Posts Tagged ‘Ice’

Unusual Weather Patterns

May 28, 2008

Lately everyone is talking about the weather. We see unusual weather patterns all around the world. Hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes seem to happen more frequently and in places where they never happened before. Cyclones and Tsunamis have been claiming the lives of many people.

In geology books I read that in the beginning all continents were one big piece of earth or super-continent named Pangaea (meaning “all earth”).  A coating of sedimentary rocks with fossil inclusions almost completely covers all continents. That led many geologists to believe that the land had been covered by water at one time. The Bible tells us about such a flood.

An abundance of geologic evidence reveals that after that flood, the climate changed. The temperatures dropped and it began to snow in certain areas. As glaciers formed, the ocean level dropped. In school I remember learning about the ice age. It was a time when glaciers covered 1/3 of the earth’s land surface, and probably much more.

The crust of the earth can be compared to the shell of an egg.  It is thin and rigid. The weight of the ice mass started to fracture the earth crust, and as land masses separated the continents drifted apart.  The entire crust of the earth broke into sections, that is into plates. Powerful earthquakes undoubtedly developed when the earth’s plates subducted.

An almost perfect match exists between the eastern boundary of South America and Africa. The Canary Islands south of Spain have the same sand  as the Sahara in northern Africa. Greece has the same Mediterranean climate and food as we find in Turkey.

I also learned in school that the earth’s crust folded and mountains were formed.  Geologists affirm that the mountains were built during the glacial epoch.

We live on an unstable earth.  The sequence today is exactly the reverse of the glacial build-up of the ice-age.  The glaciers are melting and the sea-level is rising. The rise in sea-levels from melting Greenland and Antarctica‘s glaciers causes coastal damage and is a long-time concern.  The melting of the ice and the distribution of the mass (weight) are slowing down the rotation of the earth.

We will see many more unusual weather patterns and an increase in earthquakes.  But we need not to be afraid:

“G-d is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we are unafraid, even if the earth gives way, even if the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, even if its waters rage and foam, and mountains shake at its turbulence.” (Ps.46:1-3)