Natural Science Forum / Earth Science / Oceanography / June 2007

Can  you please tell me if the information contained on this web site is
correct?

Thank You

Peter

http://www.islamiccenterofpeoria.org/QuranMracles.asp?lID=2

Modern Science has 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.1 For example,
Mediterranean sea water is warm, saline, and less dense, compared to
Atlantic ocean water. When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over
the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at
a depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less dense
characteristics. The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth2 (see
figure 13).

Figure 13: The Mediterranean sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the
Gibraltar sill with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics,
because of the barrier that distinguishes between them. Temperatures are in
degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology, Kuenen, p. 43, with a slight
enhancement.)

Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in these seas,
they do not 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. God has said:

He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier between
them. They do not transgress.
- Qur'an, 55:19-20

But when the Qur'an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water,
it mentions the existence of "a forbidding partition" with the barrier. God
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 partition.
- Qur'an, 25:53

One may ask, why did the Qur'an mention the partition 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 (sweet) 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." 3 This partition (zone of
separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt
water4 (see figure 14).

Figure 14: Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ?) in
an estuary. We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the
fresh and the salt water. (Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with
a slight enhancement.) (Click on the image to enlarge).

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 partition (zone of separation).

Footnotes:

   * Principles of Oceanography, Davis, pp. 92-93.
   * Principles of Oceanography, Davis, p. 93.
   * Oceanography, Gross, p. 242. Also see Introductory Oceanography,
Thurman, pp. 300-301.
   * Oceanography, Gross, p. 244, and Introductory Oceanography, Thurman,
pp. 300-301.

Home Page: www.islam-guide.com