In 2009, he published some of these ideas in the Journal of Creation 23(3):116–118.
His research shows that the salt pillars around the world are elegantly explained by the interaction of a melted salt magma with the waters of the worldwide Flood.
His Journal paper summarizes:
Large formations of rock salt are found on every continent around the world. Oil and gas are often associated with salt deposits, which can rise kilometers above the top of the main underground salt body. These salt deposits are commonly referred to as “evaporites” because they are considered to have been formed by the evaporation of sea water. The evaporite model requires the evaporation of hundreds of kilometers of depth of seawater, a process that would require vast periods of time, far longer than the biblical timescale. Consequently evaporites have been used as an argument against young-earth geology. However, there are major problems with the evaporite model such that it is totally inadequate to explain the thickness, volume, structure and purity of salt deposits. A more feasible model regards salt deposits as the product of igneous halite magma. Such magmas melt at geologic temperatures, flow readily, and account for the association of salt deposits with reserves of coal, oil and gas.
I like Stef’s model, and think it is far superior to the uniformitarian attempt to explain the evidence, which I was taught at university in my geology course. That model hypothesizes that hundreds of kilometres of seawater evaporated slowly in an enormous, shallow, secluded area of the coast, over millions of years.
Cheri
Awesome! I haven’t had time to dig into it much, but understanding the world’s salt layers is something I’ve been wondering about for a while. Thanks. 🙂
bob newhart
Since it is cited here, what is your belief in the source of the earth’s hydrocarbons? Geologically speaking, the oils found beneath salt diapirs would take a substantial amount of time to form. Where do you believe these hydrocarbons come from? Simple chemistry and geologic data indicate such hydrocarbon deposits are sourced from the degradation of organic material that occurs over the course of thousands of years.
Tas Walker replies:
Hi Bob, It is widely considered that oil comes from buried vegetation, and that would have been buried during the Flood. Chemical recations in the vegetation, accelerated by heating, drive off the volatiles from the vegetation producing oil and gas, and leaving coal (Google “oil window”). That process does not require a lot of time: years, decades and centuries. That means that much of the oil was likely produced post-Flood. There is another theory that has been popularized in recent decades by Thomas Gold that oil has been produced from inorganic sources. Google “Gold abiotic oil” for more information.