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ZetaTalk: Flood Tide
Note: written on Jun 15, 2001, during the 2001 sci.astro debates.


There is a difference in the type of wave that would be caused by an asteroid, and that caused by a sloshing ocean during a pole shift. During a pole shift, the crust of the Earth rapidly moves a quarter turn or more, in strong shifts attempting to do a half turn as the core is doing a complete flip, dragging the reluctant crust with it. As anyone carrying a saucer of soup knows, the soup and the saucer do not always move as one. If the saucer moves suddenly, the soup may stay behind, slopping. The soup is free to move or not move, where the saucer is attached to the hand of the server. The oceans of the world are pooled where the crust has offered a dip, but during a pole shift, when the crust suddenly moves under it, slopping likewise occurs, with the waters not dragged with the core as is the crust, which is attached to the core. What happens to oceans which are thus lifted out of their beds, and pushed up over land higher than that from which they came?

Tidal waves are often shown as rising high, a tower of water crashing down upon hapless humans standing in horror on a beach. Where a wave generated by an underwater displacement, such as occurs when plates adjust due to subduction during an earthquake, will roll in a deadly line of pressure until the shore is reached and then rise up when the depth of water is reduced as the wave rolls up the beach, this does not occur when the whole of the ocean is on the move. It is rather a flood tide, as the oceans are climbing out of their beds, into higher ground, so the leading edge is the highest point of the wave. In Tsunamis, a single line of pressure moves through the ocean, transferring water pressure rapidly from the quake point to where it must stop, at land, thus finally crashing upon a beach. During a pole shift, there is no single line of pressure, the ocean as a whole is on the move because it stays behind while the crust moves, and thus rolls up on land onto the coastline being pulled under it.

This is a flood tide, with the lip of the water being its highest point, rising like a silent tide endlessly on the rise, the wave rolling inland without a crashing back and forth, just a steady progressive inundation. To those at the mercy of such a flood tide, their first thought is to climb above the tide. Soon they are standing on the highest point they can reach, and still the water, flowing inland steadily, rises. Afloat on a boat or flotsam, they will be dragged inland with the flow until a reverse slosh begins, the water flowing back into its bed but in the nature of water during a slosh, overshooting this other side so that both sides of the ocean experience this flood tide, alternately, for some days until the momentum diminishes. When the flood tide recedes, those afloat are in danger of being dragged far out to sea with the flow, as the water will rush to its bed unevenly, more rapidly where it can recede the fastest.

Waves caused by an asteroid crash are akin to what children see when they drop a boulder into a pond or puddle. As with a Tsunami caused by a subducting plate, where the water is under great pressure at a certain point and transfers this pressure in a line in the direction it was first thrown, the boulder will cause a sudden line of water pressure away from the impact point. That water rising directly upward drops quickly to the surface, the splash. But the water within the pond moves the line of pressure outward, visible only as a ripple on the surface of the water until the edge of the pond is reached where it becomes a lapping wave. Asteroid generated waves are thus tall, crashing upon the shore. Whale bones on mountain tops well inland were not lifted by Tsunami waves, nor carried inland atop such a wave. A whale would not be close enough to the shore to be caught in such an occurrence. They arrived at these inland mountain tops because the entire ocean was moving, and they could not escape the momentum. Thus caught, they were deposited in rocky crags where fast flowing waters moved quickly away from them through cracks, too tight a squeeze for the hapless whale left floundering behind.

Note: added during the Mar 22, 2003 Live ZetaTalk IRC Session.

Where the waters of the oceans and great lakes resist moving with the crust, to a great extent it does. However, the press of a body of water is far stronger than the press of water clinging, gravitywise, to a disappearing Moon. Thus, there is more pressure to move inland in a flood tide, and due to the bulk of water pressing, the water will move faster than a normal tide. A normal Moon driven tide takes 6 hours in, 6 hours out, but the pole shift tide will roll in within less time. The sloshing back will telescope this, but the additional sloshing that occurs until the water settles into its bowl will take increasingly longer. It is a confused mix of factors affecting the tidal flow. The Moon does not stop its affect on the tides. Water from compressed bowls such as the Pacific will attempt to equalize for days, creating flows where they would not be expected. The temperature will be mixed, with cold water forcing under warm in unexpected places, creating swirls that move the water around rather than in a direction. Thus, we would advise those having to deal with flood tides to read our Safe Locations information carefully, re their location. Read the Pole Shift section regarding water movement carefully. Have discussions with others on the hypothetical movement of water affecting the group. After a bit, the many factors will fall into place, and you will be able to predict just when it is safe to return to your coastline.

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