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Questions tagged [younger-dryas]

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16 votes
3 answers
2k views

How do the known abrupt climate change events fit into the xkcd Earth temperature timeline?

The xkcd "Earth Temperature Timeline" depicts the global average temperature during the past 20,000 years, based on the known data. We already have a question about the chart's general accuracy, but I ...
21 votes
2 answers
2k views

What caused the Younger Dryas cold event?

During the termination of the latest ice age the warming climate leading from glacial to interglacial conditions was abruptly reverted by a distinct but short (about 1300 years in duration) cold event,...
6 votes
1 answer
463 views

Was the Southern Hemisphere cooler during the Younger Dryas?

The Younger Dryas was associated with less heat transport from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere (and a lower flux of the meridional overturning circulation). So I'm wondering - what ...
10 votes
1 answer
581 views

Is the Younger Dryas associated with an extinction event?

It's often said that, while warming and cooling have happened before, what is unusual about the current anthropogenic warming is that it's happening so fast, relative to previous warming phases$^1$. ...