Quaternary Research, v. 6, n.

2, pp. 209-222.

18. Boardman, J., 1985, "Comparison of Soils in Midwestern United

States and Western Europe with the Interglacial Record:"

Quaternary Research, v. 23, n. 1, pp. 62-75.

19. Paul, M.A., 1983, "The Supraglacial Landsystem," in N. Eyles,

ed., Glacial Geology, New York, Pergamon, pp. 71-90.

20. Eyles, Dearman and Douglas, 0p. Cit., p. 222.

21, Patterson, 0p. Cit., p. 63-167.