Ice Age, Climate Change, and the Genesis Flood
Over 30 years ago, retired National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Oard created a creation-based Ice Age model. This model explains the Ice Age and mysteries like the woolly mammoth extinction. Geological evidence supports only one Ice Age, shortly after the Flood.
During the Flood, massive plate tectonics caused magma to erupt at mid-ocean ridges, creating a new seafloor. This heat warmed the oceans, leading to evaporation and snowfall at higher latitudes. Volcanic eruptions released particles into the air, reflecting sunlight and causing cooler summers. Over time, thick ice sheets formed.
Here are the basics of a creation-based Ice Age:
- Summers must be colder to keep winter snow and ice from melting. - These colder summers must last many years to allow snow and ice to build up. - Winter snowfall must be heavy to prevent melting, even during colder summers.
The Genesis Flood caused rapid seafloor spreading and intense ocean warming. The heat from the new seafloor and the waters from the “fountains of the great deep” warmed the oceans.
The Flood’s upheaval mixed the waters, warming them at all depths and latitudes. This caused more evaporation, moisture in the air, and rain. Snowfall also happens at higher latitudes and in mountains.
Atmospheric scientists Dr. Larry Vardiman and Dr. Wes Brewer used computer programs to estimate snowfall. They simulated warmer sea surface temperatures and found intense snowfall, as expected.
Volcanoes played a crucial role in Earth’s summer cooling. Creation and secular scientists agree that Earth’s past was much more volcanically active than today. Secular scientists believe these eruptions occurred over millions of years, while creationists suggest they happened during and after the Flood, particularly towards the end.
Volcanoes can cause explosive eruptions, especially near the ocean floor. These eruptions release sulfur-rich gases into the air. These gases react with other air components, forming tiny sulfuric acid droplets. These droplets can contribute to cloud formation and rainfall.
Acid and sulfuric acid salts form aerosols that reflect sunlight into space. They stay in the stratosphere for about two to three years. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 and other recent eruptions show this effect. They caused a slight cooling due to reduced sunlight.
But what if multiple significant eruptions happened at the same time?
This concept has potential, but there is something to consider. Colder winters are a problem for explaining an Ice Age because they reduce snowfall due to drier air. But giant explosive volcanoes can cool the summer without causing colder winters. We’ve seen this in the 20th century.
In short, these eruptions cooled the summer but not the winter. Volcanoes might help explain an Ice Age, but there’s another issue. The aerosols stay in the stratosphere for only a few years, so they don’t last long enough to cause significant cooling. The summer cooling for an Ice Age requires significant eruptions over many years.
The Genesis Flood provides these eruptions. After the Flood, there were occasional volcanic eruptions for several years, which gradually got weaker. These post-Flood eruptions released aerosols into the stratosphere, keeping summers cooler.
The oceans heated, causing more evaporation and snowfall. Volcanic eruptions sent aerosols into the air, cooling summers and preventing snow and ice from melting, which led to thick ice sheets.
How much ice?
Some scientists think the Earth was frozen long ago (like a giant snowball), but there’s not much proof—snow and ice cover about 10% of the Earth’s land. Creationists say the most recent Ice Age covered about 30%, but scientists who don’t believe in creation say that’s false. Many parts of the world stayed ice-free, especially in the lower latitudes. Glaciers didn’t even reach the Middle East, where most of the Bible happened. It might have rained more there, so some parts of the Middle East are described as “well watered” and “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Usually, scientists think that thick ice sheets in North America and Europe grew over millions of years. But there’s evidence that the ice sheets in the Laurentide, Scandinavian, and British-Irish regions were actually pretty thin. The Flood/Ice Age model says the ice sheets were thinner.
The average ice thickness in the Northern Hemisphere was around 700 meters, while in the Southern Hemisphere (mostly Antarctica), it was about 1,200 meters.
The Ice Age ended when the oceans got colder and volcanic activity slowed down. Michael Oard thinks the Ice Age after the Flood lasted about 700 years, with 500 years spent growing the ice sheets and another 200 years melting them.
The Ice Age wasn’t as long as scientists say, not tens of thousands of years.
There’s also evidence of super-intense volcanic activity during the Ice Age that supports this idea.
Have you ever wondered how the massive ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica formed? Scientists have drilled and pulled long cores from these ice sheets, some even reaching the rock underneath!
The Flood/Ice Age model posits that these ice sheets were formed as a result of volcanic activity. And guess what? The Ice Age parts of these ice cores show evidence of hundreds of significant volcanic eruptions that affected the global climate.
However, it is important to note that these age estimates are significantly overestimated. Even if there were hundreds of massive volcanic eruptions over 100,000 years, they wouldn’t have had a big enough cooling effect to explain the Ice Age.
So, what if the Ice Age part of this core is just a few hundred years old, like creationists believe? That could mean those eruptions made summers cooler after the Flood.
At present, the age of the Earth holds significant importance. Many Christians are a bit embarrassed about the idea of recent creation, but here’s the thing: the Bible’s short timeline might solve the mystery of the Ice Age.
Creation and secular scientists agree that volcanic activity during that time caused cooler summers. However, uniformitarian scientists disagree because millions of years between eruptions cancel out any cooling effect. Volcanic cooling can only explain an Ice Age if eruptions happen close together.
During the Flood, massive plate tectonics caused magma to erupt at mid-ocean ridges, creating a new seafloor. This heat warmed the oceans, leading to evaporation and snowfall at higher latitudes. Volcanic eruptions released particles into the air, reflecting sunlight and causing cooler summers. Over time, thick ice sheets formed.
Here are the basics of a creation-based Ice Age:
- Summers must be colder to keep winter snow and ice from melting. - These colder summers must last many years to allow snow and ice to build up. - Winter snowfall must be heavy to prevent melting, even during colder summers.
The Genesis Flood caused rapid seafloor spreading and intense ocean warming. The heat from the new seafloor and the waters from the “fountains of the great deep” warmed the oceans.
The Flood’s upheaval mixed the waters, warming them at all depths and latitudes. This caused more evaporation, moisture in the air, and rain. Snowfall also happens at higher latitudes and in mountains.
Atmospheric scientists Dr. Larry Vardiman and Dr. Wes Brewer used computer programs to estimate snowfall. They simulated warmer sea surface temperatures and found intense snowfall, as expected.
Volcanoes played a crucial role in Earth’s summer cooling. Creation and secular scientists agree that Earth’s past was much more volcanically active than today. Secular scientists believe these eruptions occurred over millions of years, while creationists suggest they happened during and after the Flood, particularly towards the end.
Volcanoes can cause explosive eruptions, especially near the ocean floor. These eruptions release sulfur-rich gases into the air. These gases react with other air components, forming tiny sulfuric acid droplets. These droplets can contribute to cloud formation and rainfall.
Acid and sulfuric acid salts form aerosols that reflect sunlight into space. They stay in the stratosphere for about two to three years. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 and other recent eruptions show this effect. They caused a slight cooling due to reduced sunlight.
But what if multiple significant eruptions happened at the same time?
This concept has potential, but there is something to consider. Colder winters are a problem for explaining an Ice Age because they reduce snowfall due to drier air. But giant explosive volcanoes can cool the summer without causing colder winters. We’ve seen this in the 20th century.
In short, these eruptions cooled the summer but not the winter. Volcanoes might help explain an Ice Age, but there’s another issue. The aerosols stay in the stratosphere for only a few years, so they don’t last long enough to cause significant cooling. The summer cooling for an Ice Age requires significant eruptions over many years.
The Genesis Flood provides these eruptions. After the Flood, there were occasional volcanic eruptions for several years, which gradually got weaker. These post-Flood eruptions released aerosols into the stratosphere, keeping summers cooler.
The oceans heated, causing more evaporation and snowfall. Volcanic eruptions sent aerosols into the air, cooling summers and preventing snow and ice from melting, which led to thick ice sheets.
How much ice?
Some scientists think the Earth was frozen long ago (like a giant snowball), but there’s not much proof—snow and ice cover about 10% of the Earth’s land. Creationists say the most recent Ice Age covered about 30%, but scientists who don’t believe in creation say that’s false. Many parts of the world stayed ice-free, especially in the lower latitudes. Glaciers didn’t even reach the Middle East, where most of the Bible happened. It might have rained more there, so some parts of the Middle East are described as “well watered” and “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Usually, scientists think that thick ice sheets in North America and Europe grew over millions of years. But there’s evidence that the ice sheets in the Laurentide, Scandinavian, and British-Irish regions were actually pretty thin. The Flood/Ice Age model says the ice sheets were thinner.
The average ice thickness in the Northern Hemisphere was around 700 meters, while in the Southern Hemisphere (mostly Antarctica), it was about 1,200 meters.
The Ice Age ended when the oceans got colder and volcanic activity slowed down. Michael Oard thinks the Ice Age after the Flood lasted about 700 years, with 500 years spent growing the ice sheets and another 200 years melting them.
The Ice Age wasn’t as long as scientists say, not tens of thousands of years.
There’s also evidence of super-intense volcanic activity during the Ice Age that supports this idea.
Have you ever wondered how the massive ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica formed? Scientists have drilled and pulled long cores from these ice sheets, some even reaching the rock underneath!
The Flood/Ice Age model posits that these ice sheets were formed as a result of volcanic activity. And guess what? The Ice Age parts of these ice cores show evidence of hundreds of significant volcanic eruptions that affected the global climate.
However, it is important to note that these age estimates are significantly overestimated. Even if there were hundreds of massive volcanic eruptions over 100,000 years, they wouldn’t have had a big enough cooling effect to explain the Ice Age.
So, what if the Ice Age part of this core is just a few hundred years old, like creationists believe? That could mean those eruptions made summers cooler after the Flood.
At present, the age of the Earth holds significant importance. Many Christians are a bit embarrassed about the idea of recent creation, but here’s the thing: the Bible’s short timeline might solve the mystery of the Ice Age.
Creation and secular scientists agree that volcanic activity during that time caused cooler summers. However, uniformitarian scientists disagree because millions of years between eruptions cancel out any cooling effect. Volcanic cooling can only explain an Ice Age if eruptions happen close together.
This paper was adapted from the book,
"The Ice Age and Climate Change - A Creation Perspective"
by Jake Hebert.
If you would like documentation on this paper, feel free to email me at Benjammin@BenjamminRadio.com.