The Younger Dryas: The Cause Of Climate Change

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During the climate change episode known as the Younger Dryas, the Earth abruptly became cold again after going through a warming period. Around 14,500 years ago, the Earth went from a cold glacial period to a warmer Interglacial period and back again, which became the beginning of this episode. During this time, the amount of glaciers around the world grew, causing certain forests and other vegetative areas to be replaced with glacial tundras, forcing many cultures and groups to adapt their diet to the limitations of their environments. After the end of this episode, the glaciers began to melt again as temperatures began to grow again.
It is believed that, because of the increase of water coming from the melting glaciers of the previous age, the thermohaline circulation-the measurement of density and heat of ocean water moving north-began to fluctuate and cause high amount of changes in the Earth’s climate. Since there was so much meltwater in the northern hemisphere, the warm water from the thermohaline circulation wasn’t able to continue, being blocked from the northern poles, causing the area to cool all over again. …show more content…
However, no impacts were ever found as it would have been a “big comet, with about a million times the energy of the bolide that excavated Meteor Crater in Arizona” ("Did a Comet Really Kill the Mammoths 12,900 Years Ago?", Kunzig), which, by itself, is “570 feet deep and 4,100 feet (1.25 kilometers) across” (“Mystery of Arizona's Meteor Crater Solved,” Britt). Many try to connect this phenomenon to the extinction of the Mammoths and other prehistoric creatures, as they believe that the impact lead to their
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