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Penguin Speed Secrets Revealed

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PERMITTED 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 2012 and exclusively in conjunction thereof.  No copying, distribution or archiving permitted.  Sublicensing, sale or resale is prohibited. REQUIRED CREDIT AND CAPTION: All image uses must bear the copyright notice and be properly credited to the relevant photographer, as shown in this metadata, 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. You MUST follow these requirements if using the images: 1. Include mandatory photo credit with each image © Paul Nicklen/National Geographic 2. Show the October cover of National Geographic somewhere in the post (credit: National Geographic) 3. Provide a prominent link to: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/emperor-penguins/nicklen-photography 4. Mention that the images are "from the November edition of National Geographic magazine, with an exclusive video and interactive graphic that show penguins rocketing out of the water onto the ice." Preparing to launch from the sea to the sea ice, an emperor penguin reaches maximum speed. Photo by Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
Preparing to launch from the sea to the sea ice, an emperor penguin reaches maximum speed. Photo by Paul Nicklen/Nat Geo.

How do emperor penguins manage to reach a maximum speed approaching 20 miles an hour when swimming in Antarctic waters where they have to avoid hungry leopard seals?

The secret is in the bubbles.

Scientists Roger Hughes, John Davenport and Poul Larsen discovered that the penguins use microbubbles to reduce the same friction that bedevils submarines and torpedoes.

According to National Geographic magazine:

When an emperor penguin swims through the water, it is slowed by the friction between its body and the water, keeping its maximum speed somewhere between four and nine feet a second. But in short bursts the penguin can double or even triple its speed by releasing air from its feathers in the form of tiny bubbles. These reduce the density and viscosity of the water around the penguin’s body, cutting drag and enabling the bird to reach speeds that would otherwise be impossible.

… Emperor penguins have a dense, uniform coat of feathers … air is trapped in a fine, downy mesh and released as microbubbles so tiny that they form a lubricating coat on the feather surface.

… Last year Mitsubishi announced that it had designed an air-lubrication system for supertankers. But so far no one has designed anything that can gun past a leopard seal and launch over a wall of sea ice. That’s still proprietary technology.

ngm_november_2012_cvrMore photos of the penguins and their bubble technology are in the November edition of National Geographic here.