The Younger Dryas is the most significant rapid climate change event that occurred during the last deglaciation of the North Atlantic Region. It was first studied in Northern Europe by examing marine cores, terrestrial plants and pollen. It was found that for more than a millenium (about 11,000-10,000 years BP) Europe was plunged back into near-glacial conditions and the retreat of the ice sheets did not go smoothly. The interval was named by European palynologists after an arctic plant named Dryas octopetella.