This is the kind of stuff that would have been in the Weekly World News, or, at least, a minor news outlet, not a major national one. But, this is a cult, so, there is no thought given to how insane this all sounds
How penguin poop can help to mitigate climate change
Penguins could be playing a crucial role in stabilizing the climate in Antarctica when they go No. 2, according to new research.
The ammonia in penguin guano — or poop — could help to reduce the impacts of climate change by contributing to increased cloud formation, a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday found.
Penguins, a key species in Antarctica, are “major emitters” of ammonia, according to the paper. When the ammonia reacts with gases that contain sulfur emitted from phytoplankton in the ocean, it increases the creation of aerosols, which give water vapor a surface to condense upon and leads to cloud formation, Matthew Boyer, a researcher at the University of Helsinki’s Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research and lead author of the paper, told ABC News.
“Could”? They either are or aren’t. If you are not sure, then there is not story. And no scientific paper.
The researchers spent two months from January to March 2023 measuring the concentration of ammonia in the air near a colony of 60,000 Adelie penguins at Marambio Base in Antarctica. They observed that when the wind blew from the direction of the colony, the ammonia concentration increased to more than 1,000 times higher than the baseline value, according to the paper.
Smelly little buggers. Also, not a particularly long study. Two months in just one year is not enough to create a baseline.
They found that when the wind blew from the penguin colony, the number and size of aerosol particles sharply increased. A fog that remained three hours after the wind charged was likely a result of the increased concentration of aerosol particles, the researchers said.
“Likely”? It is or isn’t related. Do they teach the Scientific Method nowadays? This is all ifs and buts. What percent is “likely”?
The poop is likely helping to reduce the impacts of climate change on the continent, further highlighting the necessity of protecting native ecosystems and biodiversity, which are critical to mitigating climate change.
“What we have demonstrated is that there is a deep connection between ecosystem processes — being the ocean phytoplankton activity as well as penguins — and atmospheric processes that can have an impact on the local climate,” Boyer said.
There’s that likely again. The only ones surprised by the interaction of facets of the ecosystems seems to be the “scientists.”
I realize that yes, there are scientists whose field of expertise is poop, but I do sometimes wonder what made them choose that field of study.
My question is: shouldn’t gastro-enterologists be called gastro-exitologists instead?