Сапелко3 1Государственный гидрологический институт, Санкт-Петербург, Россия; 2Институт географии РАН, Москва, Россия; 3Институт озероведения РАН, Санкт-Петербург, Россия *irena_borzen@mail.ru Cold period in the Northern Europe in the past (about 8200 years ago): analysis of empirical data and possible causes I.I. <...> Petersburg, Russia *irena_borzen@mail.ru Received October 1, 2016 Keywords: cold period in the past, lessons from past for future, mechanisms of the rapid climate changes in past. <...> Summary Cold episode in Northern Europe happened about 8200 years ago was known for a relatively long time, mainly due to paleobotanical (palynological) data obtained from analysis of lake and peat sediments. <...> Detailed analysis of ice cores from the Greenland holes GRIP, GISP2, and NGRIP with a time resolution of about 10 years made possible to refine the duration and characteristics of the time structure of this cold period. <...> The question about a nature of this cold event and other cold spells in Late Glaciation, known as the cold of the early, middle and late Dryas, is widely discussed in the scientific literature. <...> Most of scientists accept a hypothesis proposed more than 20 years ago, that the reduction of air temperatures in regions immediately adjacent to the North Atlantic was caused by the large volume of melt water discharged into the ocean as a result of disintegration and melting of ice-sheets. <...> Поступила 1 октября 2016 г. Принята к печати 25 декабря 2016 г. Ключевые слова: возможные сценарии климата в будущем, механизм быстрых колебаний климата в прошлом, похолодание 8200 лет назад. <...> Похолодание продолжалось около 160 лет, температуры воздуха снижались на 1–2 <...>