The site is at Verleger Point in West Antarctica and has about 500 birds (Image: Getty Images)

A new colony of emperor penguins has been discovered in Antarctica using satellite mapping technology, scientists said.

The newly discovered colony, announced to mark Penguin Awareness Day, brings the total number of known emperor penguin breeding sites along the Antarctic coast to 66, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

The site, identified by the bits of brown guano or penguin droppings that contrast somewhat with the snow and rocks, is at Verleger Point in West Antarctica and has about 500 birds.

Scientists examined images from the European Commission’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission, which were compared and confirmed with high-resolution images from the MAXAR WorldView3 satellite.

Dr. Peter Fretwell, the lead author of the research that led to the find, said that while it was “exciting,” the colony is small and located in a region hard hit by recent sea ice loss.

The penguins’ guano or droppings are brown and easy to spot in the snow (Photo: PA)

Emperor penguins, the largest of the 18 penguin species and about four feet long, need sea ice to reproduce.

They are in areas that are very difficult to study because they are remote, inaccessible and very cold, with temperatures as low as minus 60°C, the scientists said.

That’s why BAS researchers have been searching for new colonies for the past 15 years by searching satellite images for penguin guano.

Half of the known colonies were discovered through satellite imagery, the scientists said.

“This is an exciting discovery. Thanks to the new satellite images of the Antarctic coast, we have been able to find many new colonies,” says Dr. Fretwell, who studies wildlife from space at BAS.

FRIDAY 20 JAN 20 Undated handout photo released by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) of emperor penguins as a new colony of emperor penguins has been discovered in Antarctica using satellite mapping technology, scientists say. Issue date: Friday, January 20, 2023. PA photo. The newly discovered colony, announced to mark Penguin Awareness Day, brings the total number of known emperor penguin breeding sites along the Antarctic coast to 66, according to the British Antarctic Survey. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Penguins. Photo credit must read: P Bucktrout/BAS/PA Wire EDITOR'S NOTE: This handout photo may be used for editorial reporting purposes only to simultaneously represent events, things or people in the photo or facts stated in the photo caption. Reuse of the image may require additional permission from the copyright owner.

The discovery brings the total number of known emperor penguin breeding grounds along the Antarctic coast to 66 (Photo: PA)

“And while this is good news, this colony, like many of the recently discovered sites, is small and located in a region that has been badly affected by recent sea ice loss.”

Emperor penguins are vulnerable to sea ice loss, which will decrease with climate change.

Recent projections suggest that under current warming trends, 80% of colonies will be virtually extinct by the end of the century, BAS warned.