The Blob is an anomalous body having sea surface temperature much above normal, seen here in a graphic of April 2014 by the NOAA. The Blob is a large mass of relatively warm water in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America that was first detected in late 2013 and continued to spread throughout 2014 and 2015.

Sep 26, 2019 · Starting in the fall of 2013, a ridge of high pressure dampened the normal winter winds across the eastern Pacific Ocean. The sun warmed the sea surface into an ever-expanding hot spot that soon became known as “the Blob.” By the fall of 2014, it had spread up and down the West Coast.

Apr 17, 2023 · The Blob is caused by a combination of warmer air temperatures (that warms the ocean’s surface), changes in the patterns of wind speed, direction and duration (wind helps mix the ocean and by bringing cool water from depth) and the persistent mass of warmer water along the equator known as ENSO.

Mar 1, 2021 · By summer of 2014, the heated mass of water stretched from Alaska to Mexico and had been nicknamed “the blob.” As the blob spread, unusually warm waters triggered extended harmful algae blooms. Although such blooms are common, they usually only last a couple of weeks before dissipating.

Abnormally warm patches of water in the Pacific Ocean, often referred to as 'blobs', have been having a disastrous effect on marine ecosystems since 2010. Now we may know what's causing them to keep appearing.

Jun 30, 2022 · Huge patches of unusually warm water are becoming more common around the world, with new warm areas emerging in the North Pacific Ocean and elsewhere. Scientists are using what they’ve learned from...

Jun 28, 2022 · The suffocating, hot blob of water that began in 2013 decimated marine life, killing more than 100 million Pacific cod, thousands of seabirds, and other animals not even accounted for. It also fueled massive toxic algal blooms that shut down fishing industries and may have contributed to a 75 percent decline in whale mother-calf encounters .

Mar 20, 2023 · Unusually warm subsurface ocean temperatures have been linked to the march of invasive lionfish into new coastal areas along the south-eastern United States, and driven the near-collapse of million-dollar lobster fisheries as lobsters' weakened immune systems come under threat from parasites.

Jan 31, 2019 · In late 2013, a huge patch of unusually warm ocean water, roughly one-third the size of the contiguous United States, formed in the Gulf of Alaska and began to spread. A few months later, Nick Bond, a climate scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, dubbed it …

Oct 1, 2019 · Temperatures of up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit above normal disrupted the marine ecosystem in both expected and surprising ways. Editor's Note: About five years ago a large marine heatwave that became known as “The Blob” took hold in …