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William Ryan

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description William Ryan Overview

William B.F. Ryan is an American marine geologist associated with Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Collaborating with Walter Pitman, he published the Black Sea deluge hypothesis in the late 1990s, proposing that rising sea levels catastrophically breached the Bosporus Strait. Their research utilized sonar mapping and sediment cores to suggest this massive Holocene flood potentially inspired ancient flood myths.

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What is marine geologist William Ryan famous for discovering?

William Ryan, working alongside Walter Pitman, is famous for co-authoring a 1996 study that provided evidence for a catastrophic Black Sea deluge during the Holocene epoch. Their research argued that the Mediterranean Sea suddenly breached the Bosporus strait, flooding the Black Sea.

Which university is marine geologist William Ryan affiliated with?

William Ryan is an American marine geologist who has spent much of his career at Columbia University. He works at the university's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, where he conducts extensive oceanographic research.

How does William Ryan's Black Sea deluge research relate to the story of Noah's Ark?

Ryan and his colleague Walter Pitman suggested in their 1998 book, "Noah's Flood," that the sudden ancient flooding of the Black Sea could be the historical basis for biblical flood myths. While controversial among other geologists, the hypothesis proposed that the massive deluge survived in oral traditions across the region.

What specific dating methods did William Ryan use for his Black Sea deluge theory?

Ryan's team relied on radiocarbon dating of marine shells and the analysis of sediment cores extracted from the Black Sea floor. These methods helped them estimate that the catastrophic flood occurred roughly around 5600 BCE.

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