Therefore, scientists allow only slow, steady deposition, and cannot explain catastrophic events. It is then argued that this rapid burial is best explained by the biblical flood. So, Creationism has an explanation for polystrate fossils, and conventional science does not. This argument has been made by many Creationist authors, including Coffin, Huse, Morris, Taylor, and Gish. These fossils are reasonably common, and have been mentioned in the scientific literature for well over a century, under the name upright fossils or in situ trees .
Science is perfectly happy with the idea that deposition is occasionally rapid.
Geologists agree that the numerous upright fossils couldn't have all been buried at the same time. There is a Usenet FAQ on this. Big trees commonly stay upright for years and even decades after death. For example, at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee, there are some bald cypress trees that have kept growing in the lake since an earthquake submerged them in 1812. Some upright fossils had rotted-away interiors by the time their burial was final.