And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth...
Genesis 7:19
"According to standard uniformitarian theory, the boundary between
the
Permian and Triassic Systems is supposed to be marked by the largest
extinction event of all time. Evolutionary scientists claim that roughly
90% of ocean species and 70% of land species went extinct suddenly at
this boundary. This event is known as the P-T or now the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME).
Jacopo Dal Corso, of the University of Leeds, UK, and colleagues, took another look at the chemistry in the rocks near the boundary. They paid special attention to specific varieties of mercury and carbon changes across the PTME. They published their results in
Nature Communications.
The science team developed a computer model to track the cycling of mercury, presumed to be from volcanic activity, and a unique isotope of carbon, which tracks changes in the carbon cycle in the environment.
Jacopo Dal Corso, of the University of Leeds, UK, and colleagues, took another look at the chemistry in the rocks near the boundary. They paid special attention to specific varieties of mercury and carbon changes across the PTME. They published their results in
The science team developed a computer model to track the cycling of mercury, presumed to be from volcanic activity, and a unique isotope of carbon, which tracks changes in the carbon cycle in the environment.
However, they noted that mercury, like carbon, can be stored in
terrestrial biomass and soils, and is released through erosion. Therefore, the sudden mobilization of both elements can indicate a massive land destruction and oxidation event.
At the PTME, the scientists found
At the PTME, the scientists found
---a massive spike in mercury
---and a sudden shift in carbon. The authors wrote:
In other words, they concluded that the destruction of land ecosystems occurred prior to the destruction of the ocean system. Further, they attributed these chemical signals to be from mass plant death and soil oxidation—catastrophic events that altered the chemistry of the waters.
Dal Corso said:
--Creation scientists do not accept these great ages nor the notion of extinction events. Extinctions are merely the last occurrences of many organisms in the rock record at the same level.
We show that the large short-lived Hg [mercury] spike, and nadirs in δ202Hg and δ13C
[carbon-13] values at the marine 
PTME are best explained by a sudden,
massive pulse of terrestrial biomass oxidation, while volcanism remains
an adequate explanation for the longer-term geochemical changes. Our
modelling shows that a massive collapse of terrestrial ecosystems linked
to volcanism-driven environmental change triggered significant
biogeochemical changes, and cascaded organic matter, nutrients, Hg, and
other organically-bound species into the marine system.
In other words, they concluded that the destruction of land ecosystems occurred prior to the destruction of the ocean system. Further, they attributed these chemical signals to be from mass plant death and soil oxidation—catastrophic events that altered the chemistry of the waters.
Dal Corso said:
In this study we show that during the Permian-Triassic transition,
roughly 252 million years ago, the widespread collapse of the
terrestrial ecosystems caused sudden changes in marine chemistry.
--Creation scientists do not accept these great ages nor the notion of extinction events. Extinctions are merely the last occurrences of many organisms in the rock record at the same level.
--Instead, we
interpret these events as an expected consequence of the global Flood.
As water levels rose higher, new ecological zones would have become
progressively inundated, creating many new types of fossils suddenly at
the same time globally.
And these same fossils would just as suddenly
disappear as the water level continued to increase and reached a new
ecological zone, creating the illusion of an extinction event.
ICR scientists also realize the so-called Permian-Triassic mass extinction event was part of the Absaroka Megasequence.
ICR scientists also realize the so-called Permian-Triassic mass extinction event was part of the Absaroka Megasequence.
--As massive tsunami-like wave-pulses associated with the Absaroka
Megasequence crashed across the globe, the edges of the land would have
been the first area inundated and destroyed. Coastal plants
and soils would be affected first, altering the chemistry of the rocks
being deposited in the oceans and elsewhere. And this is exactly what we
find. Coastal plants and soils were in fact destroyed first. The first
major coal seams in the eastern USA—and globally—are found just prior to
the Permian in what’s called the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian
System). These coals consist of lycopod trees and wetland plants—flora
that live on the coast.
Later, the water level in the Absaroka Megasequence rose even
higher,
flooding more of the land and burying many amphibians and land animals.
Later, the water level in the Absaroka Megasequence rose even
The Permian-Triassic boundary was a stage in the Flood recording a
sudden change in the many plants and animals that were buried as the
waters moved from one elevation to the next. Plant and soil destruction
were consequences of the judgement described in the book of Genesis. The
evidence makes the best sense when the Biblical narrative is
acknowledged as truth." ICR