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1961 begins
Atlantis and the Ice Age, By Rene Malaise
(a brief summary)
In terms of more credible theories Dr. Malaise suggests
that "Relief Hypothesis", by the Finnish geologist W. Ramsey,
advanced in 1924 was on of the better submitted.
"Geologists have observed certain connections existed
between geological periods of extensive mountain building (orogensis) and Ice
Ages. After a period of mountain building and subsequent Ice Age these
mountains will slowly be eroded and worn down during long geological epochs
(100-250 million years) until the surface of the earth generally speaking
becomes extensive low lands and shallow seas. Transport of the heat from the
Tropics towards the poles by air- and sea currents meet no, or only few
obstacles over low-land and seas. The climate becomes gradually more and more
equable and warmer with less differences than at present between the polar and
tropical regions. Such a development had taken place after the Hercynian
orogenic period and the following Permo-Carboniferous Ice Ages, and continued
during the Triassic and Jurasic to culminate during the long Cretaceous, when
hardly any mountains remained. As a consequence of the warm climate during
these many millions of years the geanticlines and geosynclines of the earth's
crust increased their curvature owing to their raised temperature as explained
by the Constriction Theory of Odhner."
These forces were quite capable of forces exerted upon
raising mountain chains or depressing the bottom of the Marine basin thousands
of meters.
"With the extreme downbulging of the geosynclines the
water of the oceans accumulated into these depressions at the same time as the
geanticlines were elevated and their summits reached into colder air."
The air crossing the newly formed mountains began to send
cool air downward toward the oceans, and took a long process to cool the lava
forming bottoms of oceans to cool down. A process that took in time from -
"In the Tertiary this development continued until the
end of the Pliocene. When the change eventually came, it occurred geologically
speaking simultaneously all over the world. The downbulging of the bottom of
the marine basins was then suddenly stopped and reversed. These geosynclinal depressions
strived accordingly to regain their original horizontal status with the result
that they raised their bottoms and the ocean waters, already accumulated into
them, spread over the previously dried continental borders. A most destructive
flood drowned then all the low laying tracts. Whole continents were inundated
and their fauna and flora exterminated. Several previously separated ocean
basins became connected, but some strips of land, today submerged, remained
still above sea level and hindered many of the now existing marine currents in
their course. Strips of land connected, for instance, Greenland with Europe
over Iceland during the entire Ice Age, and the Tertiary broad Atlantis
Continent, the now submarine Mid Atlantic Ridge, remained also as a narrow and
Mountainous barrier for the Gulf Stream. The Arctic Ocean was accordingly
not in connection with the warm oceans, as the even yet very shallow Bering
Straits also was closed. With no warm marine currents entering the
The climate of the Northern Hemisphere attended thus a very
labil state and a very slight increase and decrease in the general temperature
could be responsible for the appearance or disappearance of extensive
ice-fields over the northern continents. Such a regulating influence existed in
the wobbling of the earth's axis towards the angle of the rays of the sun at
the limit of the atmosphere. From a mathematical-astronomical point of view
this angle has been used by Milankovitch 1938 to calculate the secular
variation of the climate during the pleistocene. It is obvious this wobbling of
the earth's axis occurred also during the Tertiary, but the general climate was
then warmer and the climatic variation due to this wobbling was to small to be
of any importance. With a closed and frozen Arctic Ocean the general climate
reached the critical point when the wobbling of the earth's axis reached a
trigger point influence between cold glacial and warmer interglacial Epochs.
Once the Gulf Stream could enter the Arctic Ocean and transport warm water into
it, the entire meteorological situation was changed. An approach to the
named critical climatic point is now out of the question. The correctness of
the above statement stands and falls with the proofs of the Arctic Ocean
formerly being land-locked or not. The Bering Straits may not have existed
during the Ice Age? Its shallowness makes it obvious that even without the
subsequent sinking of a former isthmus connecting Alaska with the Siberian
Continent, the general level of the ocean sank enough during the colder periods
of the Ice Age to dry up the straits. Such a sinking is generally accepted as a
result of storage on land of such quantities of ice and snow that the oceans
were deprived of so much water that their general level sank about 100 meters. Most
oceanographers deny a land-connection existed between Greenland and Europe and,
true enough, there are no definate proofs of its existence, only circumstantial
ones. If we presume the Arctic Ocean once was land-locked, air currents from
the Atlantic must then have been able to cross the barrier and the humidity
this air brought along must have fallen down into the closed drainage basin of
the Arctic. The evaporation from this cold basin was by necessity
inconsiderable and the humidity brought there, either by rivers or points in
the shape of a river. From the great size of the polar drainage basin this
river or rivers must have been very mighty. Estimated from the present
topography the main river was situated between Greenland and Iceland, where the
lowest part of the brim ought to have been also the Quaternary. Such an efflux
must have been torrential and have dug itself a deep, canyon shaped bed across
the barring ridge. Such an ancient river bed may still be distinguishable by
echo sounding devices as a deep grove in the bottom of the Denmark Straits. To the
best of the present author's knowledge no such investigation has yet been made.
Webmasters Note Update-
There is along the Far Western Great Britain region an underwater basin and
pointing towards almost Spain an ancient riverbed that formed canyons and shows
this run off Dr. Malaise is talking about that may have existed during the
interglacial or previous to the first Ice Age. It is extremely deep, and
appears to have formed over millions of years possibly formed through more than
one ancient ice age before man's even more recent Ice Ages. It represents the
fact that most of the Arctic was a cold region for a very long time for this
ancient river to grove such a deep canyon that points upward to the Greenland
and Iceland region just as Dr. Malaise had suggested. Denmark's may have had as
great of a tributary for equally as long a period of time, but that it had a
wider distribution of water then the underwater river canal from the
Greenland-Iceland run-off. This indicates that Atlantis for a long time had a
predominate continent uplift while Denmark paid the price of continual
inundation's on a wide scale, which the larger Black Sea once almost emptied
towards is revealed geologically as the case. It is only a question of how far
back this occurred and how much it influenced what happened to Atlantis latter.
The run-off of the Manitoba Glacial boundary in the interglacial period was
substantial which flowed over the Straits of the Hudson, and Straits between
America and Greenland. This additional water melted form this Manitoba glacial
run-off may have devastated the earlier size of the largest size that Atlantis
ever was. This occurrence of this flood may have happened before 34,000 B.C.
and may have caused a further uplift of the continent of Atlantis mountains
while it sank more then a third of its basins or valleys. It was a false rise
so to speak because the weight of the water was progressively eroding the edges
of its basalt stone base, and the carbon calcite was increasing its decay by a
larger introduction of fresh water eventually depressed by salt water levels.
Between volcanic and methane activities the continent from that point on was
eroding, and may only fully rise with the onset of a new glacial age to take
away the water from its basins. The only other action geologically speaking is
volcanic or plate uplifting which without a glacial age may only again be
temporary until the water abates and or freezes.
"Off the coasts of Labrador and of New Foundland a
grove has been discovered running parallel to the coasts, half-way to the Mid
Atlantic ridge. This submarine canyon shows all the characteristics of a
drowned ancient river bed. American
oceanographers have attributed to the activity of "turbidity
currents". The present author has pointed out the impossiblity of such an
interpretation in a paper 1957. At the same time he predicted the
continuation of this canyon to run along the Denmark Straits and terminate at
the border of the Arctic Ocean. A definite proof of or disproof of the existence
of a ridge between Greenland and Europe above sea level in Tertiary and
Quaternary times is thus pending until it has been established the found
mid-ocean submarine canyon off New Foundland extends to the Arctic Ocean or
not.
Atlantis and the Ice Age, By
Rene Malaise, D. Sc. ( a summary) continued
Updated information on Glaciation and Atlantis by
Metahistory Inst. as of 1997
