The Blob (Pacific Ocean) the surface waters of the mid-latitude Pacific Ocean flipping from a cold phase to a warm phase in a cycle known as the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). This poorly-understood change happens at irregular intervals of years or decades. During a warm phase, the west Pacific becomes cooler and part of the eastern ocean warms; during the cool phase, these changes reverse. Scientists believe a cold phase started in the late 1990s and the arrival of the Blob may be the start of the next warm phase. The PDO phases may also be related to the likelihood of El Nino events.
Sea level rise level rise from satellite altimetry have been estimated to be per year for the period 1993–2017. Earlier satellite measurements were previously at odds with tide gauge measurements. A small calibration error for the Topex/Poseidon satellite discovered in 2015 was identified as the cause of this mismatch. It had caused a slight overestimation of the 1992–2005 sea levels, which masked the ongoing sea level rise acceleration. With satellites it is possible to capture regional variations in sea level rise well. In the 1993–2012 period for instance, sea level rose substantially in the western tropical Pacific. The sharp rise in this area