EVIDENCE AGAINST A SIGNIFICANT YOUNGER DRYAS COOLING EVENT IN NEW-ZEALAND

Pollen records of deglacial sequences from northwest Nelson, New Zeala nd, demonstrate that there was no significant temperature decline asso ciated with the Younger Dryas in New Zealand. Records of glacial advan ces at this time were either the product of increased snow accumulatio n under enhanced precipitation regimes or random variation ra ther tha n the result of a regional thermal decline. This finding supports thos e models of Younger Dryas initiation that require neither enhanced wes terly circulation nor significant thermal decline in the Southern Hemi sphere.