Penguin Poop Can Slow Down Climate Change

High levels of ammonia from penguin poop may help reduce the local effects of climate change in Antarctica, according to a new study.

– It was surprising to me, researcher Matthew Boyer told TT.

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, is based on measurements of ammonia levels taken over a period of more than three months at a penguin colony near the Marambio research station in Antarctica.

Ammonia is released from penguin guano, which is dried droppings from colony-nesting birds, among other things.

Increased by 1,000 per cent

During the study, the researchers observed that when the wind blew from the penguin colony, the ammonia concentration increased to 1,000 per cent higher than the baseline value. Even after the penguins had left the area, the concentration of ammonia was still 100 per cent higher than the baseline value, as the guano left behind at the colony continued to release the gas.

– I thought the ammonia would decrease more as soon as the penguins left the area, says Matthew Boyer, a doctoral student at the University of Helsinki and one of the researchers behind the study.

– The winds from the penguin colony also showed that the high levels of ammonia play a significant role in enhancing the formation of aerosol particles, which in turn contribute to cloud formation, says Matthew Boyer.

“May have an impact’

Clouds act as an insulating layer in the atmosphere and can thus lower the surface temperature of the oceans and possibly reduce the local effects of climate change.

– When particles form more quickly, it means that the source is stronger and more particles are formed, and when the particles grow, this in turn can affect cloud formation, says Boyer.