Scientists have discovered that in the
places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them.
This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own
temperature, salinity, and density.
For example, water in the Mediterranean is warm, more saline, and less
dense when compared to water in the Atlantic ocean.
When water from the Mediterranean sea
enters the Atlantic Ocean over the Gibraltar Sill, it moves several hundred
miles into the Atlantic at a depth of about a three thousand feet with its
own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics. Mediterranean water
then stabilizes at this depth.
Example:
Mediterranean sea
water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with its own
warm, saline, and less dense characteristics because of the "barrier"
that exists between them. Diagram from "Marine Geology",
Kuenen.
Although there are large waves, strong
currents
and tides in these seas, they don't mix or transgress this barrier.
The Holy Qur'an mentioned that there is a barrier
between two seas that meet and that they do not transgress. Allah says in
the Qur'an:
"He
has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier between
them that they don't transgress." (55:19-20)
But when the Qur'an speaks about the divider
between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding wall” with the barrier.
Allah has said in the Qur'an:
"He
is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and
the other salty and bitter. And He has made between them a barrier and a
forbidding wall." (25:53)
One may ask, why did the Qur'an mention
a wall when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did
not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries,
where fresh and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different
from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered
that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a
“pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two
layers.” This barrier has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the
salt water
Example: Longitudinal section
showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰) in an estuary. We can
see here the wall (partition) between the fresh and the
salt water. "Introductory Oceanography" Thurman.
This information has been discovered only
recently using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density,
oxygen dissolubility, etc... The human eye cannot see the difference between
the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea.
Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the
three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the wall (partition).
The
Qur'an on Ocean Depth and Internal Waves
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Or
(the unbelievers’ state) is like the darkness in a deep sea. It is
covered by waves, above which are waves, above which are clouds.
Darknesses, one above another. If a man stretches out his hand, he cannot
see it...." (24:40)
This verse mentions the darkness found in deep
seas and oceans, where if a person stretches out his hand, he cannot see it.
The darkness in deep seas and oceans is found around a depth of 600 feet and
below. At this depth, there is almost no light.
Below a depth of 3000 feet there is no light at all.
Human beings are not able to dive more than 70 feet without the aid of
submarines or special equipment. Human beings cannot survive unaided in
the deep dark part of the oceans, such as at a depth of 600 feet.
Example: Between 3 and 30
percent of the sunlight is reflected at the sea surface. Then
almost all of the seven colors of the light spectrum are absorbed one
after another in the first 600 feet, except the blue light. "Oceans,"
Elder and Pernetta.
Scientists have recently discovered this darkness
by means of special equipment and submarines that have enabled them to dive into
the depths of the oceans.
We can also understand from the following
sentences in the previous verse, “...in a deep sea. It is covered by
waves, above which are waves, above which are clouds....”, that the deep
waters of seas and oceans are covered by waves, and above these waves are other
waves. It is clear that the second set of waves are the surface waves that
we see, because the verse mentions that above the second waves there are clouds.
But what about the first waves? Scientists have recently discovered that
there are internal waves which “occur on density interfaces between layers of
different densities.”
Example: Internal waves at
interface between two layers of water of different densities.
One is dense (the lower one), the upper one is less dense. "Oceanography", Gross.
The internal waves cover the deep waters of seas
and oceans because the deep waters have a higher density than the waters above
them. Internal waves act like surface waves. They can also break,
just like surface waves. Internal waves cannot be seen by the human eye,
but they can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes at a given
location.
http://www.islam-guide.com/ch1-1-e.htm
