Ascension XP pool

So, lets say the servers came up from this morning's scheduled down time at the estimated time of 10am PDT. This means the Ascension XP changed went into effect at that point, right? So, why is it that when someone logs in say, 8 hrs later, there's not a pool of ascension xp waiting?

And is the gain 20k every hour on the spot, or is it a gradual like you can gain it every minute? How often is it put into the pool?

The change goes into effect on your character when you first log in after the patch.

Will the clock continue whenever the servers come down?

Thank you for this clarification, Caith...I know a lot of people were wondering when the "every hour" clock started ticking.

Yes