A previously unknown colony of around 9,000 emperor penguins has received its first human visitors.
Scientists from the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Antarctic polar research
base visited the colony on Princess Ragnhild coast after its location
was revealed in a study of satellite images by scientists from the
British Antarctic Survey
guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 10 January 2013
The emperor penguin colony on Antarctica’s Princess Ragnhild coast. The colony of emperor penguins was first discovered in satellite imagery in 2009.
The 2009 paper 'Penguins from space: faecal stains reveal the location of emperor penguin colonies'
described the colony's location. However, its existence was unconfirmed
until the visit from the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica team.
Three experts from Belgium's Princess
Elisabeth Antarctica polar research station have now become the first
people to visit and photograph the colony
Emperor penguin populations are a useful climate change indicator due to the birds' reliance on sea ice
The team had been supporting the work of
glaciologists carrying out scientific research on the Derwael ice rise,
50km from the colony. Emperor penguins are the least common Antarctic
penguin, with an estimated 200,000 breeding pairs
By studying the images, the scientists
discovered that guano stains were reliable indicators of the birds'
presence. 'We can't see actual penguins on the satellite maps because
the resolution isn't good enough. But during the breeding season the
birds stay at a colony for eight months. The ice gets pretty dirty and
it's the guano stains that we can see,' said BAS mapping expert, Peter
Fretwell
A satellite image showing guano stains in Halley Bay, Antarctica
Raphael Richard, field guide, negotiates
difficult ice conditions to reach the Antarctic coast. The field team
has journeyed from Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, for the IceCon and
Be:Wise projects, both of which are investigating the movement of
Antarctica's ice cap
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