Q. 100: Would not the removal of ocean water by the steam jets result in a lowering of sea level?

CPT Q. #100 – 101 Q&A on Catastrophic Plate Tectonics

Question: 100. Would not the removal of ocean water by the steam jets result in a lowering of sea level?

Response: Because the thermal energy available is insufficient for steam in the jets to reach the earth’s escape velocity, none of the steam and entrained water can leave the earth’s atmosphere. The kinetic energy of steam in the jets can be no greater than the thermal energy of supercritical water at the basalt melting temperature at the ocean depths where the jets originate. Even though this thermal energy is sufficient for the steam to reach supersonic speeds, it is far from enough for the steam to reach the earth’s escape velocity. Hence, this water vapor must remain within the earth’s atmosphere. Moreover, it appears that much, perhaps even most, of the kinetic energy of the jets is converted to gravitational potential energy in the liquid water that gets entrained by the jets and carried aloft. The mixing of the water vapor aloft with the entrained cool liquid water allows for some of this vapor to give up its latent heat of vaporization to the liquid water and to condense and precipitate as rain. No doubt, some amount of water in the form of water vapor would have been added to the atmosphere temporarily while the jets were active and for some time afterward. Certainly, detailed modeling of these processes would be desirable to quantify just what this extra atmospheric water volume might have been. My sense is that the amount likely would have been relatively small and its temporary effect on the global sea level would not have been significant.