How could all the water needed for the flood in Genesis 7:11 have been sourced? Scriptural Synopsis of Genesis 7:11 “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.” (Genesis 7:11) The text explicitly assigns two primary sources: (1) subterranean (“fountains of the great deep”) and (2) atmospheric (“windows of the heavens”). Present Ocean Volume Already Sufficient If Earth’s surface were leveled so that mountains and ocean basins equilibrated, today’s oceans would submerge the planet under c. 2.7 km of water—far deeper than the 15 cubits (~7 m) required to cover the pre-Flood “high mountains” (Genesis 7:19–20). Thus, no net additional water is strictly necessary; redistributing existing water, combined with lower pre-Flood topography, satisfies the biblical description. Lower Pre-Flood Topography, Higher Post-Flood Orogeny 1. Pre-Flood terrain likely lacked the present extreme mountain heights. 2. During and immediately after the Flood, tectonic compression and catastrophic plate movements rapidly uplifted mountain chains (Psalm 104:8, “the mountains rose; the valleys sank…”). 3. Simultaneous seafloor down-warping increased basin capacity, allowing Flood waters to drain off emerging continents. “Fountains of the Great Deep”: Subterranean Reservoirs • Deep crustal aquifers: Modern boreholes (e.g., the Kola Superdeep, Russia) encountered pressurized saline water at >10 km. • Mantle water: Ringwoodite inclusions in diamonds (~660 km depth) reveal 1–3 % H₂O capacity, representing multiple ocean volumes (Pearson et al., Science, 2014). • Mid-ocean ridges and serpentinized mantle contain vast bound water, released when slabs heat during rapid subduction. • Hydrothermal vent flux today cycles the oceans every 10 Ma; an accelerated event would discharge continental-scale volumes in days to weeks. Atmospheric “Windows”: Condensed Vapor and Hyper-Storms • A water-vapor canopy or super-saturated troposphere, sustained by a uniformly warm pre-Flood climate, could collapse when triggered by volcanic aerosols (“dust of the air”) and temperature drops, yielding global torrential rainfall for “forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:12). • Explosive eruptions inject water vapor to stratospheric levels; synchronized worldwide volcanism (evidenced by Flood-wide tuff layers) would transfer magma-derived water to the atmosphere on a catastrophic scale. Catastrophic Plate Tectonics Model Numerical mantle-plume simulations show runaway subduction possible when cold pre-Flood oceanic plates sink rapidly (Baumgardner, International Conference on Creationism 1994). The model predicts: 1. Massive mantle-derived water release along 60 000 km of spreading centers. 2. Meter-per-second vertical tectonics causing continent-scale tsunamis. 3. Post-event isostatic rebound uplifting new mountains and opening deepened basins to receive retreating water. Hydroplate Model Corollaries The crustal “pillars” that formerly restrained a subterranean ocean (~ 600 m depth) fractured, producing: • Super-sonic water jets through linear rifts (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) ejecting water and rock that became comets/asteroids. • Global torrential rain as ejected super-cooled water condensed. • Continental sprint: hydroplate lubrication facilitated rapid horizontal movement, explaining compression-fold mountains and over-thrust faulting. Geological Corroborations • Marine fossils atop the Himalayas, Andes, and Alps attest to oceanic inundation and uplift. • Planar sedimentary megasequences blanket entire continents, extending across current ocean basins (e.g., Sauk, Tippecanoe), consistent with a single global transgression. • Polystrate tree trunks piercing multiple coal seams (Joggins, Nova Scotia) require rapid burial by successive watery deposits. • Gigantic water-laid cross-beds (Coconino Sandstone, AZ) reflect aqueous rather than aeolian conditions, per angle-of-repose and grain-frosting analyses. Modern Analogues of Subterranean Water Release • The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake forced 30 million m³ of water from sub-seafloor clay into the ocean in minutes (Fulton et al., Nature 2013). • Deep-earth aquifers under the Tibetan Plateau release 1–2 km³/yr through hydrothermal springs—tiny reminders of what Genesis describes on a planetary level. Global Flood Traditions and Historical Witness Hundreds of cultures—from the Mesopotamian Atrahasis tablet to Meso-American Coxcox legends—record a cataclysmic deluge, often naming eight survivors and a vessel. Such wide convergence supports a real, collective memory of the events Noah’s record preserves. Theological Implications: Judgment and Mercy The Flood displays God’s holiness in judging pervasive evil (Genesis 6:5-7) and His grace in providing an ark of salvation—foreshadowing Christ (1 Peter 3:20-21). The same Lord who “shut him in” (Genesis 7:16) invites all to enter the ultimate refuge through the risen Savior. Summary Answer The water arose from (1) subterranean reservoirs explosively released along global rifts, (2) massive atmospheric precipitation triggered by tectonic and volcanic upheaval, and (3) redistribution of existing oceans enhanced by rapid topographical change. Geological, hydrological, and historical data align with the Genesis record, confirming that the Creator possessed—and deployed—all necessary water to accomplish the worldwide Flood exactly as written. |
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