[meteorite-list] New Paper On Younger Dryas Cold Event

[Paul H.]

Dear Friends,

New paper about the Younger Dryas cold event has been
published in:

Broecker, W. S., G. H. Denton, R. L. Edwards, H. Cheng, 
R. B. Alley, and A. E. Putnam, 2010, Putting the Younger 
Dryas cold event into context Quaternary Science Reviews. 
vol. 29, no. 9-10, pp. 1078-1081.

Abstract at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.02.019

This paper argues that “rather than being a freak occurrence, 
the Younger Dryas is an integral part of the deglacial 
sequence of events that produced the last termination on a 
global scale.” 

The abstract also states:

“The recent suggestion that the Younger Dryas was triggered 
by the impact of a comet has not gained traction.” 

The paper also disputes the hypothesis that the Younger 
Dryas was triggered by a flood of water stored in proglacial 
Lake Agassiz.

The paper concludes that “when viewed in the context of 
the last four terminations, cold reversals equivalent to 
the YD seem to be integral parts of global switches from 
glacial to interglacial climate. No one-time catastrophe is 
required.”

and

“Based on these observations of the climate signatures 
during several terminations, we conclude that there is no 
need to call upon a one-time catastrophic event to explain 
the YD. More likely, the YD was a necessary part of the 
last termination.”

A related paper by Dr. Broecker is “Was the Younger Dryas 
Triggered by a Flood?” at:

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/gs/pubs/broecker_science.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.