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.
Magellan Rise (ocean plateau) Magellan Rise (ocean plateau) Magellan Rise is an oceanic plateau in the Pacific Ocean, which covers a surface area of . There is another "Magellan Rise" west from the Marshall Islands as well. The Magellan Rise has been called a large igneous province by Coffin and Endholm 2001 and was emplaced 145 million or 135-128 million years ago, possibly as a consequence of intense volcanism at a former triple junction. Alternatively, the Rise was formed by a mantle plume. Candidate mantle plumes are the Easter hotspot and the Foundation hotspot. The volume of rocks in the Magellan Rise is about