The Surprising Link Between Penguin Poop and Cloud Formation

Scientists found a source of a surprising and rough cloud in Antarctica: Penguin poop.

According to a re-published new study Communication space and environmentAmmonia gas produces gas from these flight birds’ Guano, the network of chemical reactions caused by clouds. These clouds can change the local temperature in Antarctica and perhaps the global climate.

In the Antarctic Peninsula, Doctoral Candidate for Matthew Boyer in the Marambian University in Finland, in January-March in January-March, measured the concentration of Ammonia from a colony of 60,000 Aldelie penguins.

When the wind flies from the direction of the colony, the ammonia level reaches 1,000 times at normal levels. In February, the penguins left the area to continue its annual migration, but more than a month, they kept ammonia levels 100 more than normal.

Penguins are mostly filled with fish and Krill, their secretion, as a result of the ammonia, the ammonia is packed with nitrogen waste. This chemical compound rises to the air as a gas, then mixed with sulfur gas produced by sea microorganisms as phytoplankton. This reaction then creates aerosol particles connected with water droplets to create a cloud.

There are previous studies modeled Earlier, this chain reaction, but the boys and colleagues were watching the form of clouds in real time. In February 2023, they measured a aerosol explosion by choosing a fog in a few hours after Guano. This was stated that the foggy was founded by Ammonia’s Guanon and sulfuric acid with the reaction from Plankton.

“Among these ecosystem processes, there is a deep connection between the penguins and phytoplankton on the surface of the ocean tell Brist. “Their gas is all together to create these particles and clouds.”

According to Antarctica, 20 million penguins live British Antarctic research. The teeming population produces a lot of poop and is therefore very cloudy. Have computer models ruminate These clouds reflect the sunlight, causing a significant place to cool.

Boyer and his colleagues say that clouds need more research to fully understand the effects of local temperatures. However, if there is a cooling effect, the decrease in penguin population proposes to further increase the heating of Antarctica in the summer.

“It is already understood, the casualties of the sea ice rate, habitat, food sources and the cultivation of the penguin species of Antarctica,” the authors state. “As a result, some Antarctic penguin populations are already declining, and some species ended until the end of the 21st century.”

Among the world’s 18 penguin types, 11 world-scale faces Birdlife International. Boyer’s Adelie Penguins, Antarctic population is one of the few species.

However, if this poo is less reflected in the ice under the clouds, it is approaching the earth and cause the temperature to rise, Boyer said Washington Post. It is important to reach the bottom of these effects, because local changes in Antarctica and Arctic can affect the whole world in terms of increasing sea levels.

“Oceans and penguins affect the atmosphere, and in fact, the local climate in Antarctica,” said Boyer Washington Post. “Local changes in Antarctica will affect the global climate.”