Hi John,
Hope you’re having a great day, John. After reading Snelling’s article, I’m scratching my head as to why you think it is relevant. He states that the fossil whale is “not polystrate in a vertical sense, as misunderstood thus far by many creationists.” He agrees with the standard conclusion that a whale fell to the ocean bottom and was fossilized in an anoxic environment. His only disagreement with the standard assessment is that he believes that the diatomaceous laminae (i.e., strata) were formed over a short period of time (years or decades, not millenia) as a result of volcanic activity. Moreover, he states that this fossil cannot be attributed to a global flood, but rather was the result of what he calls a local catastrophe (i.e., volcanic activity).
My point was simply that the strata that rapidly (in geological time) bury a tree or large animal fossil can be dated whenever they are sandwiched by non-sedimentary layers. Not all formations are found this way, but many of them (such as the Yosemite formation) are. Nothing in Snelling’s article contradicts this.
My understanding of the geology–namely, that “polystrate” fossils can be dated over the vast course of geological time and were created by local sedimentation processes (catastrophic or otherwise)–has not even been refuted, much less disproved.
Take care, my friend…