<p>Definitely not.</p>

<p>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_event" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Heinrich event</a> requires massive ice sheets to grow and then collapse in the Northern hemisphere. The large outflow of icebergs that would result form such collapse would deliver fresh water and debris to the North Atlantic, which is what constitutes a Heinrich event. These events are detected by existence of deposits of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_rafting" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ice rafted debris</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropstone" rel="nofollow noreferrer">dropstones</a> in the sea floor.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xV7tk.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xV7tk.png" alt="Image of rock from Namibia containing a penny-sized dropstone"></a></p>

<p>Example of a dropstone carried by an iceberg, dropped on the sea floor, and then embedded in sea floor sediments (image taken from <a href="http://www.snowballearth.org/week1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">snowballearth.com</a>)</p>

<p>Current ice masses in the Northern hemisphere are tiny compared with those that generated all recorded Heinrich events.</p>

<p>Something similar could happen now further south if East Antarctica collapses. However the circulation pattern in the Antarctic ocean limit significantly the distance that icebergs can travel.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T14:33:47.760Z
Hi @DavidHammen, why did you change dropstone by dripstone in the photo caption?
Camilo Rada
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T15:56:26.083Z
I erroneously changed doropstone (obviously a typo) to dripstone. It should have been dropstone. DYAC apparently "corrected" my change to dripstone.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T18:08:55.493Z
@DavidHammen OK, I see it now. I had not seen my typo in the original version. Thanks for spotting and correcting that. Cheers!
Camilo Rada
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T19:21:59.180Z
Thank you, too, for catching my miscorrection.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-31T20:23:42.190Z
2019-02-01T15:53:46.210Z
2019-02-01T15:53:46.210Z
Camilo Rada
<p>Does our current weather trend properly reflect a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_event" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Heinrich Event</a>?  It seems like the drastic weather swings are what I would expect but I realize that is not definitive.  I don't see the term bandied about as I would expect.  Are there other criteria missing? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-31T19:06:58.760Z
Can you add references for those who do not know what a Heinrich Event is?
AtmosphericPrisonEscape
<geology><climate-change><glaciology><climate-models><glaciation>
Are we at the beginning of a Heinrich Event?
drago mothra
# Are we at the beginning of a Heinrich Event?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-31)

Does our current weather trend properly reflect a [Heinrich Event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_event)? It seems like the drastic weather swings are what I would expect but I realize that is not definitive. I don't see the term bandied about as I would expect. Are there other criteria missing?

**Tags:** geology, climate-change, glaciology, climate-models, glaciation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Can you add references for those who do not know what a Heinrich Event is?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-01-31. Score: 7

Definitely not.

A [Heinrich event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_event) requires massive ice sheets to grow and then collapse in the Northern hemisphere. The large outflow of icebergs that would result form such collapse would deliver fresh water and debris to the North Atlantic, which is what constitutes a Heinrich event. These events are detected by existence of deposits of [ice rafted debris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_rafting) and [dropstones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropstone) in the sea floor.

[![Image of rock from Namibia containing a penny-sized dropstone](https://i.sstatic.net/xV7tk.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/xV7tk.png)

Example of a dropstone carried by an iceberg, dropped on the sea floor, and then embedded in sea floor sediments (image taken from [snowballearth.com](http://www.snowballearth.org/week1.html))

Current ice masses in the Northern hemisphere are tiny compared with those that generated all recorded Heinrich events.

Something similar could happen now further south if East Antarctica collapses. However the circulation pattern in the Antarctic ocean limit significantly the distance that icebergs can travel.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Hi @username_3, why did you change dropstone by dripstone in the photo caption?  
> **username_3**: I erroneously changed doropstone (obviously a typo) to dripstone. It should have been dropstone. DYAC apparently "corrected" my change to dripstone.  
> **username_2**: @username_3 OK, I see it now. I had not seen my typo in the original version. Thanks for spotting and correcting that. Cheers!  
> **username_3**: Thank you, too, for catching my miscorrection.  

---

