Age of The Earth (Team Debate)

Radiometric dating According to scientific estimates, the Earth is roughly 4.5-4.6 billion years old. How do they come to such a conclusion and under what basis do they make this claim? One of the ways to test this is through radiometric dating. Radiometric dating is a technique that is used to date material such as rocks or carbon by the decay in the radioactive elements. There are over 40 elements that are used for radiometric dating [1]. Figure 2-1 (below) gives a good diagram of how radiometric dating works [2]. The mathematical expression that relates radioactive decay to geologic time is D = D0 + N(t) (eλt − 1) where t is age of the sample, D is number of atoms of the daughter isotope in the sample, D0 is number of atoms of the daughter isotope in the original composition, N is number of atoms of the parent isotope in the sample at time t (the present), given by N(t) = Noe-λt, and λ is the decay constant of the parent isotope, equal to the inverse of the radioactive half-life of the parent isotope times the natural logarithm of 2. [2] So, how do we know that these dating methods are reliable? For one, scientists have tested radiometric dating against the historical record. If the dating techniques match up to what we know the age is, then we make a good case for the reliability of such a method. Mt. Vesuvius erupted in the early afternoon on August 24, 79 C. E. In 1997, scientists from the Berkeley Geochronology Center and University of Naples wanted to test the 40Ar/39Ar method of radiometric dating to see if it could accurately measure the age of this very young volcanic material. Incremental heating experiments on 12 samples of sanidine yielded 46 data points that resulted in an isochron age of 1925 94 years. The actual age of the flow in 1997 was 1918 years. This is only a 7 year deviation from the actual date of the material [3] Based on the oldest known zinc, radiometric dating has found the Earth to be at least 4.3 billion years old [4]. Furthermore, dating ancient meteorite impact showed the Earth to be around 4.5 billion years old: “The ages measured for Earth's oldest rocks and oldest crystals show that the Earth is at least 4.3 billion years in age but do not reveal the exact age of Earth's formation. The best age for the Earth (4.54 Ga) is based on old, presumed single-stage leads coupled with the Pb ratios in troilite from iron meteorites, specifically the Canyon Diablo meteorite. ” [5]. Things older than 10,000 years old It is incumbent on the affirmative to prove that the Earth is younger than ~10,000 years old. Thus, if we can show that there are objects and items on the Earth that are older than 10,000 years old, we negate that part of the resolution. Although it would not fulfill our burden to show the Earth is ~4 billion years old, it will add a much stronger case for our side. Example 1: Oldest Desert The oldest desert on Earth is the Nambid Desert, a desert located in Africa. It is estimated to be 55 million years old [6]. Example 2: Oldest fossil The oldest known fossils, and most likely the oldest known life form on the planet, dates back to 3.4 billion years. [7] Ice Core Dating Throughout the years, as the winters of Earth have grown and grown, ice began to build and build up. This created Mother Earth’s historical record. In the 1960’s, scientists have set out to go and discover the layers of ice that has built up over the years. One of several was sent to Greenland, while some others were sent to Antarctica. The GISP2 project finally finished nearly 30 years later as they ended up with a couple mile long core of ice. This core, in Greenland went back over 110,000 years, while the ones from Antarctica went back nearly 750,000 years [8]. We would have to see that in order for our opponent’s case to hold true, hundreds of thousands of winters would have to be wiped out of existence and these are even including the many ice ages that our planet has endured. Conclusion We have proven that radiometric dating is a reliable dating technique. By using this technique, scientists have shown that it is impossible for the Earth to be less than 10,000 years old. We have also shown that the 4.5 billion year old age that is consistent with what the science says. Thus we have fulfilled our burden to negate the resolution that the Earth is younger than 10,000 years and affirm the resolution that the Earth is greater than 4 billion years. We look forward to team pro’s response. Sources 1. (. http://bit.ly...)2. (. http://bit.ly...)3. (. http://bit.ly...)4. (. http://bit.ly...)5. (. http://on.doi.gov...)6. (. http://bit.ly...)7. (. http://go.nature.com...)8. (. http://go.nasa.gov...)