Wind could have parted Red Sea for Moses?
WASHINGTON - Moses might not have parted the Red Sea,
but a strong east wind that blew through the night could have
pushed the waters back in the way described in biblical writings
and the Koran, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
Computer simulations, part of a larger study on how winds affect
water, show wind could push water back at a point where a river
bent to merge with a coastal lagoon, the team at the National
Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado at
Boulder said.
"The simulations match fairly closely with the account in
Exodus," Carl Drews of NCAR, who led the study, said in a
statement.
"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."
Religious texts differ a little in the tale, but all describe
Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt ahead of a pharaoh's
armies around 3,000 years ago. The Red Sea parts to let Moses and
his followers pass safely, then crashes back onto the pursuers,
drowning them.
Drews and colleagues are studying how Pacific Ocean typhoons can
drive storm surges and other effects of strong and sustained winds
on deep water.
His team pinpointed a possible site south of the Mediterranean
Sea for the legendary crossing, and modeled different land
formations that could have existed then and perhaps led to the
accounts of the sea appearing to part.
The model requires a U-shaped formation of the Nile River and a
shallow lagoon along the shoreline. It shows that a wind of 63
miles per hour, blowing steadily for 12 hours, could have pushed
back waters 6 feet deep.
"This land bridge is 3-4 km wide, and it remains open for 4
hours," they wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS
ONE.
"People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story,
wondering if it comes from historical facts," Drews said. "What
this study shows is that the description of the waters parting
indeed has a basis in physical laws."
Details of the model described can be seen at
https://www2.ucar.edu/news/parting-waters-computer-modeling-applies-physics-red-sea-escape-route
and
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012481.
