Guest lecturer to discuss scientific evidence of Noah’s flood

Submitted by Amy Hartley
Phone: (907) 474-5823
04/22/05

From the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, to the biblical story of Noah and the flood, history is steeped in stories about an ancient, catastrophic flood that changed the world. Dr. Walter C. Pitman III, a geophysicist from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, has found evidence of a gigantic flood that took place 7,600 years ago in the area where the Black Sea is located today. Pitman will describe his findings in a free public lecture. "Noah’s Flood: Myth or Reality?" will take place Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

Pitman’s research focuses on past sea-level changes, marine magnetic anomalies, and the history and tectonics of the oceanic crust. He is particularly interested in unraveling the causes and consequences of changing sea levels, which directed him to conduct research in the Black Sea.

"Noah’s Flood: Myth or Reality" will address Pitman’s research of the Black Sea, revealing that the sea was once a freshwater lake that was drowned by a massive deluge from the Mediterranean Sea. Evidence of this flood is found in sunken shorelines, coastal dunes and landscapes, all found within the deep expanses of today’s Black Sea.

Walter C. Pitman III is the first scientist to participate in the Geophysical Institute Endowment Lecture Series. The series was established in 2005 to bring one scientist to UAF each year, providing several lectures to university students, staff, faculty, and to the general public.

After the lecture, a book signing of Noah’s Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event That Changed History will take place. William B.F. Ryan and Walter C. Pitman III, both senior scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and recipients of the Shepard Medal of excellence in marine geology, wrote the book in 2000.

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CONTACT:
Amy Hartley, Geophysical Institute Information Officer: (907) 474-5823