How reliable is radioactive dating? And, if you'll bear with one more...
Would it be likely that flooding, an ice age, a meteor strike...any type of catastrophic occurrences over a large or small area...affect the outcome of this type of dating?
Radiometric dating is an important tool for getting exact ages. The other forms of dating (stratigraphic, fauna and flora, etc.) can establish relationships: this layer is older than that layer. When you have a lot of layers, that is extremely useful information, as it allows a cross-check on other methods (see my previous post for examples, upthread).
There are several types of radiometric dating, from radiocarbon dating that is useful only back some 50,000 or so years to several types that can measure the age of the earth, and agree with each other, on about 4.5 billion years.
Try this link for additional information:
The American Scientific Affiliation: Science in Christian Perspective Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective by Dr. Roger C. Wiens.To affect the results of radiometric dating you would have to speed up or slow down atomic reactions (i.e., in radiocarbon dating which I know best, you would have to speed up or slow down beta decay. That is tough to do with a flood or any other natural disaster.)
So, the methods themselves are pretty accurate. Care needs to be taken with sample selection though, but that is early grad school stuff. For example, I was taught if you do only one date you know the exact age of your site. If you do ten dates you don't (but with good sample selection you should have a good idea of the range of your site, which is far better data).
You always post accurate information, and I get informed. Dendrochronolgy can be added.
The age of the rocks on planet Earth is extremely well established. And on our nearby moon. Our little planet is about 4.6 billion years since its formation. The evidence is clear, and to deny this is to deny everything we know in physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy. I see nothing that negates an admiration for our Universe in accepting these understandings. Indeed, it is a tribute to our human intellects that we humans have been able to reject ancient myths and figure this out.
Our planet may be small, but there are those of us who love it.