ABSTRACTS
The Universe in Near Real Time and the Light Time Effect
Ronald G. Samec and Bruce Oliver
At the 2009 CRS conference (Lancaster, SC), Steve Miller presented a paper entitled, “Universe in Near Real Time.” This paper suggests the possibility that the astronomical universe is actually being observed in near real time. Miller gives scriptural evidence for this proposal in Revelation 8:12. He envisions an envelope surrounding the solar system in which light travels at velocity c. But outside this envelope the speed is nearly infinite. Observationally, it is readily seen that the light-time effect refutes this idea. We cite observations from the literature as well as our recent observations of FY Bootis, a very shortperiod binary, which displays a sinusoidal orbital light-time effect (an O-C curve). The light-time effect in this system is due to a close binary orbited by a third body. If the scenario of the “Universe in Near Real Time” were true, the O-C curve should be a straight line fit instead of a sinusoid and we could not make the determination given here. This is an example of how real astronomical observations can aid the creation community in testing proposed models, and it stresses our need for our own professional creationary astronomical observatory.
Documenting the Sedimentary and Stratigraphic Transition between the Middle/Upper Flood Event Divisions and the Lower/Middle Ice Age Divisions in and Surrounding Providence Canyon State Park, Stewart County, Georgia (U.S.A.)
Carl R. Froede Jr.
Providence Canyon State Park, Stewart County, Georgia (U.S.A.), and the surrounding vicinity provide an excellent location in which to define sediments and fossils within a Bible-based framework of Earth history. The results of this investigation indicate that the strata reflect the transition from a middle-shelf subaqueous marine setting to subaerial conditions. Within the Flood framework, these sediments and strata record the transition from the Middle/Upper Flood Event Divisions to the Lower/Middle Ice Age Divisions. The stratigraphy within the study area indicates that Floodwater retreated from this part of Georgia as a function of sea-level decline and the concomitant uplift of the coastal plain across southwestern Georgia.
Geotheory: Past and Present
John K. Reed, Peter Klevberg
The closing decades of the eighteenth century saw the beginnings of modern geohistory. Recent work by historians of science have broken through the persistent mythology of Hutton-Playfair-Lyell, and many lessons have been drawn from a better understanding of the early fusion of secularized science and secularized history. But one lesson that has received little attention is the inhibitive role played by “geotheory,” a genre of scientific writing popular in the last half of the eighteenth century. Geotheories were broad systematic attempts to scientifically explain Earth in its totality. They proved a barrier to the development of geology because of (1) their unrealistic scope, (2) unrealistic expectations, and (3) an unrealistic adherence to the hypothetico-deductive method of Newtonian physics, which in turn was related to serious misunderstandings of the limits of science and the nature of history. Numerous geotheories were published, each attempting to build a comprehensive explanation of Earth. By 1800, geotheory had fallen out of favor, replaced by inductive, limited, self-consciously historical investigations. Yet since geotheory reflects an innate drive in the human psyche for comprehensive understanding, it never really died. Our view of science and its disciplines is much different now, but facets of geotheory still exist—evolution being a secular example and grand “Flood models” a creationist manifestation.
Origin of Appalachian Geomorphology Part I: Erosion by Retreating Floodwater and the Formation of the Continental Margin
Michael J. Oard
The general geology and geomorphology of the Appalachians is summarized. Geological features and the subdued relief of the topography indicate up to 6.5 km of erosion. Erosion can also be estimated by the amount of sedimentary rocks on the offshore continental margin sourced from the west. Assuming that this erosion came from the Appalachians east of the divide, the amount of sediment matches the estimate based on coal rank fairly well. Erosion of the Appalachians and deposition of the continental margin can readily be explained by sheet flow early in the retreating stage of the Genesis Flood, as the land rose up and the continental margin subsided. This is a pattern seen worldwide and is inexplicable by uniformitarianism. This places the Flood/post-Flood boundary in the very late Cenozoic in this region.
The Little Ice Age in the North Atlantic Region Part II: Magnitude, Extent, and Importance of the Little Ice Age
Peter Klevberg, Michael J. Oard
Controversy has surrounded the term “Little Ice Age” since its inception in 1939. While some degree of cooling is acknowledged in the Northern Hemisphere in recent centuries, the magnitude, extent, and timing of the Little Ice Age remain controversial. A tendency to downplay both the Little Ice Age and the preceding Medieval Warm Period has accompanied the recent emphasis on climate change in general and global warming in particular. Secular scientists and diluvialists hold different assumptions about natural history, and employ different methodologies in paleoclimatology, resulting in different opinions about future climate change. While inferred past ice ages are entirely speculative, the Little Ice Age is constrained by historical data, providing a unique opportunity to evaluate natural history speculation. Although instrumental records are too brief to allow anything more than calibration of transfer functions for climatic proxy data, these proxy data are particularly good for the North Atlantic region, which also can provide useful geographic conditions for testing predictions of the rapid, postdiluvial ice age model. The first paper in this series provided background for the methods used to study climates of the past. This paper summarizes evidence for past climate change and provides a description of the study area.
Notes from the Panorama of Science
Reevaluation of Earth Age Using Hung’s Dating Model
The dispute on the age of Earth between scientists and Biblical theologians has continued for centuries. Currently, most scientists claim an age of 4.5 billion years (US Geological Survey, 1997; Dalrymple, 2001), whereas James Ussher, priest of the Anglican Church, calculated it to be 6014 years from the present (Ussher, 1650–1654). Intensive study made by the group Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth (RATE) concluded that the age of Earth should be thousands of years but not billions of years (DeYoung, 2005). The author’s recent publication pointed out that the traditional model, which geologists use in dating the age of minerals and rocks, contains serious theoretical deficiencies (Hung, 2004, 2008). As a result, the traditional model overestimates the age of minerals. These deficiencies were inevitable because of lack of computational technology and equipment when the traditional dating model was developed. The same article also presented Hung’s dating model, which was developed with sound theoretical bases, for dating the age of rocks and minerals. This paper applies Hung’s dating model to convert the age of Earth claimed by scientists to a more realistic age and presents the processes and results of the conversion. The converted age of Earth is expected to be