Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two
different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier
divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature,
salinity, and density.2 For example, Mediterranean sea water is
warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water.
When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar
sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a
depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less
dense characteristics. The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this
depth1 (see figure 13).
Figure 13: The Mediterranean sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with
its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that
distinguishes between them. Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology,
Kuenen, p. 43, with a slight enhancement.)
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in
these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.
The Holy Qur’an mentioned that there is a barrier between two
seas that meet and that they do not transgress. God has said:
He has set free the two seas meeting together.
There is a barrier between them.
They do not transgress. (Qur’an, 55:19-20)
But when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh
and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition”
with the barrier. God has said in the Qur’an:
He is the one who has set free the two kinds
of water, one sweet and palatable, and the
other salty and bitter. And He has made
between them a barrier and a forbidding
partition. (Qur’an, 25:53)
One may ask, why did the Qur’an mention the partition when
speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did
not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two
seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh
(sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different
from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been
discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in
estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity
separating the two layers.”1 This partition (zone of separation) has
a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water2
(see figure 14).
Figure 14: Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰) in an estuary.
We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the fresh and the salt water. (Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with a slight enhancement.)
This information has been discovered only recently, using
advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density,
oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference
between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as
one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the
division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt
water, and the partition (zone of separation).
different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier
divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature,
salinity, and density.2 For example, Mediterranean sea water is
warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water.
When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar
sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a
depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less
dense characteristics. The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this
depth1 (see figure 13).
Figure 13: The Mediterranean sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with
its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that
distinguishes between them. Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology,
Kuenen, p. 43, with a slight enhancement.)
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in
these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.
The Holy Qur’an mentioned that there is a barrier between two
seas that meet and that they do not transgress. God has said:
He has set free the two seas meeting together.
There is a barrier between them.
They do not transgress. (Qur’an, 55:19-20)
But when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh
and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition”
with the barrier. God has said in the Qur’an:
He is the one who has set free the two kinds
of water, one sweet and palatable, and the
other salty and bitter. And He has made
between them a barrier and a forbidding
partition. (Qur’an, 25:53)
One may ask, why did the Qur’an mention the partition when
speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did
not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two
seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh
(sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different
from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been
discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in
estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity
separating the two layers.”1 This partition (zone of separation) has
a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water2
(see figure 14).
Figure 14: Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰) in an estuary.
We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the fresh and the salt water. (Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with a slight enhancement.)
This information has been discovered only recently, using
advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density,
oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference
between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as
one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the
division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt
water, and the partition (zone of separation).
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