Is the order of fossils in geological strata produced by “hydrodynamic sorting”, as creationists claim?
The evidence overwhelmingly points to an answer of no. First, the argument is much more wildly improbable than creationists often accuse evolution of being: according to their theory, not a single extinct organism – such as trilobites, dinosaurs, etc. – floated higher than it “belonged”. Similarly, not a single mouse, tiger, or elephant fell into a lower stratum. Worse, hydrodyanmic sorting would tend to distribute smaller organisms on top and larger organisms on the bottom; in reality, nothing but microorganisms are found in the very lowest strata, and larger organisms never appear there. Moreover, there is no geological evidence of a worldwide flood, and other independent lines of evidence – such as radiometry – confirm that the fossils were not formed contemporaneously. Please see Talk.Origins – Floods & Fossils. Does Dr. Thomas Barnes’ data on the decay of the magnetic field show that the Earth is younger than once thought? No. Dr. Barnes’ calculations on the strength of the Earth’
