Satellites make possible more accurate count of emperors

Emperor colony near Halley Bay. Image credit: DigitalGlobe

Emperors are one of the penguin species thought to be at long-term risk from climate change. But the remoteness and hostility of their environment, along with their habit of breeding during the Antarctic winter, makes study difficult.

A major breakthrough is a new method of counting the penguins from space, made possible by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, University of Minnesota/National Science Foundation, Scripps Institu...