In late 2013, something big and strange showed up in the Gulf of Alaska. Scientists called it “the Blob.”
It wasn’t a monster. Instead, it was a monstrous amount of heat in the surface water of the northern Pacific. And it didn’t begin to dissipate until 2016. Scientists soon observed the same heat-up farther south. It appeared off the coasts of states such as Oregon and California. In some regions, the water measured 6 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than usual.
Read more in Science News for Students, here.