The Younger Dryas Stadial

The Younger Dryas (YD) stadial is the last extreme cold event detected in the northern hemisphere during the last deglaciation. Many theories have been proposed to explain the causes of this event. Currently, the most accepted one is that the increased meltwater discharges into the North Atlantic or Arctic Sea produced a series of changes in ocean circulation and sea ice cover that triggered substantial shifts in the atmospheric circulation patterns. The impact of these changes is marked by a series of climate shifts within the YD stadial with a complex spatial distribution of hydroclimate in Europe in each phase.