How I Learned to Love the Blob

• Main Author: Tortell, Philippe Daniel, 1972-
• Other Authors: University of British Columbia. Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies
• Format: Moving Image (Video)
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Fraser River; Pacific; The Blob; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/60472

During the winter of 2014/2015, surface ocean temperatures in the Subarctic Pacific were the highest ever recorded in over 60 years of observations. This mass of warm water, which came to be known as ‘the blob’, spread towards coastal British Columbia and had a significant impact on regional climate, and the lives of millions of people. In this talk, Prof. Philippe Tortell describes the basic oceanographic and atmospheric conditions that led to the formation of the blob, and its effects on everything from winter ski conditions, salmon returns to the Fraser River, forest fires and toxic algal blooms. He argues that the blob may be a crystal ball into a future, warmer climate. Science, Faculty of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Unreviewed Faculty