Penguin droppings can inhibit the climate insulation process – scientists believe. The latest study showed that the ammonia contained in them contributes to the formation of clouds reflecting sunlight. The details are presented in the magazine “Communications Earth & Environment”.
Antarctica is one of the places that the climate changing in recent decades. The increase in global temperature contributes to the melting of glaciers and the impoverishment of the ecosystem functioning there. However, as it turns out, the world of nature even in such difficult conditions can find a natural ally in the fight against insulation.
Recent studies have shown that Guano penguins – their droppings – can contribute to the formation of clouds that reflect sunlight. This is due to the ammonia they contain. Other laboratory tests have already shown unique properties of this relationship.
– So far, this process has not been accurately determined and its influence on Antarctica – said Matthew Boyer, the main author of the study and scientist at the Helsinki University.
Ammonia and phytoplankton
Scientists point out that Antarctica is an ideal natural laboratory. Thanks to the negligible human interference, as well as low vegetation, penguins and other sea birds become the main source of ammonia in this region, because they secrete it along with droppings. The authors of the study determined that ammonia is mixed with gases containing sulfur from phytoplankton – microscopic algae that flourish in the surrounding ocean. This supports the formation of tiny aerosol molecules that transform into clouds.
To prove this, researchers set up measuring instruments in the Argentine Marambio base on the island of Seymour, near the northern end of the Antarctic Peninsula. In the summer, when the colonies of penguins are teeming with life, and phytoplankton experiences the greatest flourishing, the wind, ammonia level and newly emerging aerosols were monitored.
When the wind blew from Adela's penguin colony eight kilometers of 60,000 individuals, the concentration of ammonia in the atmosphere increased to 13.5 particles per billion – i.e. about a thousand times compared to the background level. The high level of the presence of the relationship remained for over a month after the birds flew to their annual migration. The analysis showed that aerosols sowing clouds floated every time the air masses came from the colony. Studies have shown that the molecules contained ammonia from penguins droppings.
Penguin white -eyedShutterstock
“Synergistic process”
According to the author of the study, the observed phenomenon is a “synergistic process” between penguins and phytoplankton, which significantly increases the production of aerosol in this region. It has already been proven that the clouds reflect sunlight into space, thanks to which they give the cooling effect. However, the strength of its impact also depends on what is under the clouds.
Ice covers can also reflect sunlight and the appearance of clouds above such a region can lead to the retention of infrared light. The authors of the study point out that the overall effect depends on where the clouds form and drift.
Source of the main photo: Shutterstock