Stuff You Should Know [Insert Your Own Catchy Title About Younger Dryas Here]
Oct 21, 2025
Dive into the geological mystery of the Younger Dryas, a period marked by a sudden return to near-ice-age conditions. Discover how this cooling disrupted early agriculture and human migrations. Learn how scientists unravel the past using ice cores and lake sediments. Explore theories like the meltwater shutdown of ocean circulation and the intriguing impact hypothesis involving comets. Uncover alternative causes such as supernovae and volcanism, and see how this climate shift paved the way for the Holocene and the rise of civilization.
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Sudden Millennial Cold Snap
- The Younger Dryas was a sudden return to near-glacial conditions lasting ~1,300 years and then ended abruptly.
- This rapid flip disrupted emerging post-glacial human advances and ecosystems.
Rapid Post‑Younger Dryas Rebound
- Greenland ice cores show a ~10°C rise in about a decade when the Younger Dryas ended.
- That magnitude and speed vastly exceed modern warming rates and altered ecosystems quickly.
Opposite Hemispheres Reacted Differently
- Northern Hemisphere cooled and dried with ice-sheet advance and pollen declines, indicating ecological collapse.
- Southern Hemisphere often warmed, producing an interhemispheric contrast in climate response.
