21 Erosion of the continents

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The renowned geologist Ariel A. Roth researched how much rubble, mud, and debris today’s rivers wash into the oceans, year after year. He calculated that after ten million years, the continents would be eroded to sea level if they were not simultaneously being raised by tectonic processes. Even if, in the past, significantly less material had been washed down, it is clear that at least in the upper rock strata, it should not have been possible to find fossils that were considerably older than ten million years. They must have long since been washed away.



Today, the Earth’s continents stand, on average, 623 metres above sea level. They are being constantly worn down, mostly by the effects of rain and washed into the oceans by rivers and streams. At the current amount of these transported materials, it would take some ten million years to wear all the continents down to sea level. In “only” 185 million years, the material carried down would correspond to the volume of the present day oceans (1).


 Consequences for the geological timetable:
 
As our continents are in the process of such a powerful transition, it is inconceivable that the fossils that we find on the Earth’s surface should actually be 300–500 million years old. They could not have been found in the abundance we find them today. The conventional geological timetable, as is taught in most state schools, has to be examined very critically.

 
Flood disasters of global proportion:
 
This is further complicated by the fact that, in the above calculation, no account has been taken of the fact that, in the past, one or more flood disasters of global proportion have taken place. We can see this from numerous geological finds. A lot of additional material would have to be washed into the sea by a global flood.
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Reference:

(1) Ariel A. Roth. "Some Questions About Geochronology." Origins 13, Nr. 2 (1986) page 65.
 

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Keith wrote:
This argument does not take into account the complexities of the real world. It simply isn't true that all continental crust is recycled at the quoted rates.

Erosion rates are, in reality, highly variable, and can be very low in some places. Furthermo