Late Pleistocene Climate Sequence
The complete sequence of late Pleistocene climatic periods defined for northern Europe are the Oldest Dryas, the Bölling (interstadial), the Older Dryas (stadial), the Allerød (interstadial), and the Younger Dryas (stadial). The Holocene begins immediately afterward. The last three just mentioned are also Blytt-Sernander periods.
Sometimes the Older Dryas is missing, as in the Jura of France, or is negligible in the evidence. In that case, the initial part of the sequence appears to be: Oldest Dryas (cold), Bølling-Allerød (warm), Younger Dryas (cold). The Bølling-Allerød corresponds to the Windermere interstadial in Britain.
Often, however, the apparently missing Older Dryas is a problem of resolution in the evidence. Some scientists have undertaken “high-resolution” studies, which combine a variety of climatological methods. These studies, such as the ones conducted on Owens and Mono lakes in California, usually detect the Older Dryas. Even when detected, the Older Dryas appears to be no more than a few centuries of slightly cooler weather on the oxygen isotope ratio graph.
Read more about this topic: Oldest Dryas
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