Silent North Pacific: 'The Blob' Triggers Unprecedented Murre Die-off in Alaska
A prolonged marine heatwave nicknamed 'The Blob' warmed North Pacific waters by up to 5.5°C, wiping out about 4 million common murres across Alaska from 2015–2016—the largest known die-off of a single vertebrate species—causing widespread reproductive failure, disrupted food webs, and cascading impacts on fisheries and top predators; no recovery has been observed through 2025.