Noah's Flood Evidence

3D scan of the Ark made with Ground Penetrating Radar/LiDAR at Durupinar. Photo: NoahsArkScans, from article by The Sun.

The following are evidences for Noah's Flood having occurred in the past. For a broader examination of evidence for Creationism in general, see Creationism.

“ "I once asked a palaeontologist from the University of New Orleans if they ever find bones of the millions of alligators who have died in the present day swamps, and he said, 'No.' The reason is the action of the swamp destroys them. Yet the fact is that almost all dinosaur bones, from Triassic and Cretaceous layers are in great shape. They do not show signs of pre-burial weathering, and seldom do dinosaur bones show evidence of having been river-rolled. Apart from breaks due to ground shifting during earthquakes, dinosaur bones are rarely broken or smashed up. Even mass death in today’s world seldom results in any vast burial zones let alone produces any fossils. Yet dinosaur bones were buried and preserved in vast numbers."

-Joe Taylor, Ask John Mackay

”

Ark Discovery

3D scan of the Ark made with Ground Penetrating Radar/LiDAR at Durupinar. Photo: NoahsArkScans, from article by The Sun.

File:ArkScan3.webp

3D scan of the Ark made with Ground Penetrating Radar/LiDAR at Durupinar. Photo: Noah's Ark Discovered Project's Facebook page, from article by Israel Hayom.

New 3D scans of the Ark made via Ground Penetrating Radar/LiDAR and publicly released for the first time in September 2021 reveal a framework of ship timbers perfectly matching the Biblical dimensions of the Ark, over 6,000 feet in elevation near the summit of Mount Ararat. The site, Durupinar, on Mount Tendürek, is formally recognized by the Turkish government as the location of Noah's Ark and is a national park with coordinates of 39.4411596, 44.2351077. The recent discoveries are set to air in an upcoming History Channel documentary as well as an episode of 'Forbidden History' on the Science Channel.

“ "Such parallel lines and right angles below the surface is something you would not expect to see in a natural, geologic formation... but these results are what you would expect to see if this is a man-made boat matching the Biblical requirements of Noah's Ark."
-Andrew Jones, Lead Researcher

"I knew that the scientific consensus was that the Durupinar site is a geological oddity. Before learning about these scans, it seemed like those who continued to argue in favour of the Durupinar site just couldn’t accept the truth and let it go. It’s a whole new ballgame now. Those judgements dismissing the site were made decades ago and based on limited data compared to what we have now. As I learned more, I became convinced that the project was worth my support and that it is vital that we determine the truth about the Durupinar site."
-Ryan Mauro, Doubting Thomas Research Foundation

”

Research Team

The research was performed by researcher Andrew Jones and prominent scientists from Istanbul University. The Ground Penetrating Radar scans were done by Oregon-based Topa 3D. The project even includes representatives from the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation which initially considered the site a geological formation until learning of the scans. The team's research is presented online at NoahsArkScans.com. Those working on the project include:

• Researcher Andrew Jones, Discovered Media
• Lead Scientist Dr. Fethi Ahmet Yüksel of the Department of Geophysical Engineering, Applied Geophysics Department of Istanbul University
• Dr. Salih Bahraktutan, Head Professor of Geology at Ataturk University: "We have a boat-shaped object at an elevation of 2,000 meters that did not occur naturally. We haven't found anything that refutes the possibility of this being Noah's Ark. We can see signs of specific structures in our scannings that are not naturally occurring. The way in which the object is thought to have traveled down the mountain in a mudslide is very interesting. We have no found signs of an early civilization up on this mountain."
• Geophysical Engineer Ozcan Ozen
• Geophysical Engineer Caner Candan
• Agri Governor Osman Varol
• Sait Yardimci, Turkish Film Commission
• Ryan Mauro, President of the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation and Adj. Professor at Liberty University
• David Farold, Shipwreck Specialist and Author
• Author John Wanderman
• Zafer Onay, Businessman and Tour Guide

According to the website:

“ "Ten member international scientific advisory board:

Four archaeologists, a heritage preservation specialist, a historian, a computer-aided design specialist, a geologist, a data visualization analyst, and a political scientist.

International media team:

A Turkish / American film crew to exclusively document the expedition for a future documentary film and a media team for press releases, social media campaigns, and interviews.

”

Fossil Evidence

Mass Marine Fossilization

In 2011 it was discovered that a rapid catastrophe led to deoxygenation and rising CO2 levels in ancient oceans, resulting in mass extinction of marine organisms worldwide.

“ "A new study of prehistoric ocean sediments from an era of high carbon dioxide concentrations shows that warm oceans with high CO2 levels and low-ocean conditions have experienced mass extinctions of marine organisms. Scientists from the UK and Australia examined ocean sediment samples off the coast of western Africa from the late Cretaceous period, 85 million years ago, an epoch of high atmospheric CO2 levels. The researchers found a significant amount of organic matter from marine organisms buried within the deoxygenated sediment layers, indicating that these organisms suffered mass die-offs as CO2 levels rose, ocean temperatures increased, and the oceans held less oxygen."

-Yale Environment 360

”

Trilobites

Trilobites have been fossilized around the world in life position, buried beneath tons of sediment in the acts of mating and migration. The same mass fossilization of trilobites can be seen globally in locations such as Oklahoma, Morocco, and Poland. The fossils are so well-preserved that scientists have even been able to see traces of the sensory receptor cells that link their eyes to their brains on the back of the eye lenses.

“ "In a quest that has taken him from Oklahoma to Morocco and Poland, Brett has analyzed multiple examples of mass trilobite burial. A smothering death by tons of hurricane-generated storm sediment was so rapid that the trilobites are preserved in life position. These geologic 'snapshots' record behavior in much the way that ancient Roman life was recorded at Pompeii by volcanic ash."
-Greg Hand, University of Cincinnati ”

As the Institute for Creation Research points out, "trilobite fossils are producing some of the strongest evidence of catastrophic burial. A recent study found that many of these creatures were inundated rapidly while they were still alive!"

Crustaceans

In 2014 ancient underwater crustaceans were discovered (an alleged 500 million years old), 100 ostracods "entombed" when a huge layer of mud hit them from above, fossilizing them with their eggs and newly hatched offspring, preserving soft tissue such as delicate eggshells.

Ichthyosaurs

Ancient ichthyosaurs, huge marine reptiles, have also been discovered entombed in huge layers of flood sediment. As the Scientific American puts it (attempting to hypothesize away the possibility of a global Flood), "Occasionally, there would have been mudflows that cascaded into the water like an avalanche, and the researchers think these mudflows killed the ichthyosaurs. The animals likely became disoriented and drowned, getting sucked into the deep sea, where their bodies were entombed in the sediment, the researchers said."

Instantaneous Fossilization

Titanosaurs

One of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth, a Titanosaur, was clearly fossilized via flooding. The titanic brontosaur was discovered in Saudi Arabia and publicized in 2014, until then few dinosaur fossils had been discovered in the Middle East. It would take a sizable flood to kill a creature as large as the one which was fossilized.

“ "About 77 million years after being buried in a flash flood, one of the most massive creatures ever to walk the earth has been recovered and described by scientists from Philadelphia's Drexel University. Kenneth Lacovara, who led the team, estimates the 26-meter-long Dreadnoughtus schrani weighed more than 59,000 kilograms when alive, and was not yet full grown."
-Voice of America News ”

What is more, another Titanosaur, a new species, was publicized, also in 2014, with the probable cause of death officially listed as flooding. Given the name Rukwatitan bisepultus, it was discovered in Argentina.

Cynodont/Thrinaxodon Burrow

An ancient reptile was found entombed in a burrow with a mammal, a clear example of flood fossilization.

“ "Scientists have discovered a burrow in South Africa where two unlikely creatures shared a home before being entombed by a flash flood 250 million years ago. The strange bedfellows were a beat-up young amphibian seeking shelter and a sleeping cynodont, considered a distant ancestor of mammals, researchers say."
-Megan Gannon, LiveScience ”

Mesozoic Birds

A colony of Mesozoic birds, allegedly 100 million years old, were discovered fossilized by a flood so rapid that it entombed them in life position. So complete was the preservation that even "full, well-preserved eggs" were discovered whose egg shells should have been destroyed by more gradual forms of preservation.

“ "The discovery was made in the Sebes area of Transylvania, Romania and includes a large collection of bird fossils and eggs, both partial and whole, trapped within the limestone. It is believed that this colony of birds was wiped out when a flash flood hit the area some 100 million years ago... This is the first evidence that ancient birds nested near the water similar to how ducks do now. It is also the first time full, well-preserved eggs have been found and researchers hope this will help them learn about the biology of these animals. Finding whole and preserved eggs, researchers say this will allow them to figure out the size and the volume of the bird’s eggs for the first time."
-Deborah Braconnier, Phys.org ”

Nor is this the first time ancient birds have been found fossilized through apparent flooding. A separate case in 1986 discovered birds preserved in similar fashion.

Dinosaur Eggs

In 2013 a cache of 20 dinosaur embryos of the long-necked Lufengosaurus, according to evolutionists 500 million years old, were discovered inside their eggs including "organic material" (i.e. soft tissue) that may include collagen fibres. The dinosaur eggs were remarkably preserved by being flooded out of their nests and covered with a heavy layer of mud that turned into an 8 inch layer of sandstone. One of the dinosaur embryo discoverers, Reisz, stated that "The nests were inundated by water and basically smothered, and the embryos inside the eggs died and then decayed. And then more water activity moved the bones and concentrated them into a very small area. We only excavated 1sq m of the ‘bone bed’ and we got more than 200 bones." Creation scientists have been pointing out for years that such egg deposits indicate a global Flood.

Marsupials

The earliest example of social living in mammals, according to scientists, was publicized in May of 2011. Discovered in Bolivia, the ancient rodent-like marsupials, Pucadelphys andinus, were fossilized instantaneously as a group.

“ "The Tiupampa population of Pucadelphys lived on the banks of a big tropical river and was most probably engulfed by a sudden flash flood. We know that these animals were fossilized on the spot because their remains are too well preserved to have been transported. Thus, these 35 individuals lived and died together in a single group, 64 million years ago."
-French National Center for Scientific Research ”

Zhucheng Dinosaur Grave

In Zhucheng, China, hundreds of dinosaurs were fossilized in a mass grave, the largest of its kind on Earth, and preserved in seven different layers. The location where they died was at the time submerged in water, and the catastrophe appears to have brought the bodies together into one place. The monumental find is consistent with a giant flood coupled with volcanism that swept them into one low-lying area and deposited their remains depositionally into different layers. According to CBC News, "Scientists believe a volcanic eruption may have killed the dinosaurs, but that it was actually a subsequent flood that carried the fossils to Zhucheng, which may have been a wetland covered in grass."

“ "At the time dinosaurs were roaming across China, Zhucheng is thought to have been an area of grasslands submerged under several feet of water. The researchers theorize that the dinosaurs were killed by the force of an explosion from a volcanic eruption or a meteor impact and then were caught in a flash flood, landslide or even a tsunami that threw them together. Perhaps several such disasters occurred over a period of years. 'It's very hard to understand why there are so many dinosaurs dead in one place,' said Wang, the principal technician on the excavation... What's even more intriguing is that there are seven distinctive 'floors' of dead dinosaurs in the pit. Some of the soil is yellow, other layers are red clay, which Xu said seems to show that 'there wasn't just one event. The dinosaur bones are preserved in different layers, suggesting they were killed in several different times,' he said."
-Ariana Eunjeung Cha, Washington Post ”

Allosaurus Mass Grave

A total of 49 Allosauruses were fossilized in the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry as the result of flooding. There were 75 dinosaurs fossilized altogether.

“ "Their findings showed the dinosaurs accumulated at the site over several different periods, with carcasses being transported there during flooding events. When floods came, the dinosaurs would have washed in and rotted in what was then a pond."
-Hannah Osborne, Newsweek ”

Centrosaurs

In one of the largest mass dinosaur graves discovered, a herd of thousands of centrosaurs was fossilized with evidence of flooding as the cause of fossilization.

Tyrannosaurs

Discovered in April, the mass tyrannosaur grave shows evidence the bodies were washed in and then buried with mud. It is the third mass tyrannosaur grave discovered in North America.

“ "In the scenario proposed by the authors, the young and adult dinosaurs were travelling together, when they were killed by a sudden event, maybe a flash flood. The water washed the bodies into a shallow part of the river, where mud covered the entire site, preserving the remains."
-David Bressan, Forbes ”

Mammoths

Mammoths, like their modern-day elephant counterparts, were massive land animals, so how much water would be required to produce a flash flood preserving a herd containing 22 of them? In Waco, Texas, the mammoths were found fossilized along with other animals like a camel, antelope, alligator, giant tortoise, and sabertoothed tiger. The cause of death, according to the National Park Service, is listed as "rapidly rising flood waters." In fact, burial was so rapid that Smithsonian Magazine's Megan Gannon writes that the "mammoths appear to have died in minutes."

Pachyrhinosaurs

In Alaska, herds of dinosaurs, both herbivores like the duck-billed Edmontosaurus and carnivorous theropods, were found fossilized in mass graves. To quote Anthony Fiorillo of Scientific American, "Like other hadrosaurs, Edmontosaurus were social animals that gathered in herds, as evinced by their bones, which have been found in piles at various places in northern Alaska as though groups of them had died in a flash flood."

Humans

Laeotoli First Family

A group of 13 early Laetoli humans were discovered with few signs of weathering or attack from predators, resulting in hypothesizing by scientists that they were "entombed together in a flash flood."

Australopithecus Afarensis

An exceptionally well-preserved A. Afarensis fossil was publicized in 2006, an alleged 3.3 million years old. According to the Washington Post's Rob Stein, "The surroundings indicate that the child might have drowned in a flash flood, which immediately buried the intact remains in sand that hardened to encase the bones, the researchers said."

Josh McDowell and Don Stewart Arguments

Josh McDowell and Don Stewart make some very powerful arguments in favor of a global flood in Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity, including:

Environmentally-Mixed Fossil Deposits

McDowell & Stewart note in the chapter, "Are the fossil deposits environmentally mixed?" (pp. 199-201), that if the fossil record is truly the result of slow depositional and erosive forces over millions of years, we should not then find animals and plants from very different environmental zones buried together in rock stratum. However, if a global Flood is instead at work, we should see tropical life mixed with those found in temperate and arctic climates, as well other environments. Key quotes made in Reasons to prove the latter is true include the following:

“ "The Pleistocene marine faunas of California have long attracted attention. Many of them are large: 100 to 350 species of mollusks in one formation.... These fauna show different associations. Some associations include cool-water and warm-water species.... They evidently do not represent the same environment; in fact, they appear to represent notably different environments..."

-W.P. Woodring, Paleocology

”

“ "The London Clay flora, or early Eocene age, includes 314 species of seeds and fruits; of this number 234 have been identified whereas the affinities of the remainder are considered doubtful. It is almost exclusively an angiosperm flora, there being but 7 conifers. Of the 100 genera, only 28 are still extant; thus its family relationships will primarily occupy our attention. The present-day distribution of the families which make up the London Clay flora are: 5 are entirely tropical... 14 are almost exclusively tropical... 21 families are equally tropical and extratopical and five are chiefly temperate... there are some obvious inconsistencies which cannot be overlooked. For example, Artocarpus, (breadfruit), Rhamnidium and Tabernae montonae which are tropical genera are associated with temperate climate (hickory, maple, and ash-GRM). This occurrence of climatically divergent elements in a fossil flora is not an uncommon problem..."

-Henry N. Andrews, Studies in Paleobotany

”

“ "Within the lumps of amber are found insects, snails, coral and small portions of plant life. These are of modern type that are now found in both tropical and cold temperature regions. Pine leaves are present, of the types now growing in Japan and North America... Such mixed strata are well known features of coal measures of all ages... A similar conclusion is drawn from the evidence of the fossil-bearing layers of thelignites of Geiseltal in Germany. Here also is a complete mixture of plants, insects and animals from all climatic zones of the earth capable of supporting life".

-Wilfred Francis, Coal: Its Formation and Composition

”

“ "...on top of the arctic freshwater plants and shells is a marine bed. Astarte Borealis and other mollusk shells are found in the position of life, with both valves united. These species are arctic, but, the bed seems in other places to contain Ostrea edules (a mollusk), which requires a temperate sea; the evidence is conflicting as to the climate."

-W.B. Wright, The Quarternary Ice Age

”

McDowell & Stewart draw particular attention to Francis' observation that it's very difficult to explain coral mixed with insects and pine leaves from two separate continents, as coral grows only in the ocean, and typical explanations of how amber forms do not explain such severe mixing of oceanic content with material from both Japan and North America.

Depositional Rates

In the chapter "Is fossilization evidence of a catastrophe?" (pp. 196-198) it is pointed out that "The process of fossilization is itself an evidence of abnormal deposition." Rotting of carcases begins to occur upon death, and then bacteria and scavengers (e.g. vultures), begin recycling the body's material. After this, weathering processes destroy the bones themselves, whether dissolution in the sea or weathering on land. The only way to preserve a carcass is to prevent the effects of both scavengers and weather, burying it deeply enough that the oxygen bacteria need is excluded, and rapidly enough that there is still something left to preserve.

However, J.B. Birdsell estimates the average rate of deposition during the last geologic epoch (the Pleistocene) was just .024 inches a year, not nearly enough required to preserve fossils. It is pointed out that major fossil deposits shown around the world (e.g. the Karroo formation with over 800 million fossilized skeletons of vertebrate animals) indicate a tremendous amount of rapid sedimentation for fossilization. Other examples given include the Monterrey shale with over 1 billion fossil fish within 4 square miles, and the Mission Canyon formation and Williston Basin which are estimated to contain over 10,000 cubic miles of broken crinoid plates, crinoids being deep sea creatures. Reasons quotes Clark and Stearn's conclusion, "How many millions, billions, trillions of crinoids would be required to provide such a deposit? The number staggers the imagination." Reasons concludes that it is more reasonable to believe a massive Flood rapidly deposited fossils than that slow, gradual depositional rates were responsible.

Rapid Sedimentation

In the chapter "Was the sedimentation rapid?" (pp. 205-207) emphasis is made on whether the fossil record shows evidence of rapid sedimentation, or slow, gradual deposition at a rate of .024 inches a year (Birdsell's estimate). Reasons quotes the following sources to suggest that deposition was in fact far faster:

“ "In my own collection, I have a lobster from the Solenhofen stone of Germany which was apparently fossilized in the act of catching a small fish."

-Derek Ager, Principles of Paleoecology

”

“ "A great slab of Hamilton sandstone, found at Mount Marion, New York, and now in the State Museum at Albany, originally preserved the casts of over 400 starfish, some of which died hovering over clams they were in the act of devouring just as modern starfish eat oysters."

-Schuchert & Dunbar, Textbook of Geology Pt. 2

”

“ "Probably the best-known fossil-fish fauna is that of the Eocene Green River beds of southern Wyoming and northwestern Colorado. These strata contain large numbers of well-preserved bony fishes."

-William Matthews, Fossils

”

In analyzing these sources, it is noted in Reasons that the 2,600 feet of shale in the Green River formation contains 6.5 million bands, each of which is typically believed to have taken one year to deposit, making for a 6.5 million year depositional period. However, the fossil fish are pressed flat between the bands, the flesh outline of the fishes can be seen not just the bones, and the thickness of each band would make it difficult to preserve the fish. Reasons concludes that (a) the flesh outline indicates the fish were buried so rapidly they hadn't undergone decay, (b) deposition occurred with considerable pressure from above given the compression of fossils between bands, and (c) bands of just 1 mm or 5/1000 of an inch per year would make it virtually impossible to preserve the fish from bacteria and scavengers, and certainly not leave the flesh intact.

Fossilized Footprints

In the chapter "Are footprints evidence of the flood?" McDowell & Stewart question how gradual depositional rates can possibly preserve the the numerous footprints found in the fossil record. While in some cases like mud, hardening might be a possible explanation, in others like sandstone where it is sand being hardened, it is difficult to explain how footprints could be fossilized before erosive forces like waves or wind could erase them. The only way to preserve them is to cover them rapidly with another substance from above, perhaps something which will harden rapidly such as lava. Particular emphasis in the chapter is made upon evidence of raindrops seen in footprints which indicate particularly rapid fossilization. Sources provided in the chapter include the following:

“ "Of vertebrates higher than fishes, the only evidence rests upon one foot imprint (thinopus Antiquus) nearly four inches long, which was found near the top of the Upper Devonian of western Pennsylvania. This indicates the presence of a salamander-like animal (stegocephalian) with a probable length of nearly 3 feet. The track is from a marine sandstone of the littoral or beach area over which the animal walked, probably in search of dead marine life. This stratum is associated with others that are ripple-marked and sun-cracked, and bear rain imprints... Lea in 1849 collected a most interesting slab, a little over 5 feet long, with six successive series of foot impressions made by an amphibian (Paleosauropus) with a 13 inch stride. This slab is ripple-marked and has rain imprints, indicating a mud flat of land origin, over which the animal walked when the deposit was yet soft and wet... Fig. 461 - Slab of Trassic sandstone 6 x 3.5 feet, pitted by rain. A large dinosaur (Steropoides diversus) walked over the muddy ground before the storm, and a much smaller one (Argoides minimus) afterwards."

-Pirrson & Schuchert, Text-Book of Geology

”

“ "Often they record tragedies of the past, such as that found near the German city of Nierstein on the Rhine. Here in the sandstone, which was once a desert sand, are the small tracks of an insect. Death stalks the unwary insect in the form of lizard tracks which converge upon the insect tracks. Soon the two trails come together - and beyond, the lizard walks alone."

-Twenhofel & Shrock, Invertebrate Paleontology

”

“ "An intriguing feature of the Coconino footprints is that they almost always run uphill on the steeply inclined bedding planes of this dune sandstone."

-Derek Ager, Principles of Paleoecology

”

Reasons further asks why, in the last example, the animals are seen running uphill, and questions whether this could be due to rising Flood waters.

Flood Legends Worldwide

If a global Flood did in fact occur we would expect to see shared reference to it across all cultures, not just those in the Middle East, which is exactly what we find. In the words of John D. Morris, "The only credible way to understand the widespread, similar flood legends is to recognize that all people living today, even though separated geographically, linguistically, and culturally, have descended from the few real people who survived a real global flood, on a real boat which eventually landed on a real mountain. Their descendants now fill the globe, never to forget the real event." For a detailed compilation of Flood legends, see the list at the Northwest Creation Network. Specific examples include:

Native American Flood Legends

• Algonquin: Similarities include a prophet and his wife saved by God from a huge Flood, escaping on a huge rounded wooden boat with pairs of land-animals and birds, and animals assisting in the voyages end, including a raven which flew over the water until dry land appeared.
• Caddo: Similarities include a great Flood that destroys evil, saving of all animal pairs, warning by God to a prophet and his wife, entering a large hollow wooden vessel to survive, and drying of the Earth through strong winds.
• Cheyenne: Similarities include sending of a Flood by a Creator to destroy a human race grown evil, humans surviving with animals, and a rainbow signaling the Flood's end.
• Chippewa: Similarly involves fleeing a great mountain-covering Flood by humans and animals via a wooden vessel. The protagonist's name Nanabozho is similar to Noah.
• Lakota: Similarities include drowning of the evil human race by a Creator via a Flood and animals leaving to retrieve soil.
• Pima: Similarities include the decision by the Creator to drown the world because of evil people, scoffing at a prophet's call to repent, saving of the just prophet and his wife in a rounded vessel, and stocking of the boat with food.

Common Criticisms

How Could Humans Repopulate Quickly Enough?

See also Creationism - Human Population Growth

Current human population growth rates exceed 1% in the majority of countries today and at a 1% growth rate one goes from 8 people, the survivors of Noah's ark, to 7 billion in just 2,071 years. Even at a rate just half those seen today, 0.50%, one goes from 8 people to 7 billion in 4,130 years. According to the principle "the present is the key to the past" rates in the past should be assumed the same as those today's, yet clearly this principle is not followed when to do so would not suit the theory of evolution.

Year	2.00% Growth Rate	1.00% Growth Rate	0.50% Growth Rate	0.20% Growth Rate
Year 1	8	8	8	8
Year 500	156,522	1,147	96	22
Year 1,000	3,123,644,327	166,013	1,167	59
Year 2,000	1.244 x 10 ^ 18	3,479,494,693	171,020	434
Year 5000	7.859 x 10 ^ 43	3.204 x 10 ^ 22	538,558,280,604	174,112
Years To Reach 7 Billion Population	1,041	2,071	4,130	6,849

So what about disease, death, and war? Actually 3rd-world countries today with the most disease, death, and war, as well as minimal technology, have the highest population growth rates, rates in excess of 3%. Evolutionist Dave Matson of TalkOrigins attempts to claim that "real" rates were only .07%, which, even if such a ridiculous assertion were to be accepted, would still result in 8 individuals reaching 7 billion in less than 30,000 years. Actually human population growth rates are not an argument against a global Flood and a young earth, but for them.

Animals Couldn't Fit on the Ark

See also Creationism - Rates of Microevolution

One of the most common criticisms of the Bible's account of the Flood is that Earth has too many animal species to fit on the Ark, given the Ark's dimensions. However, this ignores the realities of microevolution and speciation, which unlike macroevolution are established fact. Microevolution according to the University of California Berkeley is defined as "a change in gene frequency within a population. Evolution at this scale can be observed over short periods of time."

Biblically, God as seen in Genesis 1 created core types of life, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and fish, which were commanded to multiply according to their species. For example an original dog species could, in spreading to different parts of the world, adapt to the different post-Flood climate conditions found in differing areas of the globe and become all the varieties of dogs witnessed today. Thus, only one dog species was needed on the ark, one cat species, and so on.

John Woodmorappe's estimate of less than 16,000 total animals and birds on the ark seems reasonable. Large animals such as elephants, giraffes, and dinosaurs need not have been full-grown adults, but were likely young.

The atheist thus cannot dispute that far fewer animals would be needed on the ark if sufficient microevolutionary adaptation occurred after the Flood. What atheists will doubtless contend is that fewer than 10,000 years of post-Flood time is too short for the sort of speciation needed to produce the species diversity we see today. However, such an argument is ignorant of a little-known but increasingly apparent reality - microevolution and speciation transpire far more rapidly than has been previously assumed by academics, on a rapid time scale consistent with the Bible.

“ "Ecology is being transformed by the recognition that ecological and evolutionary timescales are not easily differentiated. A 1999 review of evolutionary rates by Andrew Hendry and Mike Kinnison (The pace of modern life: measuring rates of contemporary microevolution. Evolution 53:1637-1653) provided the striking conclusion that rates of contemporary evolution are much faster than generally appreciated... Our work reveals that a number of traits including critical thermal maximum, embryonic development rate, and thermal preference behavior all show variation consistent with local adaptation that occurs on the scale of decades and tens of meters. These findings offer a startlingly different picture of interactions between organisms and their environment prompting us to rethink, in larger sense, how we should conceive of ecological assemblages."

-David Skelly, Yale University

”

Not Enough Water

Yet another claim commonly used by those in academia is that Earth lacks the water for a global Flood which, according to Genesis 7:19 covered the mountains.. But this too reflects ignorance of new discoveries and what the Bible actually teaches.

It is a common misconception that the only source of water for the Biblical Flood was rainwater. However Biblically there were two sources of water, rain from above, and water from below, referred to as the "fountains of the deep."

“ Genesis 7:11-12 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. ”

And it is exactly this source of water, from deep within the Earth, which is being discovered.

• In March 2002 National Geographic reported the discovery, through laboratory studies replicating the conditions of the Earth's core, that there may well be more water within the Earth than outside it - as much as five times more.
• In February 2007 National Geographic reported the discovery, made via sonar, of a large amount of water equivalent in size to the Atlantic Ocean locked deep below the Earth's surface, contained in wet rocks. While the National Geographic article downplayed the water's relevance to a Noahic Flood by suggesting rocks contained less than 0.1% water, newer discoveries suggest the real figure is around 1.5%.
• In March 2014 a rare diamond was discovered containing ringwoodite, a mineral formed only by the intense subsurface pressures within the Earth's mantle. The diamond also was composed of 1.5% water, indicating that there is a substantial amount of water deep within the Earth.
• In June 2014 Time Magazine, PBS, and other news agencies publicized the discovery of a massive subterranean ocean, three times the size of any ocean on Earth's surface, that could prove the source for the world's seas.

Furthermore these discoveries are in addition to already-identified fossil aquifers such as the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, Ogallala Aquifer, and Kalahari Desert Aquifers which contain massive amounts of ancient freshwater locked deep below the Earth's surface. Even aside from mountain growth rates, there is clearly enough water to cover the mountains during the Flood.

Vegetation Death From Ocean Salinity

Another favorite assertion by atheists is that vegetation would die from a global Flood because of seawater salinity, which superficially sounds like a good claim until one realizes that the oceans have not always been this salty.

“ "Throughout Earth's history, certain processes have served to make the ocean salty. The weathering of rocks delivers minerals, including salt, into the ocean. Evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice both increase the salinity of the ocean."

-NASA

”

According to NASA, evaporating ocean water, weathering of rocks, and sea ice formation - all of which would have coincided with a global Flood - cause increased ocean salinity. The oceans during the time of Noah's Flood would not have been as salty prior to the massive evaporation of said Flood, and the weathering of rocks which released large amounts of minerals (including salt) would have been an ongoing process. The creation of the ice caps likely occurred after the Flood due to the disruption of ocean currents.

A 2012 study published in Science determined that the saltier parts of the oceans got 4% saltier over the last 50 years. While the study attributed salinity alteration to global warming, had such a rate occurred constantly throughout history the oceans would have doubled in saltiness in less than 1,000 years, and roughly 4,000 years have passed since the Flood. Thus, the oceans would logically have been far less salty during the Flood, allowing vegetation to survive.

How Was the Waste Handled?

Biblically the animals were cooperating in the journey. Noah certainly could not have gathered them otherwise. God's authority here is the same as in the book of Daniel when the lions were kept from harming Daniel, and in 1 Kings 17 when God used ravens to bring Elijah food.

Eight people would have doubtless found moving the waste impossible, but the work was certainly delegated among the animals who themselves aided in moving and managing the waste. That the animals were not simply bystanders during the passage but actively involved is clear from how the dove and raven aided Noah in bringing the journey to a close.

“ Genesis 8:6-12 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. ”

Radiometric Dating Disagrees

See also Creationism - Radiometric Dating

That radiometric dates are incorrect is evident from other evidence supporting a young Creation such as human population growth rates, rapid microevolutionary rates, and the existence of dinosaur soft tissue. Rather than the constant clocks they are portrayed as, radiometric decay is drastically altered by volcanic activity. Nor is volcanism the only factor which can alter radiometric dating of isotopes such as Carbon-14.

“ "With correction for radioactive decay during the intervening years, such old samples hopefully would show the same starting carbon-14 level as exists today... It is now clear that carbon-14 is not homogeneously distributed among today’s plants and animals. The occasional exceptions all involve nonatmospheric contributions of carbon-14-depleted carbon dioxide to organic synthesis. Specifically, volcanic carbon dioxide is known to depress the carbon-14 level of nearby vegetation, and dissolved limestone carbonate occasionally has a similar effect on freshwater mollusks, as does upwelling of deep ocean water on marine mollusks. In every case, the living material affected gives the appearance of built-in age. In addition to spatial variations of the carbon-14 level, the question of temporal variation has received much study. A 2 to 3 percent depression of the atmospheric radioactive-carbon level since 1900 was noted soon after Libby’s pioneering work, almost certainly the result of the dumping of huge volumes of carbon-14-free carbon dioxide into the air through smokestacks. Of more recent date was the overcompensating effect of man-made carbon-14 injected into the atmosphere during nuclear bomb testing. The result was a rise in the atmospheric carbon-14 level by more than 50 percent. Fortunately, neither effect has been significant in the case of older samples submitted for carbon-14 dating. The ultimate cause of carbon-14 variations with time is generally attributed to temporal fluctuations in the cosmic rays that bombard the upper atmosphere and create terrestrial carbon-14."

-Edwin A. Olson, Encyclopædia Britannica

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Many of the factors known to alter carbon-14 dating, such as volcanism, upwelling of deep ocean water, and dissolving limestone carbonate would all logically have transpired during a global Flood, severely altering radiometric dates. The "fountains of the deep" breaking up in Genesis 7 logically involved severe underwater volcanic activity as well as upwelling of deep ocean water.

Furthermore the fossil record and geologic record contain evidence of just such underwater volcanism causing mass extinction. In 2009 it was discovered that an ancient volcano had occurred in a shallow sea near modern-day China, killing marine life around the world and instantly fossilizing life in the immediate area. According to Professor Paul Wagnall who authored the paper, "The abrupt extinction of marine life we can clearly see in the fossil record firmly links giant volcanic eruptions with global environmental catastrophe, a correlation that has often been controversial."

“ "A previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260 million years ago has been uncovered by scientists at the University of Leeds. The eruption in the Emeishan province of south-west China unleashed around half a million cubic kilometres of lava, covering an area 5 times the size of Wales, and wiping out marine life around the world... The layer of fossilised rock directly after the eruption shows mass extinction of different life forms, clearly linking the onset of the eruptions with a major environmental catastrophe. The global effect of the eruption is also due to the proximity of the volcano to a shallow sea. The collision of fast flowing lava with shallow sea water caused a violent explosion at the start of the eruptions – throwing huge quantities of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere."

-University of Leeds

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How Did Kangaroos Reach Australia?

A common claim of evolutionists is that there should be a long trail of kangaroo or marsupial fossils between Turkey (the commonly identified landing point for the Ark) and southern India (assuming continental drift had not yet fully separated land masses following the Flood per Gen. 10:25, a commonly approximated position for Australia's then-border).

Animal Migration

However, given the long migrations made, not just by birds and butterflies, but also caribou, wildebeests, and dogs returning to their homes, the logistics of such a trip are hardly unforeseeable.

• In 1826 a dog called Bobbie travelled 2,551 miles from Indiana to return to his owners in Oregon after a 6-month journey.
• In 1979 a dog named Jimpa travelled 2,000 miles over a 14-month period to find his owners in Australia.
• Porcupine caribou make migrations of up to 1,500 miles each year.
• Wildebeest migrate between 500 to 1,000 miles each year.

Travel Time

The distance from Turkey (assuming that is even where the Ark landed) to southern India is 5,073 km or 3,152 miles.

Although a kangaroo's top speed is 43-44 mph, its comfortable hopping speed for prolonged distances is 25 mph.

So assuming a steady travel, a kangaroo could have made the trip with just 126.08 hours of travel time (3,152/25). Assuming 8 hours of sleep a day, that's only 7.88 days to make the trip (126.08/16 hour days).

Now practically, obstacles would have slowed the kangaroos down, and slightly more time could be expected for eating, drinking, and restroom breaks, but it's still hardly unthinkable for a pair of kangaroos to make the trip in a month.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

See also Canopy Theory

Giant lizards, dinosaurs, were not the only types of life that grew to gigantic size before the Flood. There were giant prehistoric bears (Arctodus Simus), giant elephants (Mammoths), giant sloths (Megatherium), giant dragonflies (Meganeura), giant rodents (Josephoartigasia Monesi), giant sharks (Megalodon), giant snakes (Titanoboa), giant beavers (Castoroides), giant vultures (Teratornis), and giant tigers (Sabertoothed Tigers).

So why is there so much disagreement over classifying today's reptiles as the direct descendants of the dinosaurs? Dinosaurs are classified into two groups, bird-hipped (Ornithischia) and lizard-hipped (Saurischia). Some of the most impressively towering dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurus Rex, had very different hip/leg structures than today's reptiles which allowed them to tower upright over other creatures.

While Satan is commonly considered to have taken the form of a snake when tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden he is elsewhere referred to as a great dragon (Revelation 12:9, 20:2; Isaiah 27:1). The Hebrew word "nachash" translated "serpent" in reference to Satan in Genesis 3:14 is also used to refer to "fiery flying serpents" in Isaiah 14:29; Numbers 21:6-9; and Deuteronomy 8:15.

Indeed, in Isaiah 27:1 God even says He will destroy Satan calling Satan not only a "dragon" (Hebrew tanniyn) and a leviathan (see Job 41) but a piercing, crooked serpent (Hebrew nachash). As such, nachash should perhaps be translated not as serpent but as reptile, since it can also be used to describe dragons/dinosaurs. Note also that when Moses' rod transformed into a nachash it was so fearsome that he, a man who once killed an Egyptian overseer in hand-to-hand combat to protect others (Exodus 2:11), fled from it-suggesting something other than a simple snake. (Exodus 4:3)

“ Genesis 3:14-15 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

”

It is thus reasonable to assume that Satan actually took the form of a dinosaur. And God cursed Satan to crawl in the dust changing his method of locomotion - the same difference which today separates lizards from prehistoric dinosaurs.

Thus, dinosaurs simply shrank following the Flood given the reduction in atmosphere which had previously served as a greenhouse-like canopy, as did many other types of life. Although Canopy Theory, the Creationist theory that pre-Flood life grew bigger because of a thicker atmosphere and higher oxygen levels, was for many years scoffed at by the scientific community, new discoveries have vindicated it.

In 2007 it was discovered that ancient dragonflies had reached their massive proportions because of oxygen levels 50% higher than today's. And in 2012 analysis of fossilized raindrop impressions proved that Earth's atmosphere was once much thicker than it is today.