News Climate

Penguin poop gives Antarctic cloud formation a boost

Ammonia wafting up from penguin guano in Antarctica is a key ingredient for cooling cloud formation 

A photograph of Adélie penguins near a breeding site in Antarctica.

Adélie penguins walk near a breeding site in coastal Antarctica.

Matthew Boyer

By Carolyn Gramling

Penguins’ poop may be making Antarctica cloudier — and helping mitigate the regional impacts of climate change.

Gases emitted from the birds’ guano are supplying key chemical ingredients to form the seeds of clouds — the tiny particles that clouds coalesce around, researchers report May 22 in Communications Earth & Environment.

What penguin guano primarily contributes to the equation is ammonia.