]

http://www2.ucar.edu/news/parting-waters-computer-modeling-applies-physics-red-sea-escape-route



Para cientistas, mar pode ter sido dividido pelo vento

A famosa passagem da Bíblia em que Moisés divide o Mar Vermelho pode ter sido real, segundo simulações feitas em computadores. A história do Livro do Êxodo diz que os judeus estavam fugindo do Egito, liderados por Moisés, e com o exército do Faraó em seu encalço. Moisés ergueu seu cajado e dividiu o Mar Vermelho, para que os judeus pudessem passar pelo meio das águas. Quando o exército do faraó tentou persegui-los, a água do mar caiu sobre os soldados, fazendo com que os judeus ficassem a salvo. Agora simulações feitas por cientistas americanos mostram que uma espécie de ponte poderia ter sido aberta em um determinado local do Mar Vermelho, ajudando os judeus a atravessarem as águas em segurança.

As pesquisas mostram que um vento leste forte poderia ter empurrado a água para um local onde um rio desaguava em uma lagoa. Com a água sendo empurrada para dois lados (para o natural e pelo vento leste) uma ponte seria aberta e pessoas poderiam atravessar em segurança. Assim que o vento parasse, a água voltaria ao seu lugar original.

Segundo um dos pesquisadores responsáveis pelo estudo, Carl Drews, do Centro Nacional de Pesquisa Atmosférica dos EUA, a simulação bate com a situação apresentada pelo Livro do Êxodo – desde que um vento leste forte tenha soprado durante algum tempo.

Outros cientistas já tentaram explicar esse milagre de Moisés. Outra hipótese levantada é de que um tsunami tenha feito as águas se retraírem e voltarem rapidamente, mas nada foi comprovado.

(Hypescience)

Nota: Tremenda coincidência teria sido o mar se abrir justamente quando os hebreus pisaram em sua margem e se fechar exatamente quando eles passaram a salvo! Que vento ou tsunami controlados e sincronizados teriam sido esses? Não seria mais fácil e coerente admitir que ocorreu algo sobrenatural ali? O que significa para o Criador do universo abrir um canal por entre as águas do Mar Vermelho, a fim de fazer com que Seu povo passasse a pés secos e avistando duas colunas de água, à direita e à esquerda, conforme relata a Bíblia? Mais informações aqui e aqui. O que chama a atenção mesmo é que se trata de um artigo científico com tema religioso com revisão por pares! Bom começo?[MB]

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11383620

Computer simulations show how the movement of wind could have parted the waters of the Red Sea

New computer simulations have shown how the parting of the Red Sea, as described in the Bible, could have been a phenomenon caused by strong winds.
The account in the Book of Exodus describes how the waters of the sea parted, allowing the Israelites to flee their Egyptian pursuers.
Simulations by US scientists show how the movement of wind could have opened up a land bridge at one location.
This would have enabled people to walk across exposed mud flats to safety.
The results are published in the open-access journal Plos One.
The researchers show that a strong east wind, blowing overnight, could have pushed water back at a bend where an ancient river is believed to have merged with a coastal lagoon.

63mph winds from the east could have pushed the water back at an
ancient river bend

With the water pushed back into both waterways, a land bridge would have opened at the bend, enabling people to walk across exposed mud flats to safety.
As soon as the wind died down, the waters would have rushed back in.
The study is based on a reconstruction of the likely locations and depths of Nile delta waterways, which have shifted considerably over time.
"The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus," said the study's lead author Carl Drews, from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
"The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in."
The study is part of a larger research project by Mr Drews into the impacts of winds on water depths, including the extent to which Pacific Ocean typhoons can drive storm surges.
By pin-pointing a possible site south of the Mediterranean Sea for the crossing, the study also could be of benefit to archaeologists seeking to research the account.
A way through
In the Book of Exodus, Moses and the fleeing Israelites became trapped between the Pharaoh's advancing chariots and a body of water that has been variously translated as the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds.



The Biblical account says that, as the Pharaoh's army followed, the waters rushed in

In a divine miracle, the account says, a mighty east wind blew all night, splitting the waters and leaving a passage of dry land with walls of water on both sides.
The Israelites were able to flee to the other shore. But when the Egyptian Pharaoh's army attempted to pursue them in the morning, the waters rushed back and drowned the soldiers.
Other scientists have also sought to explain the account through natural processes.
Some have speculated that a tsunami could have caused waters to retreat and advance rapidly. But the scientists behind the latest research point out that such an event would not have caused the gradual overnight divide of the waters or have been associated with winds.
Other researchers have focused on a phenomenon known as "wind setdown," in which a particularly strong and persistent wind can lower water levels in one area while piling up water downwind.