Does the Distribution of Coal Deposits
REFUTE the Vapor Canopy Theory ?
Does Plate Tectonics provide the Answer?"Prior to the Flood the greenhouse effect would have been amplified greatly. An amplified greenhouse effect would have not only caused the atmosphere to be warmer but would have tended to create a uniform temperature distribution from equator to poles." ref: THE SKY HAS FALLEN- IMPACT No. 128 February 1984 by Larry Vardiman, Ph.D. (http://www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-128.htm)
"The combination of warm temperature and adequate moisture everywhere would be conducive later to extensive stands of lush vegetation all over the world, with no barren deserts or ice caps." ref: The Genesis Record by Henry M. Morris, Baker Book House, June 1991, page 60.
"The genesis Flood removed vast amounts of living biomass" ... "organic material that now forms the earth's vast coal, oil and oil shale deposits. A conservative estimate for the pre-Flood biomass is 100 times that of today." ref: Impact #364, "Carbon Dating Undercuts Evolution's Long Ages" by John Baumgardner, October 2003. (http://www.icr.org/newsletters/impact/impactoct03.html)
We could then expect the pre-Flood biomass to total about 1851.7 x 10^9 tons times 100 or 185,170 x 10^9 tons and to be evenly distributed over the pre-Flood land surface.
COAL DEPOSITS AND RESERVES
"Although coal deposits exist in nearly every region of the world, commercially significant coal resources occur only in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Commercially significant coal deposits occur in sedimentary rock basins, typically sandwiched as layers called beds or seams between layers of sandstone and shale. When experts develop estimates of the world's coal supply, they distinguish between coal reserves and resources. Reserves are coal deposits that can be mined profitably with existing technology, or current equipment and methods. Resources are an estimate of the world's total coal deposits, regardless of whether the deposits are commercially accessible. Exploration geologists have found and mapped the world's most extensive coal beds. In 1997 world coal reserves were estimated to be 1.04 trillion metric tons, and world coal resources were estimated to be 9.98 trillion metric tons. These coal reserves are geographically distributed as follows: Europe, including all of Russia and the other countries that made up the Soviet Union, 44 percent; North America, 28 percent; Asia, 17 percent; Australia, 5 percent; Africa, 5 percent; and South America, 1 percent." "Coal," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Why then the very uneven distribution of the significant coal resources with 89 percent located in the northern hemisphere and only 11 percent in Australia, Africa and South America which have 40 percent of the land surface area and presumedly 40 percent of the pre-Flood biomass ?
On the other hand the secular scientific theories of coal formation and plate tectonics would seem to have an explanation.
"Coal is a sedimentary rock formed from plants that flourished millions of years ago when tropical swamps covered large areas of the world.
Coal formation began during the Carboniferous Period (known as the first coal age), which spanned 360 million to 290 million years before present. Coal formation continued throughout the Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary Periods (known collectively as the second coal age), which spanned 290 million to 1.6 million years before present. Coals formed during the first coal age are older, so they are generally located deeper in the earth's crust. The greater heat and pressures at these depths produces higher-grade coals such as anthracite and bituminous coals. Conversely, coals formed during the second coal age under less intense heat and pressure are generally located at shallower depths. Consequently, these coals tend to be lower-grade subbituminous and lignite coals." "Coal," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/anim10.htmlWe see that with the starting of the theorized coal formation periods large portions of Asia, Europe and North America were located in the tropics area of the globe and with Africa and South America starting out located in the southern region of the globe and slowly over time moving up into their present positions. Australia which has significant coal deposits, starts off in the tropics, moves down and then back up. Therefore, theoretically during the start of the coal formation ages the continents with the concentrations of coal resources had been located for extended times in the tropics regions especially during the Carboniferious Period.
Conclusion:
It would seem that to justify the theoretical pre-Flood canopy theory with the biomass evenly distributed over the global land surface, and that the coal deposits are due to the Flood, one must also have a reasonable theory for why the Flood resulted in the uneven distribution of coal deposits, with large areas of the world today devoid of significant coal deposits ! The secular scientists have proposed the plate tectonics movement theories which would seem to provide a suitable answer.See Appendix A for information on uncovered upright standing cypress trees that were rooted in a lignite coal seam in Hungary. "The trees were found on top of the lignite, capturing one of the last moments of these swamps,"
There are also many other reasons to discount the vapor canopy theories.
The following from Answers in Genesis at http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2009/09/25/feedback-collapse-canopy-model;"Currently, the pitfalls of the canopy model have grown to such an extent that most researchers have abandoned the model. For example, if a canopy existed and collapsed at the time of the Flood to supply the rainfall, the latent heat of condensation would have boiled the atmosphere! And a viable canopy would not have had enough water vapor in it to sustain 40 days and nights of torrential global rain."
See also: Fossil Forest on coal in Illinois !See also: Dinosaur Fooprint Casts on top of coal seams !
Appendix A
SCIENCE NEWS
July 31, 2007
Rare fossilized cypress trees found in Hungary
Instead of petrifying -- turning to stone -- the wood of 16 Taxodium trees was preserved in an open-cast coal mine allowing geologists to study samples as if they were sections cut from a piece of living wood.
"The importance of the findings is that so many trees got preserved in their original position in one place," Alfred Dulai, geologist at the Hungarian Natural History Museum said.
"But the real rarity about these trees is that ... their original wood got preserved ... they did not turn into stone."
The trees, which stand 4-6 meters tall and 1.5-3 meters in diameter, were found when miners started to remove a deep layer of sand at a mine in the north-eastern village of Bukkabrany to get at deposits of lignite.
The trees date back to the late Miocene geological period at a time when the Carpathian basin -- present day Hungary -- was a freshwater lake surrounded by swamps.
The trees were found on top of the lignite, capturing one of the last moments of these swamps, Dulai said.
vapor canopy theory vs plate tectonics and continental drift, the vapor canopy theories would seem to be deficient and the plate tectonics and continental drift theories for why coal is unequally distributed more satisfactory. The uneven distribution of coal deposits over the globe would seem to refute the vapor canopy/flood formation theory and favor the plate tectonics/tropic swamp formation theory. keys: vapor, canopy, vapor canopy theory, vapor canopy, global vapor canopy, world wide vapor canopy, pre-flood vapor canopy, vapor, canopy, vapor canopy, vapor canopy theoryThe Days of Genesis, the seven days of creation of the Biblical Genesis record are interpreted to be extended time periods and demonstrated by inspection of the ancient Biblical Hebrew text and interpretations provided by Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. vapor canopy vapor canopy vapor canopy theory coal deposit distribution flood coal formation theory
The Days of Genesis, the seven days of creation of the Biblical Genesis record are interpreted to be extended time periods and demonstrated by inspection of the ancient Biblical Hebrew text and interpretations provided by Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. vapor canopy vapor canopy vapor canopy theory coal deposit distribution flood coal formation theoryThe Days of Genesis, the seven days of creation of the Biblical Genesis record are interpreted to be extended time periods and demonstrated by inspection of the ancient Biblical Hebrew text and interpretations provided by Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. vapor canopy vapor canopy vapor canopy theory coal deposit distribution flood coal formation theory
