Do Rock Layers Equal Time Charts? Part 2 Experiments

Continued from Part 1:

Today’s reading:

“Geologists studied the rates of processes they could observe first hand, such as filling of lakes and ponds by sediment, to estimate the time it took to deposit sedimentary rock layers. They quickly realized that millions of years were necessary to accumulate the rock layers we see today. As the amount of evidence grew, scientists were able to push the age of the Earth farther and farther back in time.” US Geological Survey National Park Service

And 3 minute video:

These scientists were doing “real” science, working with experiments we can still do today.

So, I guess we have to go along with their “slow, boring ages” and throw out the Bible. Or, do we?

Can you think of something they forgot to include when thinking of ways to get sediment to collect in layers? How about an enormous, world-wide, watery Catastrophe!

What would the water have been like during Noah’s Flood? Still and quiet like a tranquil lake today? Or, perhaps like a small glass of muddy water? Hardly. It would have been moving around like crazy. We call this movement:

Water currents

There’s a scientist named Guy Berthault who decided to see for himself what happens to the bits of mud, sand, and rocks when you put them into flowing water. Here’s one of his videos (30 seconds):

And a sample of a large scale experiment showing the different layers after the water drained away (1 minute):

There’s no talking on these videos because Berthault speaks French, so we get a taste of what non-English speakers get every day. To find out more about his experiments and discoveries, check out Sedimentology.fr, which is all in English! On the left, click on “Experiments” and “Experiments (cont’d)” to read all about the videos and how they did them.

One of the first experiments Berthault did even took the same idea the Uniformitarians expect. He poured the sedimentary bits into still water:

You can do this for yourself with a Sand Art picture any time you like!

It will take a couple more minutes to read, but have a look at the sand layers that formed when a ship covered a beach with a mixture of sand and muddy water. They know exactly how long it took for the hose to pour all that out: less than one hour.

Do these experiments help you see slow, boring years as you examine rocks?

It all comes back to what you expect and want to see.

More coming up!

Ps 24:1  « A Psalm of David. » The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.