The Younger Dryas was a dramatic cold period that began about 12,900 years ago and ended roughly 11,600–11,700 years ago, depending on the chronology used. It lasted around 1,200–1,300 years and ended abruptly, with Greenland temperatures rising by about 10°C in a decade. Colder conditions returned and ice sheets reformed near the start of the Holocene. It was a major abrupt-climate event, but calling it the most significant climatic event in 200,000 years is not supported.
Younger Dryas: An abrupt 1,300-year cold snap ending about 11,600 years ago

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Key facts
- Common chronologies place the Younger Dryas at about 12,900–11,600 years ago, although other sources place its end near 11,700 or 11,500 years ago.
- Depending on the chronology used, it lasted roughly 1,200–1,300 years.
- Its end was abrupt; NOAA reports that Greenland temperatures rose about 10°C in a decade.
- The event brought colder conditions and ice-sheet growth near the beginning of the Holocene.
- The supplied evidence supports describing it as a major abrupt-climate event, but not as the most significant climatic event of the past 200,000 years.
Sources
Younger Dryas - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Temperature changes of the Younger Dryas lasted 1,150–1,300 years. According to the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the Younger Dryas ...
Disappearance of Ice Age Megafauna and the Younger Dryas Impactbeta.capeia.com
The Younger Dryas (YD) was a sudden period of rapid cooling ... years ago and lasting approximately 1,300 years . It followed a ...
[PDF] The Younger Dryasncei.noaa.gov
The end of the Younger Dryas, about 11,500 years ago, was par- ticularly abrupt. In Greenland, temperatures rose 10°C. (18°F) in a decade (Alley 2000). Other ...
The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: A requiem - ScienceDirectsciencedirect.com
The Younger Dryas (YD) impact hypothesis is a recent theory that suggests that a cometary or meteoritic body or bodies hit and/or exploded over North ...
Younger Dryas impact hypothesis - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
... 12,900 years ago. It has been debunked for lack of ... 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling.
Younger Dryas | Earth and Atmospheric Sciencesebsco.com
The Younger Dryas, occurring 12,900 to 11,600 years ago, was a well-defined climatic event during which cool temperatures returned and ice sheets reformed.
The case of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis - PMCpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by JL Powell · 2022 · Cited by 50 — The hypothesis proposes that the airburst or impact of a comet ∼12,850 years ago caused the ensuing ∼1200-year-long Younger Dryas (YD) cool period
Two examples of abrupt climate changeocp.ldeo.columbia.edu
An event that occurred about 12,800 years before present (BP), termed the Younger Dryas (YD), is the canonical example of abrupt climate change. It is best seen ...
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