Penguin Metropolis organic silk scarf

Designed in Scotland.
Size: 90cm x 90cm.
100% organic silk twill.
Hand-rolled edges.
Made in the UK.
Dry clean only.

Every scarf is accompanied by the Climate Change Collection booklet, and is presented in a luxurious Crùbag gift box.

We used images on Of Giants And Kings and Emperor Penguins On Thin Ice by British Antarctic Survey. These projects were part of UK Universities COP26 Network's Innovation Showcase.

Of Giants And Kings is an aerial photograph showing adult king penguins in Antarctica brooding chicks by John Dickens, British Antarctic Survey.

Emperor Penguins On Thin Ice shows emperor penguin tracks over thin ice at the Halley Bay colony near the Brunt Ice Shelf in 2017. The sea-ice here, on which penguins breed, has failed for four consecutive years leading to the breeding failure of emperor penguins. British Antarctic Survey Wildlife from Space project uses very high-resolution satellite imagery to count and track the behaviour and reactions of penguins and other polar species to environmental change. Project by Dr Peter Fretwell, British Antarctic Survey. Satellite imagery by Maxar Technologies, 2021.

Of Giants And Kings: In July 2017, a giant iceberg the size of the UK county of Somerset – named A68 - broke off from the Antarctic peninsula. One of the concerns was its potential to ground near the island of South Georgia and block access for iconic species, such as king penguins, to offshore foraging areas. In anticipation, a British Antarctic Survey science team equipped 18 king penguins with GPS and Depth tags. These recorded the location every half hour and depth every 5 seconds, allowing 3D tracks to be reconstructed. Data were downloaded by a radio link to a base station situated at the colony, so tags did not need to be recovered to obtain the data.

In addition to trackers, aerial images of king penguin colonies were taken, allowing population counts to examine potential effects of the giant iceberg on population size and breeding success. In this lucky case, no large fragments of iceberg obstructed penguin foraging, but had it grounded, it would have obstructed access to feeding areas, with potential consequences for chick growth and survival.

As King penguins take two years to fledge, two cohorts of chicks were observed in a colony in February. The old ones survived the South Georgia winter with minimal parental care, being fed between five and zero times over a 5-month period.

Tracks and surveys are being compared to previous comparable data from non-berg years and with oceanography data to determine whether there is evidence for the berg causing changes (e.g. due to lowered temperature, salinity or increases in iceberg fragments). This innovative combination of remote sensing technologies helps develop our understanding of how wildlife populations are affected by and adapt to climate change and contributes to informing management decisions to protect fragile and iconic ecosystems.

Emperor Penguins On Thin Ice: Another example is the failure of sea-ice near the Brunt Ice shelf, which has left emperor penguins searching for other breeding sites. At the poles, sea ice is changing rapidly, reducing in extent, breaking out earlier and becoming more unstable. Many Antarctic species rely on this ecosystem for food and as a stable breeding platform.

Remote sensing, machine learning and deep learning techniques can be combined to automate the process of finding and counting animals in satellite imagery, including penguins, whales and albatross. The development of these techniques and the use of new satellites has enabled us to develop methods to track species population trends over time, making some of these animals, that live in some of the most remote environments on Earth, to be some of the best studied.

Knowledge of animal population trends and breeding behaviour are vital to understanding how species will cope with the long-term implications of climate change. The polar regions are warming on average twice as fast as other parts of the globe and understanding how endemic polar species are adapting to these changes allows us to better predict their future numbers.

Each scarf is paired with its written ocean literacy story, sharing the science and images that inspired the collection. 

Every purchase helps fund and communicate leading research. Our impact partners are dedicated to solving global issues through marine science. 

By wearing your Crùbag products and sharing the story, you are part of the ocean advocacy movement, educating, inspiring others around you.

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