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News From the Field

Charcoal Evidence Tracks Climate Changes in Younger Dryas


January 28, 2009

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A new study reports that charcoal particles left by wildfires in sediments of 35 North American lake beds don't readily support the theory that comets exploding over the continent 12,900 years ago sparked a cooling period known as the Younger Dryas. However, researchers did find clear links between abrupt climate changes and fire activity during the transition between the last ice age and the warm interglacial period that began 11,700 years ago.Full Story

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University of Oregon

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