CREATION OF THE EARTH
DAY FIVE
INTRODUCTION
We will be keeping track of the new instruments coming on stream during the next five years and will provide notes and summaries that may enhance and increase our understanding of a particular day or any specific day of the Creation. The proof is in the details.
OTHER PLANETS OR EXOPLANETS
Astronomers have discovered several thousand exoplanets…they remain shrouded in mystery …last week French observers unveiled a radio telescope that could reveal what is going on inside an exoplanet… help researchers understand planet formation…clues to habitability… this opens an extra door to study exoplanets at a distance. …the telescope will be a station within the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), European radio array centered in the Netherlands…will aid in LOFAR’S quest to find signals from the early Universe…It will eventually contain nearly 2000 antenna …60% of its antenna [are] working [now]. …The [New] Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array located in California will have 352 antenna when it is complete next year…The latest plan for a lunar radio telescope, known as the Farside Array, is now being considered by the U.S. Decadal Survey of Astrophysics,” (Clery p. 1699) to help in the quest.
The earliest life on Earth probably looked like the bacteria we find every where on the planet today. Over the past 3.7 billion years, organisms on Earth have diversified and adapted to almost every environment imaginable. How the Gods did this is still unknown. Has this same process occurred elsewhere in our solar system or on other planets circling distant stars? The scriptures say it has and goes on and on. His creations stretch out still.” (Moses 1:31-33)
BIOMES AND ECOSYSTEMS AND DIVERSITY
Mostly during the fourth and fifth days of creation, some 16 million species of plants and animals were placed on the earth, insects, class Insecta, are thought to include more species than all other animal groups and all other kingdoms added together…. A Biome is a broad category, taking in similar assemblages of plants and animals…Biomes are typically named after their dominant plants … Biomes are determined mainly… by temperature, rainfall, and wind or water currents …topography, and soil type. Each Biomes has not only the characteristic plants, but also typical species of animals… An ecosystem is never totally self-contained… because animals and plants are mobile or transportable…How living things are distributed …why they live there, and especially how they got there, is known as biogeography. Changing patterns of bridges and barriers caused by plate movements and volcanic activity has greatly affected present-day species distribution….Species adapt…but distinct species ….are adapted to different habitats…The world is divided into at least ten different Biomes, which include: the TROPICAL FOREST, TEMPERATE FOREST , CONIFEROUS FOREST, TROPICAL GRASSLAND, TEMPERATE GRASSLAND, TUNDRA, WETLANDS [OF WHICH THERE ARE AT LEAST EIGHT], DESERET, MOUNTAIN AND POLAR. ” (Luhr p. 134)
“Forests cover 30 % of the Earth’s land surface and provide some of the richest of all habitats, offering an abundance of sites for plant germination as well as food and shelter for a whole range of woodland animals.” (Luhr p. 303) The wetlands and surface waters provide habitats and “food for a host of animals, a wide range of water birds [in shallow water] Herons and egrets, [a large variety of ] ducks …waders…adept at snatching invertebrates at or just below the surface…a large number of reptiles, including crocodiles, alligators, and freshwater turtles…grass snakes and the world’s largest snake, the anaconda…[and] many wetland specialists rodents… muskrats, and capybaras. Larger herbivores are at home in the wetlands…[and] include the Asian water buffalo and hippopotamuses.” (Luhr p. 325) Certain chemicals are vital to living things, they are “constituents of the complex organic molecules found in living cells. One of the most important is the element carbon, on which all life is based. …other important chemicals include nitrogen and phosphorus for plant growth… and the metals magnesium …in chlorophyll… captures sunlight in [photosynthesis] and iron found in the blood of many animals.” (Luhr p. 135) These elements are finite and must be recycled over and over again through the nutrient cycles. “The earth can be regarded as a giant self-contained ecosystem where the same nutrients are recycled …on an endless variety of pathways through countless organisms…carbon is …returned to the atmosphere as the by-product of respiration by the plants and [animals]. “(Luhr p. 135)
CARBON
The carbon cycle gives insights into the diversity of species as well as each of the species. “Carbon dioxide released by volcanic eruptions, Carbon dioxide absorbed by photosynthesis, Carbon dioxide in rain and erosion of limestone, carbon dioxide precipitated in limestone from sea waters, Carbon dioxide released by phytoplankton, [which is near the bottom of the oceanic food chain], Carbon dioxide released by combustion, Carbon released by oil and gas extraction, Carbon dioxide released by marine organism respiration other than photoplankton, Carbon dioxide released by marine organisms decomposition, Carbon dioxide in sediments turn into limestone, Carbon dioxide in sedimentary rocks turn to limestone, Carbon dioxide moves from sediment, to oil and gas reservoirs, Carbon dioxide released by evaporation of fresh water regions, Carbon dioxide released by decomposition of plants, Carbon rereleased by decomposition of animals, Carbon dioxide released by coal derived from organic remains, Carbon released from decomposition of any and all other organic remains. Animals and plants store carbon in their tissues by eating and consumption, Carbon is released by plant respiration, Carbon dioxide absorbed by photosynthesis, Carbon dioxide stored in plant tissue.” (Luhr p. 134) As one can see to be a creator and one who understands the creations one must be fully knowledgeable of all of the elements especially carbon.
All of this had to be in place or prepared for, before the first seed was put into the ground by the creators.
Everything was created somewhere else and brought to the earth mostly in the form of seeds. Those forms of life that were intended to vex mankind were not created on this earth, they were introduced after Adam and Eve had fallen on the sixth day. They were not present during the Terrestrial condition of the earth.
“The European Space Agency (ESA) …chose a new satellite mission that will collect the missing data needed to predict more accurately the pace of climate change. The Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring (FORRUM) mission to be launched in 2016. …Earth radiates most of its energy into space…global temperatures are rising as greenhouse gases trap the outgoing radiation…Scientist plan to improve climate model predictions about the energy balance at the top of the atmosphere and changes in water vapor and crystals, and clouds could affect surface temperatures. FORRUM is the ninth mission of that agency. One thing they have not included is the reality of the earth entering into a warm interglacial period when most of the ice will melt. ESA’s Earth’s Explorers Program.” (Science p. 14)
BIODIVERSITY
“No one knows how many species of living things exist on earth [except the Gods who placed them here]. But 5 percent of the planet’s species are disappearing each decade…humans are largely to blame…7,000 species [of plants] are listed as endangered. Everyone of the 4,763 mammal species [are at risk] and … less than 0.1 percent of invertebrate animals, which number more than 1 million species [are also at risk]…Habitat destruction is by far the most important cause [of loss].” (Luhr p. 136) [Over exploitation of resources is also devasting] More than “25 percent of imported seafood is illegal or unregulated [and more than] 30 percent of fisheries are overfished.” (Runyon p. 40) There are more “than 4.5 million fishing vessels and 60,000 processing and canneries,” (Runyon p. 40) And now scientists can track down the source of any sea food.
“For climatic and geographical reasons biodiversity is unevenly spread. Large regions such as the Arctic contain relatively few species while some much smaller regions [in the tropics] boast considerable biodiversity riches Together two dozen hot spots, making up less than a fiftieth of the Earth’ land surface are home to over a third of the world’s vertebrate animals and flowering plants,….the fall in biodiversity is not just a tropical problem after two centuries of economic growth, many of the world’s industrialized countries have pushed their natural inhabitants to the very edge of survival“ (Luhr p. 336). [As I write this the news stations are reporting that the extensive wildfires in Australia have now killed 500 million animals.] So in most instances it will be a matter of too little too late.
WETLANDS
“Wetlands are found all over the world. Wetlands are highly important ecosystems, supporting a wide variety of especially adapted plants and animals most notably vast numbers of water birds. … Wetlands are divided into freshwater wetlands and salt water wetlands. “ (Luhr pp 322-331) They have identified world wide, thirteen main wetland areas, three of which are in the USA, mostly on the east coast, they include the Great Dismal Swamp, the Okefenokee Swamp, both less than 700 square miles, and the Everglades, which is more than 4,000 square miles. The Pantanal is the world’s largest freshwater wetland. It is also the most biologically diverse, a reflection of its tropical location. [in parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paruguay: it is more than 50,000 square miles.] There are many Smaller wetlands, especially in the higher latitudes, “they are known as fens, bogs, mires, swamps, [a wetland forest], and marshes [a wet grassland].” (Luhr p. 324) The edges of most rivers and small streams have small wetlands. One can imagine the demand made on the mind to realize the immense biodiversity present in the wetlands, some have at least 1,000 species of butterflies alone. And then there is the Kalaharai’s Oasis.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana supports a huge array of life, including African wild dogs …, colorful water lilies and large animals like the “African cape buffalo… along with elephants and slaty egrets.” (Seeger p. 11) In 2018, the Nature Conservancy teamed up with the National Geographic Society and a commission that works with three countries’ governments to protect the waters pf the Okavango Delta, one of Africa’s largest seasonal desert oases. The Delta—which supports big cats and endangered slaty egrets, plus the continent’ largest remaining population of elephants located in Botswana’s portion of the Kalahari Desert. But the Okavanago River, which floods the nearly 7,000 square -mile oasis every year, gets most of its water from rains that fall in Angola. The partnership will use TNC’s global water fund work as a model for conserving lands upriver in the water shed to ensure the delta continues to receive enough water.” (Seeger p. 11)
“In 1881, Charles Darwin published his last scientific book, a treatise on earthworms whose sales …rivaled those of On the Origin of Species ...Nearly 140 years later, enthusiasm for earthworms persists, fueled by the recognition of their, importance in terrestrial systems…an impressive group effort by 141 researchers from 35 countries to develop a global scale atlas of earthworms…earthworms, as ecosystem engineers …influence the structure and functioning of terrestrial [by] ingesting more than 30 times their own weight in soil per day…[and] enhances plant growth, most crops…depending on the plant and earthworm species,” (Fierer p. 425), and latitude location. So consider the lowly earthworm: “A striking example of the impact that earthworms can have on ecosystems comes from studies of temperate and boreal forests that were left devoid of earthworms after the last glacial period. As these earthworms, free ecosystems, became colonized by exotic earthworm species, the forests quickly lost the thick litter layers blanketing the soft surface with corresponding shifts in soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics…A single square meter can contain more than 150 individual earthworms with a collective biomass that can exceed 1500 kg per hectare…equivalent to the weight of two adult cattle.” (Fierer p. 425) They surveyed and mapped “7000 sites in 59 countries. (Ibid) They “found Southern England, not considered to be a hotspot of plant or animals, is a veritable an earthworm paradise.” (Firerer p. 425)
The earthworms are like many other studies that are under-recognized but important for animals and life on earth and especially for man. “For these reasons the global Soil Biodiversity Initiative is leading efforts to gather …knowledge needed to guide and promote the conservation of soil biodiversity…and understand how terrestrial ecosystems will shift in response to human activities.” (Firerer p. 441) And realize the degrees of details that were required for the creation of the earth, and all that is outside it; on it and in it.
A study has not been done yet to integrate a comprehensive set of environmental drivers of earth worm communities to identify the most important ones at a global level. But this is true of many of the ecosystems of the earth. They generated “three generalized …mixed-effects models…one for each of the three community metrics, “[types] …each model contained 12 environmental variables …which were grouped into six themes: “soil,“ “precipitation,” “temperature,” “water retention,” “habitat cover,” and “elevation.” (Philips pp. 480-485) There are now those who are making or will make effort to evaluate these and other biomes on their way to understanding even just one division of what is required for comprehension of the Creation Activities, the delirium of immensity, engaged in by the Gods in order that there may be a mortal dwelling place for a short time where true man could be tried and tested for eternal life
THE SIXTH DAY
For the Sixth DAY the questions was: “Is man found on the earth?” (TC) The answer: “No!” But the first true man on this earth was Adam. Moses 1:34, INDEX p. 4-5)
HOMO HABILUS: Man like entities have been on the earth for more than 4 million years.
In DAY SIX we will provide a brief comment on the discoveries of and changing interpretations of the man-like entities, the hominids, that many people are spending most of their life studying and trying to make sense of them.
“Paaleoanthropologist Yahannes Haile-Selassie of the Cleveland Museum of Natural HIstory has described the small cranium he discovered in northern Ethiopia as having a mosaic of features…It took a team of researchers three years to identify the species of the fossil…which is named MRD after Miro Dora, the village where it was found…features shared with …earliest human ancestors… while others look like more recent ones…MRD is a male of the species, Australopithecus anamensis, a hominin who lived between 4.2 and 3.8 million years ago. … MRD is the most complete hominin cranium in the fossil record older than three million years ever discovered...more than 100 specimens of A. anamensis have been found in Ethiopia and Kenya…including A. afarensis …the most familiar species known as Lucy… most are just small fragments…MRD is a game changer.” (Lobell p. 63) Lucy is nearly a complete body fossil. MRD with a five-day work-shop that resulted in a publication “dealing with the broader issues in hominid phylogenetics.” (Lobell p. 68)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aguilar, David A., National Geographic, Washington D.C., 2007
LUHR, James E., Earth, D.K. , New York, 2003
BAY, Andrew T., Astride the Great Divide, BYU Magazine, BYU, Provo, Utah, Fall, 2019
CLERY, Daniel, Telescopes Seeks Clues to Exoplanet Interiors, Science, Vol. 366, issue 6462, October, 2019
FIERER, Noah, Earthworm’s Place on Earth, Science, October, Vol. 366, Issue 6464, 2019
GRINE, Frederick E., Evolutionary History of the “Robust” Australopithecines, Aldine de Gruyter, New York, 1088
LOBELL, Jarrette, Artifact, Archeology, November- December, 2019
PHILLIPS, Helen R.P., et. al., Global Distribution of Earthworm Diversity, Science. 25 October. Vol. 366, Issue 6464, 2019
RUNYAN, Curtis, Powering green Tech, The Nature Conservancy, Summer, Arlington, Va., 2019
SCIENCE, October, Vol. 366, Issue 6461, 2019
SEEGER, Eric, Kalahari’s Oasi,s, Nature Conservancy, Summer, 2019