PENGUIN PETROL

Emperor penguins face an uncertain future. Along with large predators such as leopard seals chasing their tails, the climate crisis is hot on the heels of these big birds. Research has shown that under current global emissions and the rate of melting of sea ice, emperor penguins could become extinct by the end of the century. To monitor the effects of climate change on emperor penguins, researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have deployed a robot called ECHO onto the ice. As part of a 30-year program, ECHO autonomously travels and tracks radio frequency identification tags that have been implanted into penguin chicks.

The data ECHO collects includes population numbers, geographical movements and hunting behaviours.