{"id":21738,"date":"2015-04-16T14:08:41","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T18:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=21738"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:41:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:41:12","slug":"warm-blob-in-pacific-not-to-blame-for-wacky-weather-may-yet-provide-insight-into-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/warm-blob-in-pacific-not-to-blame-for-wacky-weather-may-yet-provide-insight-into-climate-change.htm","title":{"rendered":"‘Warm blob’ in Pacific not to blame for wacky weather, may yet provide insight into climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not a direct byproduct of global warming or an explanation for California\u2019s drought. Nor is it, despite the name, a \u201850s B-movie monster. The mass of unusually warm water floating off the coast of California, known now as the \u201cwarm blob,\u201d is a strange phenomenon indeed, and while it doesn\u2019t hold all the answers to the weird weather witnessed across the U.S. over the past year, it might offer a useful glimpse into the relationship between the ocean and atmosphere. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the atmosphere and ocean interact. Now we can document in this one extreme case how that worked, and that\u2019s a step forward,\u201d said Nick Bond, research meteorologist at the University of Washington and climatologist for the state. <\/p>\n

Bond is the researcher who first identified the odd patch of warm water as it appeared in the Pacific northwest during a period of \u201cvery unusual weather patterns.\u201d He also coined the term \u201cwarm blob\u201d in his monthly newsletter as Washington\u2019s state climatologist. Early in 2014, Bond began initial analysis into the mechanisms behind the warm patch, the results of which were published in a paper appearing in Geophysical Research Letters. <\/p>\n

Drawing from oceanic and atmospheric datasets with a focus on the winter of 2013-2014, Bond found that \u201cweird winds\u201d in the Pacific during that period altered currents and brought more warm water in from the south than usual. Those winds, Bond said, can be linked to events in the far western tropical Pacific, and should be regarded as a climatological fluke rather than something more sinister. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t global warming that caused the blob,\u201d Bond said. \u201cBut the warming that did occur is kind of what we\u2019re expecting to see in future decades. Conceivably, we can see how the [marine] ecosystem responds to warming. We can use recent events to \u2018go to school\u2019 and figure out those kinds of relationships.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A

A glimpse of the blob in April 2014, published in the July 2014 newsletter in which Bond coined its name. (Credit: NOAA)<\/p><\/div>\n

Bond noted that some recent articles over his work implied the blob caused dry weather on the West Coast. Others said the blob was to blame for snowy, frigid winters in the East. While Bond says those claims aren\u2019t accurate, there may be some linkage between the warm patch of water and air temperatures a few hundred miles inland. <\/p>\n

Air around the blob is humidified and warmed, Bond explained. When prevailing winds blow across this region, they carry the warmed air inland along the Pacific coast. \u201cIt\u2019s not a huge effect,\u201d Bond said, but it could account for some additional warmth in certain areas. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat [the blob] has morphed into this year does have a secondary effect,\u201d Bond said, referring to warmer temperatures along the coast. \u201cThe relationship isn\u2019t one to one, but there\u2019s definitely a relationship there.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something that extends to Kansas City, or something like that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Defining the exact relationship between the blob and inland temperatures is near impossible, Bond said, as the randomness of weather patterns and myriad other climate factors complicate the equation. But the blob does present a unique opportunity for research into the impacts of warming oceans on the marine ecosystem. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that a lot of the organisms there are sensitive to ocean temperatures up and down the food chain,\u201d Bond said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost an opportunity to learn how the sensitivities of that system respond to these kinds of effects.\u201d Bond says he\u2019ll be exploring this topic, as well as the \u201cwinners and losers\u201d of warming oceans, in a workshop next month in San Diego. <\/p>\n

Top image:\u00a0The blob as seen in April 2015, now pressed against the West Coast. (Credit: NOAA National Climate Data Center)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new study shows that an unusually warm patch of water off the Pacific coast is the product of wayward winds, and may be slightly warming the West Coast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":21737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,44],"tags":[454,60,109,347,121,206],"class_list":["post-21738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-oceans-coasts","tag-blob","tag-featured","tag-news-ticker","tag-oceans-coasts","tag-temperature","tag-university-of-washington"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\n'Warm blob' in Pacific not to blame for wacky weather, may yet provide insight into climate change<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new study shows that an unusually warm patch of water off the Pacific coast is the product of wayward 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