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I f rifting in the North American Midcontinent reflects early Flood processes, then defining the thickness and distribution of the total diluvial record requires mapping the base of these rifts. Using publicly available data, we created a 3D map of the base of the largest, the Midcontinent Rift. Combined with similar maps of the East Continent Basin, the Reelfoot Rift-Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough, we propose a basal diluvial boundary for the upper Midcontinent Region. The scale of the rifting is seen in the volume of fill; rift fill comprises well more than half of the total diluvial volume. Despite significant erosion, the rifts remain as stunning reminders of crustal disruption at the onset of the Flood, revealing significant geological activity-structural, erosional, volcanic, intrusive, and depositional-before the transgressive marine front of the Flood. Using these maps, quantitative estimates of all of the Flood and Ice Age rock records can be estimated, providing a solid basis for forensic interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maps of diluvial boundaries for the North American midcontinent are presented by state and by sedimentary basin. The upper diluvial boundary is the base of Ice Age sediments. For most of the study area, the basal diluvial boundary is the erosional unconformity between Precambrian crystalline rock and the Phanerozoic sedimentary record. The exceptions are Proterozoic to Cambrian rifts: the Midcontinent, East Continent, Fort Wayne, Reelfoot, Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough rifts. These are remnants of severe crustal disruption at the onset of the Flood, with varying ratios of volcanic and sedimentary fill. This paper focuses on the basal marine diluvial boundary and the upper diluvial boundary, excluding the rifts, showing the volume and distribution of sediments of the Ice Age. Deep Proterozoic rifts will be addressed in Part II. Detailed state maps of the basal diluvial boundary are shown in the appendix. Maps of the study area reveal cratonic basins of varying size, show a thickening of diluvial strata toward the south, and show the extent of Ice Age deposition. All these aid in understanding the work of the Flood in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--Red grouper (Epinephelus morio) modify their habitat by excavating sediment to expose rocky pits, providing structurally complex habitat for many fish species. Surveys conducted with remotely operated vehicles from 2012 [...]

A comprehensive Flood model requires an appraisal of the rock record. At the global scale, knowing the global volume and distribution of such rock is an important first step. This requires significant mapping and quantifying of rock volume, which in turn requires determining basal and upper diluvial boundaries for each location. An important question in determining basal boundaries is how to address Precambrian sedimentary and volcanic rocks. We present strategies for evaluating such rocks vis a vis the Genesis Flood, concluding that many such rocks should be considered diluvial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Noahic Flood deposited and emplaced a significant amount of sedimentary and volcanic rock on the continents. Much of it remains despite appreciable Recessional Stage erosion. How much? We answer using a method in Colorado as a pilot for many other locations. The principle is simple: creating grids of the basal and upper diluvial boundaries, then subtracting the lower from the upper. In Colorado, we chose the top of the Precambrian crystalline surface as our basal boundary and digitized a Colorado Geological Survey map into a Geographic Information System (GIS). NOAA's ETOPO1 Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of surface topography was selected as the upper boundary. Small volumes of Precambrian sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks and most of the San Juan and Thirty-Nine Mile volcanic fields were not included in the final calculation, and minor postdiluvial sediments were ignored. The total Flood rock record in Colorado totals more than one-half million cubic kilometers, predominantly in six sedimentary basins. Our method allows recalculation for revised or alternate boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global sedimentary thickness (isopach) maps show their distribution on continents and in oceans. Underlying numbers provide volume and average thickness estimates. Of particular interest are thick accumulations on continental margins. For some diluvialists, they represent deposition during the Recessive Stage of the Flood, reinforcing a high post-Flood boundary. A Flood Regression Model proposes that the post-Flood boundary is a time-transgressive geomorphological boundary that links upstream erosion to downstream transport and deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--A portion of the Oculina Bank located off eastern Florida is a marine protected area (MPA) preserved for its dense populations of the ivory tree coral (Oculina varicosa), which provides [...]

Confidence in forensic natural history increases when data are simple, observable, and complete. Larger scale often helps. For continental sedimentary rock and marine sediments, the best combination of these factors would be found in assessing their global volume and distribution. Geologists developed estimates long ago, but only in recent decades have database and mapping technology combined to allow reasonably accurate global maps of continental and marine sediment. Just recently, a good estimate of the volume and average thickness of the ocean sediments became available through the GlobSed project. The volume and thickness of the continental sediments is more difficult to describe for several reasons; defining the continent-ocean boundary is one. Defining Precambrian sedimentary basins and their relationship to the Genesis Flood adds uncertainty, but the goal of defining the global distribution of Flood sediments is worth pursuing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclostratigraphy is a popular method that promises much more precise dates than biostratigraphy or radioisotope dating. Originally, it was pioneered to date Pleistocene glacial/interglacial intervals, but its reach has been steadily extended back through the Cenozoic and into earlier eras using sedimentary cycles. Unfortunately, enthusiasm for its potential has blinded geologists to its problems. Six problems are addressed, revealing the influence of subjective factors not commonly noticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclostratigraphy claims to rely on an accurate astronomical time scale and further on a clear imprint it supposedly makes on the sedimentary record. Grounded upon the Milankovitch theory, geologists first sought to apply this method to develop a timescale for Quaternary glacial/interglacial oscillations. But there are several glaring unresolved problems with this approach. Although solar radiation measurements at high latitude appear to lend support to the mechanism, the data are carefully selected, typically restricted to the summer solstice or the months of June or July. By contrast, the larger dataset for the warm half-year for the whole hemisphere shows the Milankovitch effect is very small. Moreover, geologists believe glacial episodes over the past 900,000 years have been controlled by the 100,000-year eccentricity cycle, but that cycle has a very small effect relative to other cycles. Further, glacial cycles should be out of phase between the hemispheres, yet they are not. Finally, proponents rely on correlation between Milankovitch cycles and deep-sea cores, but these appear to be the result of circular reasoning and the reinforcement syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deep-water sponge of the genus Spongosorites has yielded a bis-indole alkaloid which we have named dragmacidin G. Dragmacidin G was first reported by us in the patent literature and has recently been reported by Hitora et al. from a sponge of the genus Lipastrotheya. Dragmacidin G is the first in this series of compounds to have a pyrazine ring linking the two indole rings. It also has a rare N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-guanidine side chain. Dragmacidin G shows a broad spectrum of biological activity including inhibition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Plasmodium falciparum, and a panel of pancreatic cancer cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part I of this series described the modern stratigraphic method of cyclostratigraphy, which is linked to astrochronology. The latter uses properties of Earth's orbital mechanics to develop an absolute chronometer back through time. Cyclostratigraphy uses properties of sedimentary rocks as proxies for these orbital cycles to connect the astronomical "clock" to the sedimentary record. In this part of the series, we trace the historical development of these methods, their increasing influence on the geologic timescale, and the implications for a more gradualistic view of uniformitarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stratigraphy has undergone dramatic changes. From a simple timescale resting on paleontology and relatively few and less precise radiometric dates, it has become an integrated, sophisticated discipline built around a timescale that is increasingly complex and supported by new and equally complex methods. Creationists must understand and address these changes, especially those changes in the methods. This series will focus on one of the newer methods: cyclostratigraphy and its associated astrochronology. Cyclostratigraphy links various properties of sedimentary rocks to an astronomical "clock" based on the extrapolation of orbital mechanics into the past. This clock sends a signal of varying sunlight to Earth, manifested as "Milankovitch cycles," that are thought to force climate change sufficient to be recorded in sedimentary rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chattahoochee Anticline, Gordon Anticline, and Decatur Arch are three subsurface structural features identified on the southeastern Gulf Coastal Plain by geologists in the 20th century. The Chattahoochee Anticline was first identified in 1911 as a southward plunging structure extending along the Chattahoochee River from south of Columbus, Georgia, to the juncture of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Later, Hager (1918) described the Gordon Anticline as a small feature along the river near Gordon, Alabama. In 1947, Pressler dismissed the Chattahoochee Anticline but identified a similarly trending feature, the Decatur Arch, to the east and further south but parallel to the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers. Evidence in support of these structural features, such as basement uplift, subsurface faulting, sediment compaction, or one or more subsurface diapirs, remains elusive. This study examines existing basement maps, subsurface cross sections, and geophysical data across the southeastern Coastal Plain. We construct a new basement map and cross sections to test the location and orientation of reported structural features. Our analysis reveals no evidence that supports the existence of the Chattahoochee Anticline, Gordon Anticline, or Decatur Arch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]