WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ‘BLOB’ THAT IS OCCURRING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN?

It is possible that you have lately read bits of the warm ‘blob’ in the Pacific Ocean on the internet or may have heard fleeting references of it on television. The term “blob” makes reference to a region of water in the Pacific Ocean that is characterized by an extremely high temperature. This region extends from Baja Mexico all the way up the west coast of North America and into the Gulf of Alaska. This expansive region is seeing water temperatures that are around three to four and a half degrees Fahrenheit higher than the typical, and the oddity may be attributed to the unique meteorological conditions that are happening on the west coast. You may remember that during the previous winter, the bay region got a considerable quantity of precipitation, while Tahoe had a relatively low amount of snowfall. Due to the fact that the majority of the weather systems that traveled over northern California had a sufficient amount of moisture, they were not able to create substantial snowfall because they were too warm. It is quite probable that the ‘blob’ in the Pacific Ocean is perhaps responsible for this event, at the very least in part. The “blob” is not only causing unusual weather patterns, but it is also causing problems for marine life since the water in this region is warmer than usual, and it is deficient in substances that are essential to their survival. The phenomenon known as “coastal upwelling” is often seen in this region. This phenomenon is responsible for the churning up of phytoplankton from the depths of the ocean, which is essential for the food chain of marine animals. This region of warmer, stagnant water is not experiencing the regular upwelling that would normally occur, and as a result, it is deficient in nutrients. Taking into account the fact that El Niño is now in the process of growing and the ‘blob’, it seems that the rainy season of 2015-2016 has the potential to be a remarkable one, especially in the southern region of California.

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