Penguin colonies across Antarctica are literally changing the weather—and it’s all about their droppings.

New research reveals that ammonia from penguin guano creates massive hotspots of atmospheric particles that seed clouds and influence regional climate patterns. Scientists measuring air chemistry near a 30,000-pair Adelie penguin colony found ammonia concentrations rivaling those over agricultural fields, with the fertilized soil continuing to pump out climate-altering gases for months after the birds migrated away. This discovery connects Antarctic ecosystems to atmospheric processes in ways that could reshape our understanding of polar climate dynamics.

Ammonia Factories on Ice

The research team set up sophisticated atmospheric monitoring equipment near Marambio Station on the Antarctic Peninsula, directly downwind from major penguin breeding colonies. What they found surprised even seasoned atmospheric chemists.

Ammonia concentrations spiked to 13.5 parts per billion when winds blew from penguin colony directions—levels comparable to fertilized farmland. From other wind directions, including the Southern Ocean, ammonia was barely detectable.

But here’s where it gets interesting: the penguins left their breeding grounds halfway through the study, yet ammonia kept pouring off the landscape. The guano-enriched soil, which scientists call “ornithogenic soil,” continued releasing atmospheric chemicals for over a month after the last penguin departed.

The Cloud Connection

This isn’t just about smelly bird waste. The ammonia from penguin colonies combines with sulfuric acid from marine microorganisms to create new atmospheric particles through a process called nucleation. These tiny particles eventually grow into cloud condensation nuclei—the seeds around which water droplets form to create clouds.

During one remarkable day in February 2023, researchers watched this process unfold in real time. A strong particle formation event produced over 16,000 particles per cubic centimeter, which grew over six hours and directly contributed to fog formation.

Key Research Findings:

Penguin-influenced air showed ammonia levels up to 13.5 ppb

Particle formation occurred almost exclusively when winds came from penguin colonies

Ocean sources contributed negligible ammonia compared to bird colonies

Enhanced particle formation rates exceeded theoretical predictions by 1-4 orders of magnitude

New particles successfully activated into cloud droplets during fog events

A Chemical Cocktail for Clouds

The story gets more complex when you examine the atmospheric chemistry in detail. While ammonia from penguins plays the starring role, it’s supported by a cast of other compounds that supercharge the cloud-seeding process.

Dimethylamine, also likely originating from penguin guano, acts as a powerful accelerant. This compound can boost particle formation rates by up to 10,000 times compared to ammonia alone, even when present at concentrations below one part per trillion.

The research reveals what scientists call a “multicomponent nucleation mechanism”—different chemicals working together to create atmospheric particles far more efficiently than any single compound could manage alone.

Climate Feedback Loops

This discovery has profound implications for understanding Antarctic climate systems, especially as the region faces rapid environmental change.

Penguin populations are already declining due to sea ice loss and habitat changes. Some species could face near extinction by century’s end. If fewer penguins means less atmospheric ammonia, that could reduce cloud formation and alter regional climate patterns—creating a feedback loop where climate change accelerates itself.

The researchers found that these coastal ammonia hotspots likely influence atmospheric conditions far beyond their immediate vicinity. While gaseous ammonia has a short atmospheric lifetime of hours to a day, the particles it helps create can persist for days and travel across the Southern Ocean and continental Antarctica.

Rethinking Remote Atmosphere

This research challenges assumptions about atmospheric processes in pristine environments. Scientists have long puzzled over why new particle formation rarely occurs in remote marine areas, despite the presence of sulfuric acid from marine organisms.

The answer may be ammonia availability. Without biological hotspots like penguin colonies providing ammonia, the chemical conditions needed for efficient particle formation simply don’t exist over most of the Southern Ocean.

The study also highlights how interconnected Antarctic ecosystems really are. Marine phytoplankton produce the sulfur compounds, penguins provide the ammonia, and their chemical marriage in the atmosphere influences cloud formation across vast areas.

A Changing Antarctic

Antarctica is experiencing some of the planet’s most rapid environmental changes. Sea ice extent has started declining within the past decade, ice shelves are shrinking, and these changes are already affecting Southern Ocean biology and penguin populations.

Understanding these ecosystem-atmosphere connections becomes crucial as conditions continue shifting. The research demonstrates that penguins aren’t just charismatic wildlife—they’re active participants in the climate system, helping to regulate atmospheric processes that influence regional and potentially global weather patterns.

As Antarctic ecosystems face mounting pressure, this study reveals yet another layer of complexity in predicting how polar regions will respond to continued warming. The clouds above Antarctica may depend more on the creatures below than anyone previously imagined.

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Antarctica’s number one cutest animal might be saving the planet with its number two.

A recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment finds that ammonia released from penguin guano – yes, their poo – may help form clouds that insulate the Earth and prevent sea ice from melting.

A natural cloud factory in Antarctica

Researchers from the University of Helsinki spent two months on the Antarctic Peninsula measuring the air near a colony of 60,000 Adélie penguins.

When winds blew from the direction of the colony, ammonia levels in the atmosphere surged more than 1,000 times above baseline levels.

Ammonia from the guano reacts with sulfur-containing gases emitted by marine phytoplankton, forming aerosol particles that seed clouds. These clouds reflect sunlight and help cool the surface below, a process that could slow glacial melt and sea ice retreat.

The penguins act as “major emitters” of this ammonia, lead author Matthew Boyer explains.

“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,” he told ABC News.

Even after the penguins migrate, the lingering guano continues to emit ammonia. In one case, researchers observed a fog bank that lasted for three hours after a spike in aerosol concentration.

A reminder of what’s at stake

The findings highlight how interconnected Antarctic ecosystems are with Earth’s climate systems. As ice melts and habitats shift due to global warming, it’s not just wildlife like penguins that are at risk, but also the natural processes they support.

The Antarctic plays a vital role in stabilising global temperatures, acting as a heat buffer, a carbon sink and the engine behind ocean currents, according to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. But it’s also one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth.

TheThwaites Glacier – dubbed the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ – alone could raise sea levels by up to three metres if it collapses.

Understanding how local processes affect global climate systems is now more critical than ever.

Novel climate solutions are taking root elsewhere, too

Penguin poop isn’t the only unexpected ally in the fight against climate change and ecological destruction.

In Kenya and other parts of East Africa,beehive fences are proving to be a natural solution to human-wildlife conflict. Elephants avoid the fences because they fear bees. That protects crops, farmers and elephants alike.

In the UK, engineers have developedelectric wallpaper to cut home heating emissions, one of the biggest sources of carbon in colder climates.

A French company called New World Wind has also created ‘wind trees’ – artificial trees equipped with tiny, silent turbines that capture energy from light breezes in urban areas.

The compact trees can generate electricity year-round in spaces too tight for traditional wind turbines, powering everything from streetlights to small buildings.

Whether it’s penguin poo or warming wallpaper, novel insights and solutions like these could help shape future climate change and conservation strategies.

The clouds in Antarctica might be fueled by penguin poop. Penguin poop — sorry, penguin guano — is creating clouds in Antarctica that could be affecting local temperatures, according to new research published Thursday in Communications Earth & Environment. As millions of penguins eat and breed in Antarctica, they leave behind buttloads of guano. Given that they mainly feast on fish and krill, their excrements contain large amounts of nitrogen waste that breaks down into ammonia. Scientists found the incredible amounts of ammonia left behind combine with sulfur compounds from the ocean and grow clouds within hours.

Previous computer models have found such seabird guano-fueled clouds in the Arctic do cool the ground, but the study authors said observations are needed to confirm the effect on the climate. The clouds may also have varying cooling or warming effects depending on whether they’re located over ocean or ice.

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“There are connections between things that happen on our natural planet that we just don’t necessarily expect,” said Matthew Boyer, lead author of the study and doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki. “And this is one of them.”

At the Marambio Base on the Antarctic Peninsula, Boyer and his colleagues measured the concentration of ammonia from a colony of 60,000 Adelie penguins in January 2023. They found the guano was a major source of ammonia on the coast, even surpassing ammonia from the Southern Ocean. When the wind blew from the direction of the colony, the team’s instruments — 5 miles away — measured ammonia concentrations 1,000 times higher than the typical background level.

Even when the penguins left the area at the end of February and their guano remained, the concentration was still more than 100 times higher than the normal level.

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As ammonia spiked, the team saw a period of fog that they concluded was linked to the higher aerosol particle concentration. It took about three to four hours for the fog to form.

The chemicals in the guano helped accelerate cloud formation, Boyer said. Sulfur compounds from the phytoplankton from the ocean combined with ammonia and dimethylamine from the guano, which accelerated the formation of cloud particles by 10,000 times.

The clouds’ effect on the climate is unclear. Clouds absorb radiation from both the sun and coming off of the planet. Most clouds on Earth have a cooling effect, reflecting sunlight back to space. But Boyer said ice is highly reflective and also emits radiation; if a cloud is less reflective than the ice below it, then it could trap that heat and add to surface warming.

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But computer models from previous studies hint that the net effect would likely cool the surface. A study in 2016 looked at clouds over the Arctic from seabird guano and showed a cooling effect over the region — exceeding 1 watt per meter squared near large seabird colonies. The study’s computer models showed the clouds consisted of more droplets, but smaller ones, which reflected more sunlight back to space.

“We can hypothesize that there will be a cooling effect from the clouds because, in general, that is the most prominent effect of clouds in the atmosphere,” said Boyer, who aims to conduct more observations. “Models are a good way of estimating how things could be, but you need to double check with measurements.”

Bigger penguin species or larger penguin colonies — some can have hundreds of thousands of penguins — could produce even bigger clouds. The larger clouds, Boyer said, tend to have more but smaller droplets and reflect more sunlight. They also don’t produce much precipitation.

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It’s unclear how these guano emissions will change in the future as populations change. About a dozen penguin populations are declining, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Adelie penguins in the study are one of the few experiencing an increase in numbers.

The findings aren’t surprising because lab experiments have shown that gases emitted by guano help form particles in the atmosphere, said Ken Carslaw, an atmospheric scientist at University of Leeds who was not involved in the research. But he said the study is a “valuable confirmation that what has been observed in the lab can explain what’s going on in the real atmosphere.”

These poo-fueled aerosol particles or clouds likely won’t affect climate change even if they changed substantially, he added. Still, it’s important to understand these guano gases because they are part of the natural atmosphere.

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“It’s vital to understand these natural environments are the baseline from which we quantify and understand human effects on climate,” Carslaw said. “These observations are another piece of the puzzle that will help to improve how clouds are represented in climate models.”

While scientists have long seen how human-caused climate change is affecting the Arctic, the trends in Antarctica have been more mixed until recently. In seven years, the continent has hit three record low sea ice summers — what some scientists see as the beginning signs of human-caused climate change overriding the natural processes on Antarctica.

The local changes in Antarctica and the Arctic have a global impact on the climate. The melting of both ice sheets influence sea-level rise around the world, calculated to cause levels to rise a meter higher by 2100. But the distribution is not even, with some areas already reeling from the effects.