The Surprising Link Between Penguin Poop and Cloud Formation

Scientists have discovered a surprising—and smelly—source of clouds in Antarctica: penguin poop. According to a new study published in Communications Earth & Environment, ammonia gas emanating from these flightless birds’ guano sets off a chain of chemical reactions that causes clouds to form. These clouds may be changing local temperatures in the Antarctic—and perhaps the global climate. At the Marambio Base on the Antarctic Peninsula, researchers led by Matthew Boyer—a doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki in Finland—measured the concentration of ammonia wafting from a colony of 60,000 Aldelie penguins from January to March 2023. When the wind blew from the direction of the colony, ammonia levels spiked, sometimes reaching 1,000 times above normal levels. In February, the penguins left the area to continue their annual migration, but the guano they left behind kept ammonia levels up to 100 times higher than normal for over a month. Because penguins mainly eat fish and ... Read full article.