New Dinosaur Findings support Creation Science
by David M. Harris B.Sc.
For many years Creation Scientists have had opinions about what happened to the dinosaurs. Some of these opinions have not exactly matched the evolutionary ideas. At the annual symposium of the Geological Society of America recently evidence was presented supporting Creation ideas. They did not intend nor realise this when they presented the evidence.
Creation Theory of Dinosaur Extinction
How do creation scientists explain dinosaur extinction? Many creation scientists, including myself, ascribe to a theory related to the Great Flood of Noah. We feel there were great atmospheric changes at this time. So far as we can tell, before the flood there was a great canopy of water surrounding the Earth. Genesis 1:6 tells us: ‘And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse sky.’
So God put water under the sky, and above the sky. For this reason we believe there was a great quantity of water placed above the sky, or atmosphere. The question arises, How much water? If we consider the flood of Noah we find it lasted for about 375 days. Of that time there was a torrential downpour for forty days. A very heavy rainfall today would be about 15 cm (6 inches) in one day. Let us assume the time of Noah saw a rainfall of 30 cm (one foot) in one day. This would mean a total of 12 metres (40 feet) of water.
Where Was All This Water Stored?
As we go up in altitude, such as climbing a mountain, the temperature drops. At a certain height, currently 30-50 km (20-30 miles)
Altitude vs Air Temperature, showing Water Boiling Temperature
the temperature starts to go up again until it climbs above the boiling point of water. At this altitude the boiling point of water is about 25 Celsius, (75º Fahrenheit). When we go higher still the temperature drops once again. If we put liquid water at this height it will remain as liquid water. If it falls to Earth, it will heat up, evaporate, then return to the higher altitude.
Plesiosaur © Corel Draw
With all this weight of liquid water above the atmosphere the air will be compressed. It may reach a pressure about twice that seen today. We know that today humans need about one twelfth of a lung to live when healthy, and more when we get sick. Some creatures need a lot more, particularly reptiles.
Lung Usage and the Flood
Illustration of minimum required healthy lung usage
Some reptiles need more than one full lung to live, and they wheeze when they get very sick. Before the flood humans would have needed 1/24 of a lung to live. The reptiles I mentioned would need one half to three quarters of a lung.
Before the Flood
Human Lung 1/24 Used before the Flood
Reptile Lung 3/4 Used before the Flood
Dinosaur Lung one full lung Used before the Flood
After the Flood
CaptionHuman Lung 1/12 Used after the Flood
Reptile Lung 1 1/2 Used after the Flood
Dinosaur Lung two full lungs Used after the Flood
Creature
Humans
Reptiles
Dinosaurs
The End of the Dinosaurs
If there were creatures that needed one full lung to live they would need two complete lungs when they were healthy after the flood. If they became sick they would suffocate. Many creation scientists believe that this is what did happen.
Another benefit of an atmosphere twice the pressure of today is that it would be easier to fly. There are some flying reptiles that are obviously built for flight, but scientists cannot understand how they could fly, in the present-day atmosphere. In an atmosphere twice as dense as today’s they would have found it quite possible to fly.
New Secular Theory of Dinosaur Extinction
On Wednesday 27th October 1993, in Boston, U.S.A. the Geological Society of America held a symposium. One of the theories put forward by a team of government scientists related to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The most popular theory held by evolutionary scientists states that the dinosaurs probably died out when a large asteroid crashed to Earth 65 million years ago. The exact result of this crash varies with the theory, but the idea was that it so changed the environment that the dinosaurs could not live in the new world.
The government group explained the result of their research indicates the dinosaurs did not die out due to this asteroid. They state the new evidence shows the atmosphere had much more oxygen in it at the time of the dinosaurs. According to their new proposal the oxygen level suddenly dropped at the time of great volcanic activity. This is exactly what creation scientists have been saying for years!
Does This Match the Creation View?
There are some differences, with the creation view, however. Their theory proposed that the oxygen level was about 35% of the air content, compared with 21% today. That causes some unfortunate side-effects. Increasing or decreasing the oxygen percentage substantially, on a long-term basis, causes unconsciousness, intoxication, hallucinations, and even death. Just imagine a world with drunken diplodoci, stoned stegosauri, and tipsy T. Rexes!?!
A far better explanation would be if the atmospheric pressure were greater than today’s level, increasing the oxygen content without changing the ratio.
Conclusions
From this research we see that creation science can propose a scientific theory, and then evidence can be found to substantiate it. This is known as falsification, and is a valuable aspect of the scientific method. Creation science is real science, often at its best.
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The Author
David M. Harris, B.Sc., the author of this article, graduated from Manchester University, England with an honours degree in Physics. He has given presentations many times on dinosaurs and other topics to various groups in the U.K., Canada and the U.S.A. These include home school, public school, private school, social clubs, church, youth, jail, birthday parties, and neighbourhood groups as well as radio and television. He is chairman of the Creation Discovery Project. To contact him or for further information write or call:
Prof David M Harris
33 Mandale Road
Fallings Park
Wolverhampton, UK WV10 9RR
Phone +44 (0)1902 864-854
e-mail: cdp- david @ harris-clan.org
(please remove spaces from e-mail address before sending your message)
©1993 David M. Harris B.Sc. Dinosaur Breath
