For years, the leading theory for what caused the Younger Dryas (a dramatic reversal, about 12,900 years ago, in a global warming trend) was a release of water from Glacial Lake Agassiz. The theory posited that this meltwater flooded into the North Atlantic, lowering the salinity and intensity of surface waters enough to prevent them from sinking. Ocean currents were changed in such a way that northward transport of heat in the ocean diminished, and the North Atlantic regions plunged back into near-glacial conditions. However, evidence has emerged that the Younger Dryas began long before freshwater flooded the North Atlantic. Additionally, the temperature changes induced by a shutdown in the North Atlantic heat conveyor system are too small to explain the Younger Dryas.