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Scientist: 'Big Freeze' began in Canada
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Nov 15, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) --
A University of Saskatchewan scientist said a severe bout of global cooling deemed the "Big Freeze" began in Canada nearly 12,800 years ago.
Geologist Bill Patterson said the collapse of a large ice wall at Lake Agassiz in Central Canada nearly 12,800 years ago seriously disrupted the Atlantic Ocean's circulation patterns, prompting a major cooling period for much of Europe, the Canwest News Service said Sunday.
Patterson, the Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory's director, said circulation pattern disruption was caused by the sudden addition of the lake's freshwater.
He said by analyzing lake-bottom sediment from Ireland, his team of researchers was able to find evidence how temperatures in Europe plunged dramatically within a single season after the Lake Agassiz incident.
"We've generated a higher resolution record that indicates that the event was quicker than previously thought," Patterson told Canwest, referring to the commonly-accepted stance that temperatures dropped during an entire decade.
"We have been working in Ireland for 10 years and we know that we can find the right kind of sediment there," he added. "Ireland is located in a climatically sensitive area of the North Atlantic and should show major events."
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International
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