The Younger Dryas was an abrupt cooling event around 12,900 years ago, strongest in the Northern Hemisphere, that interrupted deglaciation warming. It lasted until roughly 11,700 years ago, when rapid warming began Holocene conditions. The event was associated with substantial meltwater input into the North Atlantic—not a global refreezing that ended ice-sheet meltwater—and formed part of a broader sequence of abrupt climate swings.
Younger Dryas: Abrupt Northern Hemisphere cooling around 12,900 years ago

Key facts
- The Younger Dryas began around 12,900 years ago and lasted until roughly 11,700 years ago.
- It was an abrupt cooling interval, most pronounced in the Northern Hemisphere, that interrupted deglaciation warming.
- The event was associated with substantial meltwater input into the North Atlantic, not the termination of all ice-sheet meltwater.
- Deep-sea and lake records document the transition as one of the best-known examples of abrupt climate change.
- Its termination around 11,700 years ago brought rapid warming and marked the start of the Holocene.
- The supplied results do not substantiate the specific claim about an earlier event exactly 1,300 years before the Younger Dryas.
Sources
The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: A requiem - ScienceDirectsciencedirect.com
... catastrophic extraterrestrial event 12,900 years ago. Here we present a review of the impact hypothesis, including its evolution and current variants, and ...
Understanding the Younger Dryas: Causes and Characteristicsprehistoricpassage.com
... cooling in much of the globe starting around 12,900 years ago. As it ... catastrophic explanations. References. Bahr, A., Hoffmann, J ...
Younger Dryas - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The 2004 film, The Day After Tomorrow depicts catastrophic climatic effects ... See also. edit · 8.2 kiloyear climate event – Rapid global cooling about 8,200 ...
The Younger Dryas comet-impact hypothesis: gem of an idea or ...realclimate.org
... catastrophic floods and fires to this potential event. Each of ... not necessarily catastrophic). It's a sufficiently significant shift ...
Why won't this debate about an ancient cold snap die? - Science Newssciencenews.org
The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: a cosmic catastrophe. Journal of Quaternary Science. Vol. 29, August 8, 2014, p. 515. doi: 10.1002/jqs ...
Volcanic origin for Younger Dryas geochemical anomalies ...science.org
The Younger Dryas (YD) abrupt cooling event ca. 12.9 ± 0.1 ka is associated with substantial meltwater input into the North Atlantic Ocean, ...
climate change - What caused the Younger Dryas cold event?earthscience.stackexchange.com
The Younger Dryasncei.noaa.gov
The Younger Dryas is one of the most well-known examples of abrupt change. About 14,500 years ago, Earth's climate began to shift from a cold glacial world to a ...
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.