Scientists announced an incredible discovery by looking at poop stains in satellite images — 1.5 million Adélie penguins were living and
thriving on a little patch in Antarctica surrounded by treacherous sea ice called the Danger Islands
Posted on 12/13/2018 8:10:23 AM PST by ETL
It turns out that these elusive seabirds had lived on the islands undetected for at least 2,800 years, according to new, unpublished research presented Dec. 11 at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Washington, D.C.
It all started when a group of researchers spent 10 months doing what they thought was a pan-Antarctic survey of Adélie penguins by looking through every single cloud-free satellite image that they had of the southern continent.
"We thought that we knew where all the [Adélie] penguin colonies were," said Heather Lynch, an ecologist at the Stony Brook University, during the news conference.
That is, until a colleague at NASA developed an algorithm that made the detections automated. ..."
When Lynch and her team went back to look more closely at the images, sure enough, they saw the extent to which the Danger Islands were filled with penguin poop.
"We, I think, had missed it in part because we hadn't expected to find them there," Lynch said. They had previously surveyed one of the islands of the group, but not all of them.
The Danger Islands are not easy to get to, as they are "so-called because they're almost always covered by a thick layer of sea ice all around that precludes regular censuses in this area," Lynch said.
Even so, spurred by the poop stains, Lynch's colleagues journeyed to the islands for a full survey, where they counted — physically on the ground and with drones — just how populated by this seabird they were. "In this area that's so small that it doesn't even appear on most maps of the Antarctic," live more Adélie penguins than the rest of Antarctica combined, Lynch said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
They don’t look that old!
“...by looking at poop stains...”
Penguin skid marks.
These penguins have apparently been doing just fine for about 2,500 years without any assistance from humans. Now that they have been discovered and the “scientists” have declared that they intend to protect them, we have reason to be concerned. Bad news for the penguins.
More than 600,000 Adelie penguins nest on Cape Adare, Antarctica
Birds smart.
Man stupid......................
Beyond cool!!
Thanks for all of these postings!
Lol!
Obscure reference: Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2: Notes about Nothing – "The Chinese Restaurant" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. November 3, 2004.
They stayed “hidden”? From whom? It’s not like people were looking for them for the first 2,500 years or more.
There is something “fishy” about that headline.
Do Chinese restaurants sell Penguin? How does it taste?
The Danger Islands are the mythical home of evil super villian Carlos Danger.
That is one great post you made...
Fitting: pinko scientists looking for fake climate warming data find pink poop.
People were looking for penguins there 2800 years ago?
Looks like a scene from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse!
I believe the Danger Islands were one of the stops on Odysseus’ wanderings on the way home from Troy. Homer left it out because no one would believe his description of penguins.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.