YU-HENG TSENGDing, R.R.DingHuang, X.-M.X.-M.Huang2018-09-102018-09-102017http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85019604596&partnerID=MN8TOARShttp://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/400067We address the occurrence of the warm anomaly, known as the Blob, that developed from late 2013 to 2015 in the northeast Pacific and its connection with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. The warm Blob results from the enhanced second ocean-atmosphere (O-A) coupled mode of variability in the tropical and North Pacific, representing a small part of the Victoria mode (VM) in the northeast Pacific forced by the strengthened North Pacific Oscillation-like atmospheric pattern since 2013. We also show that this second O-A mode reflects the meridional variability through the tropical-extratropical teleconnection and is an important precursor to the ENSO variability. The process is confirmed by the coupled patterns that evolved from late 2013 to 2016 and the multi-year persistence of the warm Blob. We emphasize the role of evolving basin-scale VM but not the warm Blob itself prior to the ENSO variability. Hence, the Blob and the most recent 2015/16 El Niño, which differs significantly from the other large El Niños in terms of the triggering hemisphere, are actually linked rather than independent phenomena. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.Blob; ENSO; North Pacific Oscillation; Victoria mode[SDGs]SDG13[SDGs]SDG14Atmospheric pressure; Nickel; Atmospheric pattern; Blob; ENSO; North Pacific; Ocean atmosphere; Southern oscillation; Teleconnections; Victoria mode; Climatology; air-sea interaction; atmosphere-ocean coupling; climate change; El Nino-Southern Oscillation; extratropical environment; persistence; teleconnection; temperature anomaly; warm water; Pacific Ocean; Pacific Ocean (Northeast)journal article10.1088/1748-9326/aa67c32-s2.0-85019604596