Antarctic penguins release an extreme amount of laughing gas in their feces, it turns out

[Celerity]

Laughing gas isn't just something they give you at the dentist. It also comes out of penguin poop.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/19/world/king-penguins-laughing-gas-scn-trnd/index.html



How do we know this, you're surely wondering? Well, a new study says just that.

Published in the journal "Science of the Total Environment," the study examined the effects of a King Penguin colony's activity on soil greenhouse gas fluxes in South Georgia -- a sub-Antarctic island just north of Antarctica. One finding in particular was notably unique -- penguin poop, also known as "guano," produces extremely high levels of nitrous oxide. It's the chemical known to most as laughing gas.

"It is truly intense," said Bo Elberling, an author of the study. He noted it's not an insignificant amount, either -- the emissions measure about 100 times more than a recently fertilized Danish field. There was enough emitted nitrous, in fact, that one researcher went "completely cuckoo," while "nosing about in guano for several hours," Elberling said.

"The small nitrous oxide cylinders that you see lying in and floating around Copenhagen are no match for this heavy dose, which results from a combination of nitrous oxide with hydrogen sulphide and other gases," he added, referring to the containers designed for whipped cream but often used as a recreational drug.

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