Hydroplate theory
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
The hydroplate theory is a relatively new model of Earth history put forth by Dr. Walt Brown in his book In the Beginning. The theory attempts to reduce the following seemingly different phenomena into a single cause: the sudden rupturing of subterranean chambers of water which were once within the Earth's crust.
- Sudden destruction of most of the life on Earth;
- Massive changes in land morphology, including mountain formation;
- Continental drift;
- Unusual geologic features, such as salt domes, limestone cliffs, canyons, and others;
- Mid-oceanic ridges and trenches;
- Comets, meteorites, and asteroids;
- And he addresses the source and destination of water for a global flood.
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The Earth and the Hydroplate Theory
It was the rupturing of this shell which caused the destruction of all surface features on planet Earth, in an event described in Genesis 7:11.
| “ | About half the water now in the oceans was once in interconnected chambers about 10 miles below the earth's surface. Excluding the solid structure of the interconnected chambers, the subterranean water, containing a large amount of dissolved salt and carbon dioxide, would have approximated a thin, spherical shell, about 3/4 of a mile in thickness. Above the subterranean water was a granite crust; beneath the water was a layer of basaltic rock. (In the Beginning, 7th Edition, p 99) | ” |
The bursting forth caused powerful jets of water, which after shooting above the atmosphere returned to the surface in torrential rains. It contained a mixture of water and rock chunks propelled by a hydraulic 'hammer' action, actually expanding gasses which managed to escape Earth's gravity. Eventually these either regrouped by their own gravity, became captured by other objects, or otherwise drifted in space as asteroids, meteors, comets, or planetary ring systems.
11In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. Genesis 7:11 (NASB)
The initial crack wherein the waters escaped elongated to a rift encircling the entire Earth, and widened to become the mid-oceanic ridge. In particular, the land which split along the crack that was to become the Mid Atlantic Ridge separated into the East coast of North/South America, and the West coast of Europe/Africa. As the rapidly moving continental masses (the hydroplates) separated, they eventually encountered resistance, wherein they buckled and formed huge mountain ranges. This is why the major mountain ranges run parallel to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
| “ | Naturally, the long axis of each buckled mountain was generally perpendicular to its hydroplate's motion or parallel to the portion of the Mid-Oceanic Ridge from which it slid. So, the Rocky Mountains, Appalachians, and Andes have a north-south orientation. (In the Beginning, 7th Edition, p 104) | ” |
The effect on the other side of the world was to form depressions:
| “ | As the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Atlantic floor rose, mass had to shift within the earth toward the Atlantic. Subsidence occurred on the opposite side of the earth, especially in the western Pacific where granite plates buckled downward, forming trenches. (In the Beginning, 7th Edition, p 105) | ” |
This smooth separation of the continents and sudden thrust upward of the major mountain ranges seem to fit the natural evidence precisely. Other, more complex movements and distortions, such as those proposed by Bullard and the more recent plate tectonics theories are not as elegant. The Hydroplate Theory fits much evidence for many other physical features and does so without 'stretching' its original proposal; they follow as a natural consequence of the theory.
It should also be noted that besides making observations about evidence, the Hydroplate Theory also makes predictions about features which should be discovered if it were true. Some of these have been fulfilled since the time in which they were originally made.
The text and pictures of the entire book which actually lays out the case for Hydroplate Theory in full detail is available free online for further reading. [1]
Criticisms
The rocks that make up the earth's crust do not float
The rocks were not floating on the subterranean water like a boat; rather the water was in a sealed chamber. Water or even air in a sealed chamber will support a large amount of weight, that would other wise sink through it. It would be more like a water bed than a boat. Furthermore, Brown was clear that "About half the water now in the oceans was once in interconnected chambers about 10 miles below the earth’s surface."
At a depth of 10 miles the temperature would be to high
Being at 10 miles the temperature would be so high that when released the water would have fried the Earth. This assumes current conditions, on the pre Flood world. It is likely that the current levels of heat inside the Earth were generated by the events of the Flood; furthermore the vaporization that would occur during the eruption due to decompression would have cooled it as well; hence the water would not have been too hot.
The eroding of the sides of the fissures
The eroding of the sides of the fissures, by the escaping water would have produced poorly sorted basaltic deposits, that have never been seen. There is no basis for this claim. The following factors show that it is erroneous:
- The subterranean water would have eroded mainly granite not basalt.
- The force behind the eruption would pulverize what was eroded so the particles of such deposits, would be removed and resorted by the Flood waters.
Hydroplates have no place to slide before running into each other
By the time the Atlantic floor buckled the fissures would have been eroded to at least 400 miles on both sides, and the same thing would have been occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Thus the plates would have had at least 400 miles to slide before they could have run into each other. Furthermore as they moved the plates would have been eroded further, particularly on the Pacific side as the motion closed the gap.
The hydroplates were supposed to be 10 miles thick
The continental crust averages about 22 miles thick. To reach the current thickness requires the hydroplates to double in thickness and there is no way for this to have happened.
This objection ignores the basalt under the hydroplates. While the basalt of the ocean floor is only about four miles thick, it has been stretched, and as a result the basalt under the hydroplates could be as much as seven to ten miles thick. There is no problem for the hydroplates thickening during the braking process by one or two miles. So if one adds another two to four miles of sediment on top of the hydroplates, the current 22 mile average thickness of the continental crust is not a problem.
Related References
- In the Beginning by Walt Brown
- Hydroplate Theory 5 minute movie by Walt Brown
- Flood models: the need for an integrated approach by by A.C. McIntosh, T. Edmondson & S. Taylor. Technical Journal 14(1):52–59 April 2000
- The Global Flood as You've Never Seen It by By Michael F. Haverluck for CBNNews.com
- Foundation for Creation Doctrine
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