In Antarctica, as a result of global warming, thousands of emperor penguin chicks died – scientists
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In Antarctica, thousands of emperor penguin chicks died due to the record low level of sea ice, which caused global warming. By the end of 2022, climate change has led to a “catastrophic disruption in the reproductive dynamics of these animals,” reports The Guardian, citing a study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Scientists analyzed satellite images taken between late October and early December 2022 at Verdi Bay, Smiley Island, Bryant Coast and Cape Pfrogner. They found that then the amount of Antarctic sea ice on the mainland decreased to a record low level. Photo: Gentoo/Depositphotos The photo shows large patches of brown guano – a build-up of excrement – through which emperor penguin colonies can be traced. At that time, most areas almost completely lost sea ice, which is why about 7 thousand penguin chicks, which at that time did not have waterproof feathers on their bodies, could have died. “If the chicks are immersed in water at this age, they will drown, and if they are in crisis, they will most likely freeze,” says British Antarctic Survey researcher and lead author of the study Peter Fretwell. Read also: Artificial intelligence has calculated when the world will reach the threshold of global warming Photo: vladsilver/Depositphotos According to Barbara Wieneke, a senior researcher at the Australian Antarctic Division, in the period until October, the chicks are in the “nursery” with their peers while both their parents are fishing. “They still don’t have their down feathers. If the ice melts and they fall into the water, they die,” added Barbara Wieneke. As scientists note, the population of emperor penguins depends on sea ice, which decreases every year, in particular, due to the warming of the world ocean. The sea ice has already melted on the territory with a length of about 1.5 thousand km. As of 2018, 30% of the known 62 emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica could have died because of this. “It’s a sad story. Sea ice is melting much faster than we predicted,” Fretwell added. It will be recalled that Ukrainian polar explorers showed the moment of birth of a subantarctic penguin. Read also: In Great Britain, scientists suggest feeding daffodils to cows to slow down global warming
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