The water then acts as a lubricant. Sliding friction instantaneously heats the water, converts it to steam at an even higher pressure, and initiates a runaway process called a shallow earthquake. Currents of water exiting the rupture were hot, as explained on page 332 . Also, sliding hydroplates generated frictional heat as did movements within the earth associated with the rising Atlantic and subsiding Pacific Ocean. 51 Warm oceans produced high evaporation rates and heavy cloud cover.
Temperatures drop as elevation increases.
For example, every mile one climbs up a mountain, the air becomes about 28 F colder. Although the consequences of the flood displayed above are correctly sequenced, each phase has a different time scale. Each consequence shown in red is the subject of a subsequent chapter. Conversely, lowered sea levels meant warmer oceans. Also, volcanic debris and heavy cloud cover shielded the earth's surface from much of the Sun's rays.