The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism Volume 6 Print Reference: Pages 307-319 Article 27 2008 A Proposed Mesoscale Simulation of Precipitation in Yosemite National Park with a Warm Ocean Larry Vardiman Institute for Creation Research Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Browse the contents of this volume of The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. Recommended Citation Vardiman, Larry (2008) "A Proposed Mesoscale Simulation of Precipitation in Yosemite National Park with a Warm Ocean," The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 6 , Article 27. Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol6/iss1/27 In A. A. Snelling (Ed.) (2008). Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Creationism (pp. 307–319). Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship and Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research. A Proposed Mesoscale Simulation of Precipitation in Yosemite National Park with a Warm Ocean Larry Vardiman, Ph. D, Institute for Creation Research, 851 Vista Drive, Camano Island, WA 98282 Abstract This paper interprets the landforms of Yosemite National Park in light of a catastrophic, young- earth model. It hypothesizes that glaciation in Yosemite was driven by processes following the Genesis Flood. Essentially, the energy stored as heat in the oceans following the Flood is believed to have generated a gigantic El Niño effect. Enhanced precipitation fell as snow in polar latitudes and on mountains as far south as the southern Sierra Nevada. This event occurred over a short period of time following the Flood and movements of glaciers produced by the heavy snowfall reworked the topography as seen today. Plans are formulated to simulate precipitation over Yosemite National Park using MM5, a conventional mesoscale meteorology model, under strong westerly flow across a warm Pacific Ocean. The warm sea-surface temperature (SST) of the Pacific Ocean in this simulation should produce heavier rainfall at low elevations and snowfall at higher elevations for progressively warmer SSTs. It is anticipated that precipitation rates computed from this simulation will be sufficient to explain the formation of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada over only a few hundred years. Fluctuations in SST during deglaciation are also expected to explain the resurgence of glacial coverage observed in Yosemite National Park similar to the Younger Dryas on the East Coast. The current “cold” Pacific Ocean doesn’t maintain permanent glaciers in Yosemite today. The contrast in climates between today and the early post-Flood world should be dramatic. Keywords Mesoscale, Numerical simulation, Precipitation, Yosemite National Park, Warm ocean, Glacier, Glaciation, Deglaciation, Younger Dryas, Sea-surface temperature, SST, MM5, Sierra Nevada, Ice, snow Introduction This paper will interpret the landforms of the When traveling in the Sierra Nevada, particularly Yosemite region in the light of ice core data from in the Yosemite region, one is struck by a host of Greenland and Antarctica and from numerical unusual landforms not currently being formed. climate simulations which have previously been Smooth granite surfaces near Tioga Pass, parallel conducted by Spelman (1996) on a global scale. It gouge marks in rocks at Tuolumne Meadows, linear will be hypothesized that glaciation in Yosemite was ridges of rock debris near Lee Vining, isolated boulders driven by catastrophic processes of the Genesis Flood. standing on Olmsted Point, the dried lake basin Essentially, the catastrophic climate model says that in Death Valley, and the huge U-shaped Yosemite a portion of the massive amount of energy released Valley with its hanging waterfalls, testify to dramatic during the Genesis Flood was stored as heat in the geologic process on a grand scale. Conventional oceans following the Flood and generated a gigantic wisdom attributes these features to a series of ice El Niño effect (definitions for bolded words may ages that spanned several million years, the latest of be found in the Glossary at the end of the paper). which reached its peak about 20,000 years ago. Enhanced precipitation fell as snow in polar latitudes Yet, if the literal interpretation of scripture is and on mountains as far south as the southern Sierra correct, only thousands of years have transpired Nevada. This event occurred once over a short period since the Genesis Flood ended and the Sierra Nevada of time following the Genesis Flood and movements of were formed. Is it possible to interpret the evidence glaciers produced by the heavy snowfall reworked the for glacial action in Yosemite within a recent biblical topography as seen today. timeframe? How could massive glaciers have formed and retreated in only a few thousand years when Glacier and Ice Sheet Coverage over the Earth conventional wisdom says a single ice age has a period Glaciers and ice sheets once covered a much of approximately 100,000 years? greater portion of the earth’s surface (Crowley & 308 L. Vardiman 150° Land Ice 180° 120° Sea Ice Water 50° 50° 150° 90° Innuitian Ice Sheet or Franklin Ice Complex Kara Ice Sheet Cordilleran Barents Eurasia Ice Sheet Ice Sheet 30° GreenlandIce Sheet 30° Ice Sheet Scandinavian Laurentide Ice Sheet 120° 60° North Atlantic O cean 10° 90° 60° 30° 0° 30° 10° Figure 1. Coverage in the Northern Hemisphere by ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice at the last glacial maximum (after Crowley & North, 1991, p. 49). North, 1991, p. 49). Figure 1 shows the inferred ice Glaciers in Yosemite National Park sheet, glacial, and sea ice coverage in the Northern Glacial signatures Hemisphere during the last glacial maximum. Glacial features are ubiquitous in Yosemite Today permanent ice sheets cover only Greenland National Park from Lee Vining on the east side of the and Antarctica, and glaciers cover only the highest Park to Yosemite Valley on the west. Figure 2 shows mountains and nearby valleys. Yet, remnant evidence a map of Yosemite National Park with state highway of more extensive coverage indicates that ice sheets 120 crossing through its center. Outside of the Park to also once covered practically all of Canada (some of the east moraines stretch down many of the valleys the lowlands of the Yukon are not glaciated, as well from the cirques that collect the snow. For example, as the Wood Mountain Plateau in south-central lateral moraines border both sides of the lower Lee Saskatchewan), much of Alaska, a large portion of the Vining Canyon east of Tioga Pass. A cirque is a bowl- upper U. S., portions of western Europe, Scandanavia, shaped, theater-like basin at the head of a glacial valley. and northern Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere Above the headwall of a cirque, steep, rugged peaks the southern mountains of South America, New and ridges often occur. A needle-like peak or ridge Zealand, Tasmania, and one small mountainous area is called a Horn or Arête, respectively, and testify of southeastern Australia were once ice covered. In to past plucking and erosion of rock from the sides of addition, mountains which have permanent glaciers higher terrain. As the ice moves downward from the today, show evidence of more extensive mountain mountains the movement at the bottom surface of the coverage which was thousands of feet lower. Valley glacier crushes and fractures the underlying rocks glaciers ran many miles farther downhill than because of the extreme weight. The underlying rocks today. Many mountains which have no permanent are eroded as the glacier descends from the cirque. A glaciers today, even near the equator, likely were moraine is an accumulation of glacial till formed into once ice covered. And, the oceans were apparently a ridge by a glacier as it moves down a valley. A lateral more extensively covered with sea ice, particularly moraine is formed parallel to the flow of the glacier around Antarctica and in the North Atlantic where it and occurs typically near the edges of the glacier. End is believed ice shelves extended as far south as 45° Moraines are formed in a bow shape near where the latitude. glacier stopped or retreated. A glacier is normally filled A Proposed Mesoscale Simulation of Precipitation in Yosemite National Park 309 with debris, which it has accumulated by eroding the Dome (see Figure 3), Pothole Dome, Fairview Dome, floor and walls of the valley down as it moves. The and Polly Dome. These domes were shaped by glacial surfaces over which the glacier has moved are planed smoothing and plucking as thick layers of ice moved down with distinctive features and the valleys are left from the southeast to the northwest over the exposed U-shaped. June Lake north of Lee Vining was formed granite. As thick layers of ice moved over the granite, by the damming of such a valley on the east side of the it abraded the upstream side leaving it with a smooth, Sierra Nevada by end moraines. shallow slope. On the downstream side the ice Near Tioga Pass a series of small lakes add to the plucked rock from the granite surface leaving it with evidence that glaciers once covered these mountains a rugged, steep slope. The dual processes of abrasion thousands of feet deep. When the glaciers began to on the upstream and upper surfaces and plucking on melt at the end of the ice age, large blocks of ice were the downstream side are directional indicators for the left behind to slowly melt in place.