christianity,computer,moses,the bible-Red Sea Water Story Research

Faith Mysticism

oi-Priya Devi

By Priya Devi

Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 16:23

The parting of waters of the Red Sea could be attributed to the movement of the winds, similar to its formation as stated in 'christianity,computer,moses,the bible' say researchers.

National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), a new computer modelling study by researchers, shows how the movement of wind as described in the book of Exodus could have parted the waters.

According to the computer simulations, the water could have forced backwards at a bend where an ancient river is supposed to have merged with a costal lagoon along the Mediterranean Sea.

So with the water forced back into both waterways, a land bridge would have opened at the bend, enabling people to walk towards safety across exposed mud flats. As soon as the wind eased, the waters could have rushed back to normalcy.

A possible happening is said to have taken place mover 3000 years ago. The computer modelling study is taken upon to reveal a similar happening as in the past, although the experts are uncertain about the credibility of the occurrence

“The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus. The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that"s in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in," said Carl Drews of NCAR, the lead author.

By showing a possible site south of the Mediterranean Sea for the crossing, the study also could be of use to experts seeking to research whether such an event actually took place.

According to the Book of Exodus account, Moses and the fleeting Isralites are stuck between the chariots of the following Pharaoh and a water body that has been variously termed as Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds.

With divine intervention, the waters of the sea parts way for Moses and the Isralities to pass through on the dry bed with water walls on either sides. In the morning when the Pharoah's chariots tried to pass through, the water walls collapses and merges to drown the pursuing soldiers.

The new study, by Drews and CU oceanographer Weiqing Han, found that a reef would have had to be entirely flat for the water to drain off in 12 hours.

According to extensive analysis of archeological records, satellite measurements, and current-day maps aided the research team to estimate the water flow and depth that may have existed 3,000 years ago.

A specialized ocean computer model was used by the researchers to simulate the impact of an overnight wind at that site.

They found that a wind of 63 miles an hour, lasting for 12 hours, would have pushed back waters estimated to be six feet deep. This would have exposed mud flats for four hours, creating a dry passage about 2 to 2.5 miles long and 3 miles wide.

The water would be pushed back into both the lake and the channel of the river, creating barriers of water on both sides of newly exposed mud flats.

As soon as the winds stopped, akin to tidal bores, the waters would come rushing back and anyone still on the mud flats would be at risk of drowning.

The set of 14 computer model simulations also showed that dry land could have been exposed in two nearby sites during a windstorm from the east.

However, those sites contained only a single body of water and the wind would have pushed the water naturally to one side rather than creating a dry passage through two areas of water.

The study was published in the online journal, PLoS ONE.