Varves can form in less than a year (Talk.Origins)

Claim CD241:


 * Varves (layers of silt that show seasonal differences) do not necessarily form annually. Individual varves can form in less than a year. Thus claims that 10,000 varve layers represent 10,000 years are unwarranted.

Source: Garner, Paul, 1997. Green River blues. Creation 19(3) (June-Aug.): 18-19.

CreationWiki response:

Please take note that Isaak doesn't actually attack the claim varves that can form in less then a year. He merely cites arguments that attempt to show the CERTAIN varve formations formed slowly and he provides no argument against the actual idea. In addition, Isaak's good friend Kevin Henke admits that varves can be laid down quickly(but he instead cites arguments like those made here).



The raw data is that pollen is found mainly in the upper parts of the dark layers and twice as  many diatoms are found in in the light layers as are found  in the dark layers. This is interpreted as seasonal variation. However within Flood geology the answer is that this pattern is produced by the same hydrological sorting that formed the alternating layers. Furthermore experiments with diatomite show that the same patterns are produced regardless of sedimentation rates. Talk.Origins' claim is basically, your theory does not work under my theory, so your theory must be wrong.

Actually, both moving water and liquefied material (like concrete) can form many layers simultaneously. Furthermore fine liquefied material can produce even thin layers quickly.

See also: Green River, Varves

References:
 * ‘Green River blues’ raises red flag …
 * [www.sciencevsevolution.org/Berthault.htm Major stages of the laboratory research: 1. Lamination]

This is not quite true. First of all, both the varves and tree rings are used to calibrate carbon-14 so as such they are not independent confirmation of each other. Second, there is a systematic error, where carbon-14 tends to suggest a younger date than indicated by varves and tree ring counts. When they are normalized for original carbon-14 content, the uniformitarian model would require a loss of atmospheric carbon-14 of 550 % of the current value over the past 30,000 years. This trend goes away completely when other varves are included. Actually the evidence is more consistent with a rapid post Flood increase in carbon-14 and the observed patterns are actually predicted by it.

References:
 * National Geographic magazine joins the dating game
 * 

That only shows that many of varves in the geologic record were formed by liquefied material (like concrete) rather than storms. Liquefied material can produce many uniform layers in a short period of time. This is just another example of the fact that Talk.Origins can not think outside the uniformitarian box.