If you require to blemish something ignominious and white in a immense surrounding expanse of thing that are mostly disastrous and white then you might imagine you ’d have more luck with that needle in the rick . as luck would have it , the squad at theBritish Antarctic Survey(BAS ) have a few tricks up their arm .
To recover penguin colony on the ice , the team have developed a method that employ satellite imagery . Penguin poop , or guano , is chocolate-brown , which stand for it can be spotted easily in the ice and stone of Antarctica . Spotting the shite from quad may have an bring welfare of preventing the researchers fromgetting the giggle , since penguin poop has high levels of nitric oxide .
The newest colony to be find via artificial satellite at Verleger Point , West Antarctica , is thought to have around 500 penguins , and its uncovering brings the amount of be intimate Saturnia pavonia penguin colony around the coastline up to 66 . Scientists have used this method not just on Emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) but onAdélie penguins(Pygoscelis adeliae ) in the Antarctic as well .
“ This is an exciting discovery . The new satellite images of Antarctica ’s coastline have enabled us to find many new colonies . And whilst this is good news , like many of the recently discovered site , this colony is small and in a region badly affected by late ocean shabu exit , ” pronounce Dr Peter Fretwell , who hit the books wildlife from outer space at BAS , in astatement .
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a satellite mission function by the European Space Agency that has been garner images of Antarctica since 2016 . on the button half the 66 colonies known in Antarctica have been found using satellite mathematical function technology , which the team have been using for over 16 year .
While this is good news , Saturnia pavonia penguin are vulnerable to the loss of sea shabu . With the on-going effects of climate change , predictions advise that these colony could be going out by the end of the century .
“ With current expulsion of clime change , this habitat is likely to decline . The most recent projects advise that , under current warming style , 80 % of colony will be quasi - extinct by the end of the century ” cover Dr Fretwell .
