Why Penguin Feathers Don't Freeze

BirdNote®

Why Penguin Feathers Don’t Freeze

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

When we get out of the ocean after a swim, we reach for a towel to dry off and keep from getting cold. But penguins don’t have that luxury — and many are in much colder waters. It’s only recently that scientists have begun to unravel how penguins can live in freezing water without their feathers freezing.

They studied the Gentoo Penguin, which lives in frigid Antarctic waters. 

[Gentoo Penguin call, ML 203969891, 0:1-0:05]

Examining the penguins’ feathers with an electron microscope revealed their extraordinary structure at a tiny scale.

Gentoo Penguin feathers have tiny pores that trap air, making the surface water repellent. And the penguins coat their feathers with a special oil from the preen gland near the base of the tail. These two features lead droplets of water to bead up on these water-repellent feathers in tiny spheres, balanced with minimal contact on the feather’s surface. The scientists believe this peculiar shape of water droplets delays freezing.

Gentoo Penguin feathers may even provide a model for human technology. Airplanes face a similar challenge of avoiding ice build-up. But by learning from penguin feathers, engineers could attempt to design a wing surface that naturally repels water. 

[splashing sfx]

[Gentoo Penguin call, XC 583140, 0:00-0:04]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein. 
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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Gentoo Penguin ML 203969891 recorded by L. Demongin, and Gentoo Penguin Xeno Canto 583140 recorded by C. Robertson.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote      December  2021    Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# penguin-05-2021-12-07     penguin-05

References:  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160224151013.htm 
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/penguin-feathers-de-ice-airplanes_n_5653…;