A heat blob devastates the Pacific Ocean

The blob, an area of ​​abnormally warm water present in the Pacific Ocean, has been responsible for the deaths of millions of marine animals since 2013. More so, the blob influences the weather of nearby lands.

The one that scientists call “the blob » is an area of heat anomalous located in part of the Pacific Ocean. This big mass of water, located off the coast of North America, was discovered in late 2013 and continued to spread and warm in subsequent years. Why is it called the blob? This is a direct reference to the horror movie of the same name released in 1988! In this American film, a monstrous mass, coming from space, spreads over the Earth and swallows everything in its path, animals and human beings. A bit like this heat wave spreading in the ocean destroying marine life.

The University of Hamburg, which studied the phenomenon and published its study in Earth & Environment Communications, estimates that during its peak between 2013 and 2015, the heat blob caused the death of more than 100 million cod and thousands of seabirds, in addition to other equally affected but less visible species. Whale reproduction has also been affected, and the population ofstars de mer suffered a wave of mortality of unknown origin, possibly also caused by the heat of the water. This heat peak also caused the proliferation of a seaweed toxic that has forced many companies to sin to suspend their activities.

The North Pacific blob is currently the largest and most devastating, but other areas of anomalous heat of the same type also exist in the Atlantic Ocean and in the southern seas. These underwater heat waves are recurrent for some and have the ability to tip the entireecosystem sailor from the area to a tipping point : a threshold from which the biodiversity is so affected that it can no longer recover.

The blob continues to heat up and influences the weather

The Pacific Ocean blob continues to warm: the University of Hamburg estimates that the temperature is gaining an average of 0.4°C per decade. Temperatures reach a level worthy of summer 37 days more per year, compared to the previous 20 years. In 2019, the temperature of this area of ​​the Pacific exceeded the level of the averages of season. This heat of the water not only affects marine life, it influences the weather report of the area and nearby land.

Scientists have discovered that there are fewer and fewer clouds low over this area of ​​the Pacific during thewinter : these clouds have a cooling effect on surface waters. Of the high pressure areas form more, with clear skies and therefore dry weather, aggravating the drought Canadian lands and nearby.

University researchers are now convinced that the blob is not the result of a natural climate variationt, estimating this possibility at less than 5%. According to the climate simulations performed, this type of blob is 20% more likely to occur with the global warming current related to emissions of greenhouse gases.