A giant ‘blob’ of warm ocean water has had a bigger impact on marine ecosystems than El Niño, according to new research.
The previously believed to be dead phenomenon known as ‘The Blob’ is an estimated 1,000 miles in diameter and 300 feet deep, and lurks off the coast of California.
‘The Blob’ was first detected in 2013. A mass of water roughly 1 to 4 degrees Celsius (2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than its surrounding water. It was credited with causing adverse weather including drought and of affecting marine biology when it fed a toxic algae bloom in the Pacific.
Originally thought to have disappeared with the arrival of El Niño scientists now believe it instead retreated deeper into the ocean and now hovers about 500 to 650 feet below the surface.
“The residual effect of the blob is still there” Ian Perry, a senior research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada,told CBC.
The previously believed to be dead phenomenon known as ‘The Blob’ is an estimated 1,000 miles in diameter and 300 feet deep, and lurks off the coast of California.
‘The Blob’ was first detected in 2013. A mass of water roughly 1 to 4 degrees Celsius (2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than its surrounding water. It was credited with causing adverse weather including drought and of affecting marine biology when it fed a toxic algae bloom in the Pacific.
Originally thought to have disappeared with the arrival of El Niño scientists now believe it instead retreated deeper into the ocean and now hovers about 500 to 650 feet below the surface.
“The residual effect of the blob is still there” Ian Perry, a senior research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada,told CBC.
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