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Noah, the Flood, and Scientific Evidence
Disagreement Between the Biblical Information Regarding the Noah's Flood and
Scientific Evidence
Ruy Miranda (He is not a religious person)
 Bible Quotes Science Info
Scientific Evidences
There is disagreement between
the biblical information regarding the Flood, as
narrated in the Book of Genesis, and the scientific evidence, and
technical data available today. This disagreement lies in
the volume of water involved in the process.
As stated in the biblical text, it rained for forty days and forty nights
and the earth was completed covered by water, including the mountains.
According to data obtained by measuring the amount of water suspended in
the atmosphere and the area that this water could cover, it is impossible
for the water originating from this rain to cover even 1 (one) meter of
the entire surface of the planet.
Noah and the Flood
Prior Events
God decided to destroy mankind and the other
animals that inhabited the earth. However, He spared Noah, his family,
and representatives of each animal species. He then instructed Noah to
build an ark that would keep them all alive during the deluge.
When Noah, his family, and the animals had entered the ark, it began to
rain.
Book of Genesis, chapter 7:
And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the
earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the
ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed
exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole
heaven were covered.
The question set forth is this: was there enough suspended water in the
atmosphere to cover the mountains? Evidence points to a negative response.
Water in the Atmosphere and Water on the Earth
What would have happened had all of the existent
water in the atmosphere fallen during those forty days and forty nights?
Calculations indicate that there is approximately 0.013 x 1015 m3 of water in the
planet's atmosphere. This corresponds to approximately 13 x 1018cm3 of
water. Now the questions looks like this: What would have happened if,
during forty days and forty nights, 13 x 1018cm3 of water had fallen in
the form of rain?
To answer this question, we need to know the surface area of the planet.
It is approximately 510,067,000 km2. This corresponds to approximately
51 x 1017 cm2. If we imagine that the surface of the earth is completely
smooth and that the oceans, seas, rivers, and streams are at the same
level as the earth, then the water would reach a height that is provided
by a simple equation, namely:
V = A x h where V is volume, A is area and h is height. To obtain the
height, the equation is as follows: h = V/A
By substituting V with the volume of existent water in the atmosphere and
A with the surface area of the planet, we have:
h = 13 x 1018cm3/51 x 1017 cm2 = 2.55 cm
Therefore, if all of the existent water in the atmosphere were to fall
upon the earth, independent of the amount of time it rained, the maximum
height attained would be 2.55 centimeters, according to available data. We
have now offered the first disagreement between the Bible and our current
knowledge with respect to the deluge.
Water in the Oceans
Since the existence of mountains compromises the
above conclusion, let's imagine that all of the suspended water were to fall
upon the oceans, rivers, and streams. We know that they occupy 70% of the
planet's area, or 35.7 x 1017 cm2. In this case, the oceans, seas, lakes,
rivers, and streams would increase in height according to the equation:
h = V/A = 13 x 1018cm3/35.7 x 1017 cm2 = 3.64 cm
Consequently, if all of the water were to fall only upon the oceans, lakes,
rivers, and streams, or if the rain water that fell upon the planet were
to flow into these areas, the increase in the water would be 3.64 cm in
height. This height also is not sufficient to cause a flood.
Water on the Earth
Let's imagine that, through an act of divine will, the
water suspended in the atmosphere fell only on terra firma and did not
flow into the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and streams. In other words, it
fell upon the solid area, which corresponds to roughly 30% of the planet's
surface, and stayed there. In this case, the height achieved would be:
h = V/A = 13 x 1018cm3/15.3 x 1017 cm2 = 8.5 cm
Therefore, if all of the water in the atmosphere were to fall only on the
solid part of the planet and stayed there, this water would reach a height
of 8.5 centimeters. This also is not enough to characterize a flood.
Rain Limited to the East
Allowing that, by an act of divine will, the water
had fallen upon humanity of that bygone age, and stayed there, what would
have happened? Before answering that question, let's circumscribe the
region. From the Book of Genesis, it can be concluded that biblical
history, from the moment of creation, through the deluge, and up to Moses,
takes place in a geographic region of the East that encompasses at most
what is today the territories of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq,
Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Egypt. These territories, taken
together, correspond to an approximate area of 6,437 km², which is
approximately 1/80th of the area of the planet.
Therefore, if the rain had fallen only in this area without flowing into
the seas, the height is would have reached would be 80 times the height
found for the whole planet, which is to say, 2.55 cm x 80=204 cm=2.4 m.
This height is still very small in comparison with the biblical
description.
An Even More Limited Area
The biblical narrative,
up to the time of the deluge, permits us to infer that
the scene of these events was a part of what is today
the territories of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine,
Israel, and Lebanon. However, it is impossible to establish
the scenario with more precision. Let's consider these
territories in their totality, which today add up to
an area of 1,537,886 km². This corresponds to approximately
1/331th of the total surface of the earth. If the water
found in the atmosphere had fallen only there and remained,
the height reached would be 2.55 cm x 331=844 cm=8,44
m. This is still far from reaching what is described
in the Bible, even when we consider the areas occupied
by mountains.
Complementary Discussion
It can be argued that:
-- The existing water in the atmosphere at the time of the deluge was
greater.
-- The volume of water that falls today during the year as rain on the
surface of the planet is greater than the cited volume of 13 x 1018cm3.
It is improbable that the volume of water in the atmosphere was greater
than it is today. If it were twice as much, it would cause a great deal
of environmental imbalance and, even so, the height reached would be
insignificant when compared with the biblical proportions.
The volume of water that precipitates over the earth during one year is
about 30 times the volume that remains suspended in the atmosphere. This
is due to the continuous movement of evaporation-precipitation-evaporation.
In the biblical deluge, it rained for forty days and forty nights and
there was no evaporation; the water found in the atmosphere is what must
have fallen.
Conclusion
It can be finally concluded that occurs a very
big disagreement between the Bible and our current knowledge, acquired
through scientific research, with respect to the deluge.
March, 2005
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