A damp Adélie fledgling struggles to shake the moisture from its muddy down. Warming has increased precipitation so much along the western Antarctic Peninsula that many penguin chicks— whose moisture-repelling feathers haven't yet come in— get soaked and then freeze to death in polar winds.
{"Image ImageDescription": "NGM November 2018 - the Big Meltdown - Antarctica - promo images\n\n\n\nPERMITTED USE: This image may be downloaded or is otherwise provided at no charge for one-time use for coverage or promotion of National Geographic magazine dated November 2018 and exclusively in conjunction thereof.  No copying, distribution or archiving permitted.  Sub-licensing, sale or resale is prohibited.\n\n \n\nREQUIRED CREDIT AND CAPTION: All image uses must bear the copyright notice and be properly credited to the relevant photographer, as provided, and must be accompanied by a caption, which makes reference to NGM.  Any uses in which the image appears without proper copyright notice, photographer credit and a caption referencing NGM are subject to paid licensing.\n\n\n\nMandatory usage requirements: \n\nYou may use up to 3 images online or 1 in print\n\n\n\nusage restrictions:\n\n1.\tInclude mandatory photo credit \n\n2.\tProvide a prominent link to https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/11/antarctica-climate-change-western-peninsula-ice-melt-krill-penguin-leopard-seal/?user.testname=none at the top of your piece, ahead of the photos.\n\n3.\tMention that the images are from \"the November 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine\"\n\n4.\tShow the November 2018 cover of National Geographic somewhere in the post (credit: National Geographic) unless using only one image.\n\n***You May not crop or remove branding from photos\n\n\n\nImages may be found here:\n\nhttps://foxgroup.box.com/s/cp38gxctkpgjespm3iph3ls9gl164clb\n\n\n\nRequired Credit - Please see individual credits with the captions.\n\n\n\nCaptions:\n\n\n\n001\n\nPhotograph by Paul Nicklen / National Geographic\n\nAde\u0301lie penguins slip and slide on ice; behind them, on Paulet Island, thousands more line the rocky, guano-streaked slopes. Ade\u0301lie colonies along the peninsula's western shores have collapsed as waters have warmed. But here on the peninsula's northeast tip, winds and ocean currents keep waters a little cooler, and Ade\u0301lies are thriving.\n\n\n\n002\n\nPhotograph by Cristina Mittermeier / National Geographic\n\nA damp Ade\u0301lie fledgling struggles to shake the moisture from its muddy down. Warming has increased precipitation so much along the western Antarctic Peninsula that many penguin chicks- whose moisture-repelling feathers haven't yet come in- get soaked and then freeze to death in polar winds.\n\n\n\n003\n\nPhotograph by Keith Ladzinski / National Geographic\n\nOn a morning when five leopard seals could be seen circling nearby, these chinstrap, gentoo, and Ade\u0301lie penguins raced ashore, stumbling and bumping into one another on their way back to their respective colonies.\n\n\n\n004\n\nPhotograph by Keith Ladzinski / National Geographic\n\nSea-worn stones form a path to beached and broken sea ice. Ice is central to life along the 800-mile Antarctic Peninsula, which juts up toward South America, but warming air and water are melting it on land and sea.\n\n\n\n005\n\nPhotograph by Paul Nicklen / National Geographic\n\nWarm water and warm air sculpted this iceberg. As its base melted, says glaciologist Richard Alley, plumes of fresh meltwater flowed up its flanks, pulling in warm seawater that carved deep grooves. As the top melted, the iceberg became lighter and the grooves rose out of the water. \n\n\n\n006\n\nPhotograph by Keith Ladzinski / National Geographic\n\nA skua bathes in a tide pool. Skuas prey on penguin eggs and chicks, fish, and krill. They also act as scavengers-the Antarctic equivalent of vultures, on constant cleanup duty in a place where carcasses don't decompose because of the icy cold.\n\n\n\n007\n\nPhotograph by Paul Nicklen / National Geographic\n\nA leopard seal nips at a young Ad\u00e9lie before dragging it deep and drowning it. These half-ton predators sometimes toy with penguins, catching them and then letting them go, only to wait and nab them again moments later.\n\n\n\n008\n\nPhotograph by Cristina Mittermeier / National Geographic\n\nCrabeater seals slither onto floating ice to nap, give birth, or hide from killer whales or leopard seals. (Note the prominent scars.) With less sea ice available off the Antarctic Peninsula, icebergs like this one, calved from glaciers on land, provide critical resting places for animals. Despite their name, crabeaters feed mostly on shrimplike krill- another Antarctic staple whose future is in doubt.", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Copyright": "Cristina Mittermeier", "Image ExifOffset": "112", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "236", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "15420", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated"}