Fossil forest grew in humid air according to New Scientist, 24 May 2003, p24. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University studied the hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in cellulose from a metasequoia tree that is part of a “fossil forest” in a region of arctic desert in Axel Heiberg Island in Canada, and found the wood was unusually high in light isotopes, which plants lose by evaporation at a higher rate than heavy isotopes. This indicates a low evaporation rate from the tree indicating it grew in a humid environment. The wood is believed to be 45 million years old and is “well preserved”.
Editorial Comment: These findings fit with the description of the environment as described in Genesis, where the earth was watered by a mist that rose each day. The fact that the fossils contain cellulose is also an indication they were buried rapidly, deeply and a lot more recently that 45 million years ago. Cellulose is quickly broken down by bacterial action if exposed to air and water where bacteria live. Plus the fact omitted from the article – wood from this tree has been dated by the C14 lab in University of Toronto, Canada, and gives a C14 reading indicating it is less than 41,000 years old. (Ref. climate, wood, fossil)