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The Younger Dryas stadial, named after the alpine / tundra wildflower Dryas octopetala, and also referred to as the Big Freeze [1], was a brief cold climate period following the Bölling/ Allerød interstadial at the end of the Pleistocene, and preceding the Preboreal of the early Holocene.
1 Abrupt climate change
The Younger Dryas saw a rapid return to glacial conditions in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere between 12,900 – 11,500 years before present (BP)[2]in sharp contrast to the warming of the preceding interstadial deglaciation. Thermally fractionated nitrogen and argon isotope data from Greenland ice core GISP2 indicates that the summit of Greenland was ~15ºC colder than today during the Younger Dryas [3]. In the UK, coleopteran (fossil beetle) evidence suggests mean annual temperature dropped to approximately -5ºC [4], and periglacial conditions prevailed in lowland areas, while icefields and glaciers formed in upland areas [5]. Nothing of the size, extent, or rapidity of this period of abrupt climate change has been experienced since [2].
2 Was the Younger Dryas global?
Although the Younger Dryas had the greatest effect in EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se, it was noted throughout the world including:
- Replacement of forestThis article is about forests as a massing of trees. For other uses of the word, see Forest (disambiguation). A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, an area set aside for hunting). Forests can be found in all regions capable o in ScandinaviaScandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Scandinavian countries are Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which mutually recognize each other as parts of Scandinavia. The collective label "Scandinavia" reflects the cultural with glacial tundraIn physical geography, tundra is an area where tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia which means treeless plain. There are three types of tundra: arctic tundra antarctic (which is the habitat of the plant Dryas octopetalaDryas ''Dryas octopetala Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Subfamily: Rosoideae Genus Dryas D. drummondii Drummond's Avens D. integrifolia Entire-leaved Avens D. octopetala Mountain Avens Dryas i, from which the period is named).
- Glaciation or increased snowColorado's, ( USA) high forests. Snow is precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes. Since it is composed of small rough particles it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unl in mountain ranges around the world.
- More dust in the atmosphereEarth's atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity. It consists of nitrogen (78. 1% by volume) and oxygen (20. 9%), with small amounts of argon (0. 9%), carbon dioxide (variable, but around 0. 035%),, originating from deserts in Asia.
- Drought in the Levant, perhaps motivating the Natufian culture to invent agriculture.
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