Coal can be found in almost all levels of the geological record from the Devonian
to the Tertiary Period (see Table 1).1
The biggest coal deposits, however, occur in the Carboniferous Period, especially
the upper portion thereof; hence the name (Latin carbo, coal). Depending
on the degree of carbon concentration and coalification, one differentiates between
lignite, bituminous coal and anthracite. The degree of coalification generally increases
the further down in the rock record the coal layers are. In the Carboniferous Period
one thus finds bituminous coal, and in exceptions where the layers were not so deeply
buried, also sub-bituminous coal. Lignite is found predominantly in the Tertiary
Period.
These different rank coals were formed within a period of 350 million years according
to historical geology. A duration of 30–40 million years is presupposed, for
example, for the formation of the bituminous coal of the upper Carboniferous Period.
Does this coal contain the stored solar energy of millions of years?
PERIOD
ALLEGED AGE /Mya
Quaternary
0–1.8
Tertiary
1.8–65.0
Cretaceous
65.0–142.0
Jurassic
142.0–205.7
Triassic
205.7–248.2
Permian
248.2–290.0
Carboniferous
290.0–354.0
Devonian
354.0–417.0
Silurian
417.0–443.0
Ordovician
443.0–495.0
Cambrian
495.0–545.0
Precambrian
>545.0
Table 1. Uniformitarian geological time-table with the time-scale
of historical geology.
Global Resources of Crude Fossil Fuels
For raw materials, a difference is made between the guaranteed mineable reserves
and the total of all estimated deposits (the resources)—see Table 2.2 The estimated global resources of fossil fuels (which
only 10% thereof are guaranteed mineable reserves!) are:
Efossil = 3.3 x 1023 J
How much energy is that?
Comparison of Fossil Energy with Daily Solar Radiation
The Earth receives solar energy from the Sun of
Esolar =SorR2 p x 1 day
=1.37 x 103W/m2 (6.37 x 106m)2 p
x 24 x 3600 sec
=1.5 x 1022 J per day
where
So =solar constant,
and
rR =average Earth’s radius
Thus
Efossil/Esolar = 3.3 x 1023 J/1.51 x 1022J
= approx. 22
That is, during every 22 days the Earth receives solar radiation energy which corresponds
to the energy in all the fossil fuel resources.
This fossil fuel corresponds to what area of forest?
ENERGY CARRIER
RESOURCES
ENERGY PRODUCED/1023J
bituminous and sub bituminous coal
9.8 x 1012 tonnes
2.2
lignite
2.3 x 1012 tonnes
0.25
oil shale
0.4
pitchstone
0.15
natural oil
3.4 x 1014 m3
0.13
crude oil
2.7 x 1011 tonnes
0.12
heavy oil
0.1
peat
2.0 x 1011 tonnes
0.015
TOTAL
3.3
Table 2.Global resources of fossil fuel raw materials (from Ref.
2).
Comparison Between Fossil Fuels and the Energy Content of a Global Forest
Today, a useful forest in Germany has a maximum of 300 solid cubic metres of wood
per hectare.3 A forest area 100 years
old already has up to 1,000 solid cubic metres of wood per hectare (see Table 3).
Primeval forests may have yielded even more.
The General Sherman Tree in the Sequoia National Park north of Los Angeles is the
biggest tree in the world. It is 83.8 m tall, has a circumference of 31.3 m, and
is said to be 2,500 years old. A single such tree would easily yield 2,000 solid
cubic metres of wood.
Now the majority of scientists claim that crude oil and natural gas originated primarily
from sea plankton. Thus only the coal portion of the total energy in the fossil
fuels, or 2.4 x 1023 J, stems from forests.
If one assumes that the primeval forests yielded 600 solid cubic metres of wood
per hectare, with an average heating value of 1010 J/m3, this
energy mass of coal would correspond to a forest area of
2.4 x 1023J/(1010J/m3 x 600m3/ha)
= 3.6 x 1010 ha
which is approximately 2.5 times the surface area of the present continents (which
together equal 29% of the Earth’s 511 million km2 total surface
area).
Primeval forests of modern species would have needed to cover 2.5 times the present
continental surfaces prior to the Flood in order to provide the energy amounts in
all the coal resources.
How long would it take to produce the fossil fuels from present forests?
TYPE OF WOOD
CUBIC METRE PER HECTARE
Pine
300–400
Beech
600
Spruce
600–800
Sequoia
1000
Table 3. Solid cubic metre wood of different woods at 100 years
of age.
Comparison of Fossil Fuels with the Global Growth Rates of Forests
The annual growth rate of a forest lies between 0.9 (needle wood) and 3.5 (rain
forest) tonnes per hectare. For present forests of 2.5 x 109 hectares
(in the last five years 85 million hectares were deforested!), which corresponds
to 17% of the surface area of the continents, the annual growth amounts to 4.4 x
109 tonnes of dry substance per year. If one takes deciduous and needle
forests into consideration, one would arrive at 7.1 x 109 cubic metres
of wood per year. For an average heating value of 1010 J/m3,
this corresponds to a global annual energy growth of 8 x 1019 J.
At the present global growth rates, the fuel energy in all coal could thus have
been stored within 2.4 x 1023J/7.8 x 1019J or approximately
3,000 years. This fossil fuel could thus have been stored easily in 3,000 years
at the present global growth rates.
Bituminous and Sub-Bituminous Coal in the Creation Model
The Evolutionary/Uniformitarian Scenario
Approximately 65% of the fossil fuels are bituminous coal (including approximately
7% sub-bituminous coal). Bituminous coal is found in all geological systems, but
predominantly in the Carboniferous and Permian Periods (see Table 1). It has been
deposited primarily in the form of seams, which may extend over hundreds of square
kilometres. Imprints of the original vegetation often remain in the bituminous coal.
200–300 seams lie in the north-western coal reserves of Germany, assigned
to the Carboniferous Period and distributed through up to 4,000 m of thick sedimentary
beds stacked on top of one another. The seams are separated from one another by
layers of sediments (for example, sandstone, limestone, shale). According to the
evolutionary/uniformitarian model these seams were supposedly formed as a result
of repeated transgressions and regressions of the seas of those days (periodic flooding)
over coastal swamp forests in the course of a total of approximately 30–40
million years.4,5
Catastrophic Formation
of Carboniferous Coals?
This evolutionary/uniformitarian hypothesis has been questioned. The structure of
the intermediate sedimentary layers clearly indicates their formation due to a catastrophe;
the so-called root horizons are not fossil soils with roots in them suitable for
the growth of the Carboniferous plants;6
and the anatomy of the vegetation of the Carboniferous Period (Lepidodendron
and Sigillaria) indicates floating plants.7,8,9
Based on this data, Scheven postulated that the Carboniferous vegetation had the
characteristics of a floating forest, an alternative to swamp forests10 (see the article Forests that
grew on water and drawing (right) of Dr Scheven’s proposal11.
Scheven’s Flood model within the creationist framework for Earth history presupposes
that the floating forests of the so-called Carboniferous Period, as a habitat of
pre-Flood ecosystems, were buried either during or shortly after the year of the
Flood. According to this model, they grew prior to the catastrophe of the Flood
and were then broken up and deposited on top of one another during the Flood. Subsequent
to burial the layers of forest debris subsided to great depths, where they were
subjected to pressure conditions which led to a rapid formation of coal.12
Too Much Coal in Too Short a Period?
This depiction of coal formation within the creationist framework for Earth history
suggests that at least the biomass of the plants which are present today as bituminous
coal, but probably more than this, was present on the Earth prior to the Flood.
Since floating forests could not grow in the way they are found buried today as
coal seams (namely, stacked on top of one another), they had to live on the water
surface next to each other prior to the Flood. Is this at all possible given the
size of the Earth? Earlier, it was shown that even if forests of present-day structure
were to cover the entire surfaces of today’s continents, they would yield
only approximately 40% of the estimated coal portion of the fossil fuels.
A short, very rough estimate can give us an answer. In order to do so, we presuppose
the following:
We assume that the coals stemming from the Carboniferous and Permian Periods originated
entirely from floating forests.
Bituminous coal is found in seams of varying thicknesses. We assume an average thickness
of 50 cm (this is probably a conservative estimate).
Bituminous and sub-bituminous coals vary in composition and density. We assume an
average density of 1.8 g/cm3.
We assume a total amount of bituminous and sub-bituminous coals of 1013
tonnes (see Table 2).
The assumed density of the coal yields a surface mass of approximately l.0 tonnes
per square metre of coal seam if the seam thickness is 0.5 m. A total mass
of 1.0 x 1013 tonnes thus yields a surface of approximately 1013 m2
or 10 x 106 km2. For a total Earth’s surface of
511x106 km2, this yields a fraction of approximately
2% of the Earth’s surface. This figure is probably too low, since one cannot
assume that all the floating forests were fossilised; and also, some of the vegetation
destroyed by the Flood would probably have been destroyed by the natural processes
of decay.
Lignite in the Creation Model
Lignites, like bituminous coals, can be found at various levels in the geological
record, but occurs predominantly in the Tertiary Period. However, lignites were
formed from very different plants to those in the bituminous coals, the vegetation
responsible more or less corresponding to today’ angiosperms and gymnosperms.
Just as the formation of bituminous coal seams is viewed as the result of swamp
growth over millennia, so also is the origin of lignite. A study of the actual structure
of the Tertiary lignites, however, indicates that here, too, their formation is
due to a catastrophe.13 Scheven’s
premise is that the Tertiary lignite deposits consist partially of pre-Flood plants,
but that they were only deposited a century or more after the year of the Flood
(in particular old-Tertiary lignites with sub-tropical flora). Prior to their final
deposition and burial, they are presumed to have drifted on the post-Flood oceans
as ‘inhabited depots’. On the other hand, new forests may have grown in the centuries
following the Flood within the framework of mega-successions (successive recolonisation
of the land surfaces and ocean bottoms), which were then uprooted, crushed and buried
by later catastrophes.14
According to the calculations above, there would have been enough space on the Earth’s
surface during the pre-Flood period for some of the vegetation in today’s
lignite deposits to have grown. But would there have been sufficient surface area
available on the pre-Flood Earth for all the necessary vegetation?
Given the following parameters, we can estimate the answer:
The total amount of lignite amounts to approximately 2.5 x 1012 tonnes
(see Table 2).
The lignite originated from pre-Flood forests with a biomass of approximately 40,000
tonnes of dry wood per km2 (for example, 600 solid cubic metres per hectare,
see Table 3).
The pre-Flood forests thus covered a surface area of at least 60 x 106
km2 (2.5 x 1012 tonnes divided by 40,000 tonnes per km2),
that is, approximately 40% of today’s continents. This estimate seems low,
however, since one can hardly assume that this entire mass of plants was fossilised
during the Flood. On the other hand, it is also possible that an unknown portion
of Tertiary lignites was formed during post-Flood mega-successions,15 the vegetation thus being buried by catastrophes
subsequent to the Flood.
Conclusions
If the productivity of today’s forests is used as the basis for calculations,
then the stored energy of some thousands of years of plant growth is found in fossil
fuels. The mineable reserves, which amount to only 10% of the resources, contain
the solar energy that could be stored by today’s forests in some hundreds
of years. This shows the significance of solar energy and its contribution to the
forests of the Earth. These estimates show that the Flood model may not be sufficient
to account for the fossil fuels if they all originated in forests similar to those
of modern times.
If, however, Scheven’s model of Carboniferous floating forests is applied,
the following estimates of pre-Flood biomass result:
Bituminous and sub-bituminous coals could have originated from the floating forests
which might have covered 2% of the pre-Flood surface of the Earth.
Lignites from predominantly pre-Flood(?) vegetation represent a biomass which could
have existed on approximately 40% of current continental surfaces.
In spite of many unsettled details, the existence of approximately 1.3 x 1013
tonnes of carbon in the form of coal may be reconciled with a Flood as documented
in the Bible and an age of the Earth of more or less 6,000 to 10,000 years.
The formation of crude oil still needs to be modelled quantitatively in a creation/Flood
framework.
It should be mentioned that the bulk of reduced carbon on Earth is sediment-bound
kerogen, which, due to its 13C/12C ratio, most probably is
of biological origin. It is estimated that 1022 g kerogen exist in sediments,
only 2% of which is coal plus oil plus gas. The origin of this kerogen also needs
to be discussed in a creation/Flood model.
Acknowledgments
This contribution was originally published in German by Wort und Wissen (Scripture
and Science) as Discussion Contributions, Reports, Information, 3/92.
The author thank Thomas Kalytta and Joachim Scheven for helpful critical input.
We also thank Rudolf Steinberg of Pretoria (South Africa) for bringing this contribution
to our attention and Marianne Rothe of Johannesburg for translating it.
References
Gradstein, F. M. and Ogg, J., 1996. A Phanerozoic time scale. Episodes,
19(1/2):3–5. Return to text. Scheven, Ref. 13.
Return to text.
Reservern, Ressourcen
und Verfügbarkeit von Energierohstoffen, 1989. Bundesanstalt für
Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Braunschweig, Hannover. (Reserves
and Availability of Energy-Providing Natural Resources, Federal Institute for Geosciences
and Natural Resources.) Return to text
Weck. J. and Wiebecke, C., 1961. Weltforstwirtschaft und Deutschlands
Forst und Holzwirtschaft, München. (World Forestry and Germany’s
Forest and Timber Industries.) Return to text.
Deuticke, F., 1987. Einführung in die Paläobotanik,
Bd. 1, Win. (Introduction to Palaeobotany, Vol. 1, Vienna.) Return to text.
Pätz, H., Rascher, J. and Seifert, A., 1986. Kohle—ein
Kapitel aus dem Tagebuch der Erde, Leipzig. (Coal—A Chapter in the Diary
of the Earth.) Return to text.
Scheven, J., 1986. Karbonstudien: Neues Licht auf das Alter
der Erde, Neuhausen. (Carboniferous Studies: New Light on the Age of the Earth.)
Return to text.
Scheven, J., 1992. Scheven, J., 1992. Die Schwimmwälder des
Karbon. LEBEN 5, Herausgegeben vom Kuratorium Lebendige
Vorwelt, Hagen-Hohenlimburg. (The floating forests of the Carboniferous.)
Return to text.
Scheven, J., 1981. Die Bedeutung
von Stigmarien in Torfdolomitknollen. ZEISS-Information 26
(H92):16–18, Oberkochen. (The meaning of stigmaria in peat-dolomite nodules.)
Return to text.
Junker, R. and Scherer,
S., 1992. Entstehung und Geschichte der Lebewesen, 3. auflage, Gießen.(Origin and History of Living Organisms.)Return to text.
Scheven, J., 1988. Megasukzessionen und Klimax im Tertiär:
Katastrophen zwischen Sintflut und Eiszeit, Neuhausen. (Megasuccessions and
Climax in the Tertiary: Catastrophes Between the Flood and the Ice Age.)
Return to text.
* This article originally had two authors. We have complied with the request of
the secondary author to be disassociated from the article and to remove his name
from it on this web archive. We have at this date not received any rebuttal or refutation
of the article’s scientific arguments, and were unable to obtain the views or consent of the principal author, Schönknecht, who has passed away. Return to text.
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