Earth: The Power of the Planet (HDTV1080i)

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Science Documentary hosted by Iain Stewart, published by BBC in 2007 - English narration

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"Earth: The Power of the Planet" highlights the major events which have shaped the Earth's history and allowed life to flourish. Presented by Dr Iain Stewart, each episode will reveal a different force critical to the development of Earth including volcanoes, the ocean, the atmosphere and ice. The series follows Dr Stewart's personal journey to some of the most remote places on the planet, from abseiling down into a lava lake in Ethiopia to cave diving in the underwater caverns left by the impact of the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs. He will discover how volcanoes saved the planet, how a rainstorm lasted for thousands of years, and how the Mediterranean Sea once dried up. Each individual film highlights the delicate balance of life on Earth, and how its incredible history has been the story of disaster and recovery. Part 1: Volcano Volcanoes are one of nature’s most awesome and destructive forces, but they are also the life force and architect of our planet. They can raise up great mountains and create new land, or they can level cities and destroy entire civilizations. They provide a glimpse of the power of Earth’s internal heat source, without which it would have become a dead planet millions of years ago. In this episode, Iain takes us on a journey to some of the most dramatic places on Earth, starting in Ethiopia. (59:12) Part 2: Atmosphere The atmosphere is Earth’s protective layer, cloaking us in a warm, oxygen-rich embrace and shielding us from the cold hostility of space. It acts as a natural greenhouse, keeping the Earth 51 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would otherwise be. Yet the atmosphere is also full of contradictions. It’s immensely powerful but at the same time highly sensitive. It’s destructive, yet it shelters us. It was created in part by the planet’s first organisms, and it continues to be essential for life. (59:01) Part 3: Ice Our icy adventure begins with host Dr. Iain Stewart in the Alps, where he goes down an ice crevasse to show viewers how snowfall develops into expansive masses. Then, we see how ice can shape the earth's topography giving rise to features like Yosemite National Park and Manhattan Island, in NY. Finally, journey to Greenland and see how ice sheets and glaciers are melting at a phenomenal rate that is likely to accelerate over the coming years, changing the world as we know it. (59:07) Part 4: Oceans Earth’s oceans help make our planet different from every other planet in the solar system. As far as we know, no other place is the right temp for liquid water, the most essential ingredient for life to exist. The oceans are Earth’s primary stabilizing force, and their immense power helps to shape the appearance and behavior of the entire planet and everything living on it. And they are also the planet's great unknown - their deepest points have been visited less than the surface of the moon. (58:44) Part 5: Rare Earth It has taken 4.6 billion years for the Earth to evolve from a barren rock into the world we know today. Explore the forces beyond our planet that have determined Earth’s destiny -- forces of destruction and regeneration in the solar system that created the planet and still protect it. And now the remarkable planet is facing a new challenge: humankind. The question is, how will it survive? (58:54) This is an unrecoded release of the first BBC HD broadcast of this series. Each episode is in the high bit rate used by BBC HD at the time and audio is 5.1 channel surround sound. The Blu-ray release of this series was re-edited down to 52 minutes per episode, the audio is stereo only, and the subtitles are in bitmap, not text format. Therefore in this case a capture is better than a Blu-ray remux except for the BBC HD logo in the upper left.