There are hundreds of mummified penguins in Antarctica. What is going on?

The hundreds of mummified penguin carcasses in Antarctica are neither signs of an ancient disease sweeping the icy landscape, nor the remains of penguins slaughtered by voracious predators. Instead these penguins were mummified by Antarctica's cold, dry environment and likely died at the other end of the climate spectrum: Two extreme rainy and snowy events in the past 1,000 years, a new study finds. Sun Liguang, a professor of earth sciences at the Institute of Polar Environment at the University of Science and Technology of China and the lead researcher of the study, said: It is very likely that global warming has led to increased precipitation, thus leading to this tragedy. His research was published in "Geophysical Research" "superior.

Boko Park-Science Popularization: In 2016, a research team accidentally discovered the remains of these "well-preserved dehydrated mummies" on the long peninsula of East Antarctica, many of which were little penguins. In fact, it's common to find Adélie penguins dead in Antarctica, including their feathers and bones. But it's rare to find so many penguin mummies, especially little ones. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the penguins died gradually over several decades, occurring at two different times, 750 and 200 years ago. After studying the sediment that settled around the mummies, including penguin droppings and nesting material, the researchers concluded that "extreme climate events" spanning several decades contributed to the deaths of the penguins.

In addition, researchers also found some evidence that floods caused by heavy rains had carried penguin carcasses and surrounding sediment down the mountain. The surviving penguins later abandoned the nesting area because of the small amount of sediment left behind after the mass casualty. Researchers, including scientists from China and Australia, say understanding how penguins fare during extreme climate events could help researchers predict what will happen to these penguins in the future. And these events give no reason for optimism. Generally speaking, people think that current global warming trends will continue or even get worse.

This is a 750-year-old mummy of an Antarctic penguin. Picture: Yuesong Gao/Institute of Polar Environment

As human-caused climate change warms the planet, there will be more rain and snow in the Antarctic region, which could boost penguin numbers "on such a massive scale" Possibility of death”. Adélie penguins are native to Antarctica and currently have approximately 250 breeding sites there. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the birds as "species of least concern," meaning they are not currently threatened or endangered, but researchers say extreme weather events could put the birds at risk among. Beyond historical records, current evidence suggests that increased rainfall and snowfall could be fatal to penguin chicks.

For example, during the 2013-2014 breeding season, “100% of approximately 34,000 breeding penguin chicks died in three consecutive rains and continuous snowfalls. The chicks died in the extreme rain and snow. It is difficult to survive because they have not yet grown waterproof feathers, which means they may die from hypothermia after being exposed to moisture and cold. In addition, heavy snowfall will make it difficult for breeding adults to find pebbles for nesting. It's also difficult to find places to lay eggs without snow, and researchers say snow can be dangerous for unhatched chicks because melting snow can drown the eggs and cause the chicks to have lower birth weights. With the scale of penguin deaths, humans need to do more to slow the current global warming trend.