To better understand the mechanisms of the Younger Dryas event, which induced extreme climate change at the end of the last Ice Age of the Pleistocene Epoch, researchers analyzed the isotopic properties of speleothem samples across the globe, along with polar ice core records, and found that the Younger Dryas event began at high northern latitudes before spreading into the tropical monsoon belt; the Younger Dryas began terminating upon reaching Antarctica, where it reversed course and took on La Niña-like characteristics in the western tropical Pacific, according to the authors.
Article #20-07869: "Timing and structure of the Younger Dryas event and its underlying climate dynamics," by Hai Cheng et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Hai Cheng, Xi'an Jiaotong University, CHINA; tel: +862983395119, +86-15829478278; email: cheng021@xjtu.edu.cn
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences