All language subtitles for Expedition.Europe.Series.1.2of2.Transformation.of.a.Continent.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng
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(dramatic music)
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The European continent
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is a treasure trove of jaw-dropping landscapes.
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With icons of human civilization,
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both modern and historic.
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It's a continent of contrasts.
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Colin Devey is on an expedition,
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from the sunny Mediterranean,
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to the frozen landscapes of Iceland.
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Wow, it's impressive here.
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You can almost feel the weight
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of the ice above your head.
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He'll explore Europe's natural wonders.
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Fascinating.
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And find traces of ancient inhabitants.
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Where today life pulsates in the metropolitan areas,
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strange creatures once populated the land.
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Join Colin Devey on a journey
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through the natural history of a fascinating continent.
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(dramatic music)
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The Elbe Sandstone mountains,
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one of the most extraordinary landscapes in Europe.
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The steep rocks are an ideal sanctuary for many.
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Peregrine Falcons are a widespread raptor.
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They live on every continent outside the polar regions.
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But they feel particularly at home here
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among the exposed rocks,
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where they nest in shallow hollows.
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(dramatic music)
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Gray Wagtails look for food in the clear brooks.
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They share parenting duty,
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and chicks wait impatiently
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in a hidden crevasse close by.
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(chirping)
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The woods around these rocks are popular with visitors.
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(dramatic music)
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Climbers and hikers come to the region in large numbers.
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The rock that forms these mountains is unique,
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with its own set of rules.
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(dramatic music)
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Every touch reveals the basic substance
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of this landscape, sand.
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Geologically speaking, the rocks are relatively young.
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As impressive as these natural monuments may seem,
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they are fragile, and protected for good reason.
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(dramatic music)
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It's a curious landscape,
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that you can only really appreciate when you get up here.
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It's quite easy to see how the landscape was formed though.
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This used to be a huge sandstone plateau,
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and the stone itself, the sandstone,
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is really quite soft.
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So the River Elbe, which you can see behind me,
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and the wind and rain, have been able
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to cut down into it, and they've left these pillars,
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sculptures almost, behind.
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The sandstone itself is quite old,
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and at that time, this was the coastline.
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The history of this landscape
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goes back a long way, millions of years.
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(dramatic music)
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It began underwater.
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The curious rock formations originated
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in a primeval sea, that no longer exists.
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We're on the edge of the great Tethys Ocean,
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100 million years ago, in a wide bay.
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(dramatic swoop)
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Europe is a water world.
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Tropical temperatures have heated up the oceans,
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and there is no ice at the poles.
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Sea level is higher than at any other time
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in earth's history, 300 meters above the modern level.
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(dramatic music)
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The area of the Elbe sandstone lies in a shallow sea.
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(dramatic swoop)
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Rivers and ocean currents transport sand into this area.
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The murky waters are perfect for hunters.
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Crocodiles and sharks resemble their modern descendants.
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But the ancient crocodiles are much bigger.
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The Deinosuchus, which translates to terrible crocodile,
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was a massive predator.
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(dramatic music)
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Huge omnivorous turtles wander through the ocean,
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feeding on jellyfish, and aquatic plants.
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(dramatic music)
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Their size protects them from predators.
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(dramatic music)
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Ammonites have inhabited the world's oceans
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for over 350 million years.
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They thrive one last time in the Tethys sea,
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before completely disappearing
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at the end of the Cretaceous period.
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(bubbling)
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Plesiosaurs, prehistoric marine reptiles,
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roam the shallow coastal waters in search of fish.
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They have small heads, very long necks,
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and stretch up to 15 meters long.
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Floating elegantly through the ocean
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using their fin-like limbs as gigantic paddles.
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(dramatic music)
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The warm sea is generating more life
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than the ecosystem can process.
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The uneaten biomass left over
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from the ocean's dead, sinks to the depths,
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where it remains undegraded.
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Slowly, over millions of years,
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this waste is transformed
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into an energy rich substance: crude oil.
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A large part of the world's oil reserves
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can be traced back to the Cretaceous period.
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As the water level drops,
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the shallowest stretches of ocean disappear,
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revealing a new landscape.
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The remains of this prehistoric ocean
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are the building blocks for today's mountains.
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Now that ocean of course is long since gone,
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but at the time Tethys, as we call it,
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was a global ocean.
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It covered much of Europe.
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Here at the coastline, the river brought lots
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of sand from the continent's interior
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into the shallow sea, and created an ideal condition
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for the formation of a huge sandstone plateau
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like you see behind me.
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Now at the time, Tethys was already on the retreat,
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and the reason is Africa, heading north
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for a massive collision with Europe.
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Land started to rise, and that rise was gonna culminate
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in the formation of the Alps.
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And they're still moving today.
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They are the largest mountains
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in central Europe.
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The rugged 4000 meter peaks,
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including the iconic Matterhorn,
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stand in the western Alps.
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This jagged and inaccessible mountain world
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is perfect for animals adapted to life
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in the high altitudes.
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Here, they live undisturbed by man.
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Alpine chough are sociable.
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They can be found above the forest line,
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even in extreme altitudes.
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Golden eagles nest here, far from egg-hungry predators.
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Alpine ibexes are skillful climbers,
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and move safely on steep terrain.
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200 years ago, they were almost extinct.
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Today their population is slowly recovering.
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Rock ptarmigans blend seamlessly
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into the snow capped peaks.
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The high mountains are imposing symbols
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of unchanging stability.
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Monuments of eternity.
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But appearances are deceptive.
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Even mountains change, almost imperceptibly,
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but steadily.
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In the light of the warming sun, the rock expands.
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And as temperatures drop at night, the stone contracts.
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The mountain is breathing.
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(dramatic music)
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Over longer periods of time,
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the changes become larger, and more obvious.
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When the snow thaws in summer,
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heat penetrates deep into the rocks,
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making the mountains unstable.
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Rock slides can happen year round,
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but are much more frequent in the warm season.
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(loud crumbling)
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Larger movements are rare, but have enormous impact.
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In the Matter town near Randa, in Switzerland,
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an entire mountain slope started to slide in 1991.
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33 million cubic meters of stone fell into the depths.
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Slowly, the landscape changes shape.
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(dramatic music)
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The stones are gradually conveyed away by the streams.
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Water has enormous power.
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Everything is in motion.
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(light music)
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The stones wander downhill, meter by meter.
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Where the boulders settle, they form new habitats.
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(light music)
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Just like in the Swiss Prealps,
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in the valley of the Kleine Emma.
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(upbeat music)
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Each of these stones is unique,
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with its own origin and history.
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Colin Devey is on a field trip with Swiss colleagues.
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The geologists are exploring boulders
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that were carried here a long time ago.
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The old stones must be broken out.
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(cracking)
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We can pretty much tell
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where this material comes from.
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This, for example, is an ophiolite.
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It comes from the Matterhorn region.
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Likewise, we can just as accurately assign
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the origin of the remaining cobbles
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to different alpine regions.
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The expedition team heads to the mountains,
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to learn more about the history of this landscape.
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Alpine marmots prefer sunny meadows,
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where they find plenty of food, and space to romp about.
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(light music)
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Even up here there are cobbles,
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deposited millions of years ago.
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(light music)
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(cracking)
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Well, it's a river pebble.
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There's nothing spectacular about that of itself,
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but it's in a pretty spectacular and unusual place.
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I'm 1000 meters above sea level,
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halfway up a mountain in the alpine fall land,
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and obviously, in times gone past, there were rivers here.
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These rivers have brought millions
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of tons of pebbles, and deposited them here,
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layer upon layer.
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And over time, those layers have become rock,
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and built this whole mountain, the Rigi massif.
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(dramatic music)
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There's an incredible amount
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of information in this gigantic heap of cobble,
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about the Alps, and their history.
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What can be observed in a human life
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is nothing compared to the long history the Alps
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have behind them.
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A continental collision.
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(dramatic music)
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35 million years ago, there was a strait here.
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But in just 3 million years, the ocean disappears.
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Mountain formation begins.
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In another 5 million years, the Alps rise
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to become a mountain range.
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Continental plates from Africa
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push across the European continent.
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The various plates penetrate each other
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under the surface.
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And so, today, the geological border
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between Africa and Europe lies in Europe.
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(dramatic swoop)
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(dramatic music)
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The process of this collision can still be traced today.
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To a geologist, the mountains are a history book.
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Colin's looking for clues from above.
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What a way to do geology.
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My goodness, I'm having such a great time.
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This is fantastic.
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His route leads to where the collision
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is most clearly visible.
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We're flying towards the Matterhorn.
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This is of course the symbol of Switzerland.
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It's a geologist's paradise up here,
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to be quite honest with you.
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It is a beautiful mountain.
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This is really a beautiful mountain.
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The iconic peak of the steeply rising mountain
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is made of African gneiss.
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It's a fantastic way to do geology,
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especially if you're looking at large scale features
258
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like we are here.
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The journey continues
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from the African peak of the Matterhorn, to the north.
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(dramatic music)
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Residues of the ocean floor line this mountain ridge.
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This is part of the old ocean floor.
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It's the volcanic part of the ocean floor,
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so it was underneath all the sediments
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that had accumulated on the ocean,
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and it's made of basalts.
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(dramatic music)
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Here the chain of collision
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is perfectly lined up.
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Volcanic sea floor from the depths.
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Behind it, deposits of the Tethys Ocean.
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And finally, the old European continent.
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The meeting of continents is still reflected
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in these central sections of the Alps today.
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When you see Monte Rosa, you see,
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it's a different sort of stuff.
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It's a different type of style.
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So, it's a big, lumpy mountain.
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It's not sharp like the Matterhorn,
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and that's because it's not made of African continent.
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That thing is a piece of Europe.
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We are now flying, basically,
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what the present day would take you,
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if you had to cross the Mediterranean Sea
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with an aircraft.
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We can do it here in about three minutes,
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going between the African continent,
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and the European continent,
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and that's all to do with this huge big mishmash
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of pieces of crust, in the middle of this mountain range.
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And that mishmash leads
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to a one of a kind mountain range.
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But the natural history of the continent
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still has a long way to go.
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(dramatic music)
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50 million years ago, the African plate is picking up speed.
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When parts of it collide with Europe,
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and the Alps are lifted out of the sea,
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completely new areas emerge at the edge of this event.
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Extensive water worlds.
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A lake landscape in the far southeast of the continent.
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(dramatic music)
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Today, the Danube Delta is one
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of the most species-rich natural sites in Europe.
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A floating empire between earth, water, and air,
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on the banks of the Black Sea.
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Many migratory birds make a stopover in the region,
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and some settle to raise their young.
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More than 5000 animal and plant species
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are said to live here,
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including more than 300 bird species.
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(dramatic music)
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There are many nesting sites to discover,
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but Colin has found something else.
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So, here we have a little stowaway.
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It's a pond frog who's jumped onboard,
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and life really is in your face here.
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And it's amazing how much life there is.
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These cormorants, and all
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of the other birds flying around here
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find loads to eat in the water, it's full of fish.
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Now it's amazing environments being created by the Danube,
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here where it meets the Black Sea, and makes a delta.
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A maze of tiny channels and lakes.
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And in between them, lots of marshy areas
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which are full of reed.
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Now humans really can't get into that reed,
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00:19:05,030 --> 00:19:06,710
and so the animals can hide in there,
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and feel safe, and that's why there's so many of them.
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In fact, this area, right in the middle of Europe,
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is the largest contiguous area of reed beds
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on the whole planet.
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It's fascinating.
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Cormorants live worldwide.
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They breed in large colonies.
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These excellent divers are not usually welcome,
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and often hunted.
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Not so in the Danube Delta.
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There is enough space here for everyone.
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Over 5000 square kilometers provides enough room
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00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:43,494
for an enormous number of habitats.
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(dramatic music)
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Here, the mighty Danube flows slowly,
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bringing nutrients that form the base
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of a long food chain.
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There are many carp-like fish, a favorite dish of pelicans.
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00:20:02,210 --> 00:20:05,893
The catfish migrates to the calm waters for spawning.
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00:20:07,138 --> 00:20:09,960
(splashing)
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This is the largest pelican colony in Europe.
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The majority come from Africa every spring.
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It's also a perfect place for the kingfisher.
353
00:20:20,100 --> 00:20:23,690
It observes the water from its lookout on the shore.
354
00:20:23,690 --> 00:20:27,194
Kingfishers are dependent on calm, clear water.
355
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(light music)
356
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Many of these birds travel between worlds.
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They split their years between Europe, Africa, and Asia.
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(light music)
359
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The Danube Delta is a sheltered meeting point
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between the continents,
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where they can successfully raise their young.
362
00:21:07,851 --> 00:21:08,684
Hey Colin, here.
363
00:21:08,684 --> 00:21:09,650
Yeah.
364
00:21:09,650 --> 00:21:11,913
Colin has an unusual encounter.
365
00:21:13,126 --> 00:21:15,380
(dramatic music)
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00:21:15,380 --> 00:21:18,300
A golden jackal roused the birds.
367
00:21:18,300 --> 00:21:21,453
In the early morning, it comes very close to the shore.
368
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,550
Golden jackals have only been seen here
369
00:21:28,550 --> 00:21:31,090
for a few years in the Danube Delta.
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00:21:31,090 --> 00:21:34,743
Their real home lies far away on the Arabian Peninsula.
371
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We saw the jackals for the first time this morning.
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00:21:38,532 --> 00:21:40,980
And in fact, jackals have only been in this area
373
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for the last few years.
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00:21:42,010 --> 00:21:47,010
They're slowly migrating into this region from the south.
375
00:21:47,250 --> 00:21:48,543
Now that type of animal migration
376
00:21:48,543 --> 00:21:51,280
has happened time and again in earth's history,
377
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:53,020
and is really important for the evolution
378
00:21:53,020 --> 00:21:54,200
of life on earth.
379
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,160
But to migrate, the animals need pathways
380
00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:58,210
that they can follow.
381
00:21:59,290 --> 00:22:00,390
Let's go back in time.
382
00:22:02,740 --> 00:22:04,500
This is the Tethyan Ocean,
383
00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:06,770
and it's slowly being squeezed shut,
384
00:22:06,770 --> 00:22:09,253
as Africa comes towards Europe.
385
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:11,970
About 20 million years ago,
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00:22:11,970 --> 00:22:14,120
the first land bridges are produced,
387
00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:16,810
and they divide the Tethys up into sub-basins.
388
00:22:16,810 --> 00:22:18,377
These are the precursors of the Mediterranean,
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00:22:18,377 --> 00:22:21,260
and the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea.
390
00:22:21,260 --> 00:22:23,340
And these land bridges are the important things,
391
00:22:23,340 --> 00:22:25,300
and especially their coastal regions.
392
00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:27,630
They allow the animals to migrate northwards
393
00:22:27,630 --> 00:22:30,460
and southwards, to meet, and mix.
394
00:22:30,460 --> 00:22:32,030
It's very similar to what's happening
395
00:22:32,030 --> 00:22:34,350
in the Danube Delta today.
396
00:22:34,350 --> 00:22:37,210
The Danube, of course, is a fairly recent phenomenon
397
00:22:37,210 --> 00:22:39,480
on our planet, and 20 million years ago,
398
00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,000
the coastline wasn't here,
399
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,060
it was much further in the west.
400
00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:44,198
So if we want to find the evidence
401
00:22:44,198 --> 00:22:46,760
for the mixing that happened back then,
402
00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:48,923
we need to go upriver.
403
00:22:48,923 --> 00:22:51,673
(dramatic music)
404
00:22:52,980 --> 00:22:55,600
Ancient Europe also had a habitat,
405
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:57,473
similar to the Danube Delta.
406
00:23:01,290 --> 00:23:03,510
But the coastline was further to the west,
407
00:23:03,510 --> 00:23:04,943
at the foot of the Alps.
408
00:23:07,610 --> 00:23:09,600
Today that same location is covered
409
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,804
by a metropolis, with almost three million people.
410
00:23:12,804 --> 00:23:15,554
(dramatic music)
411
00:23:19,140 --> 00:23:22,557
Vienna, the pulsating city on the Danube.
412
00:23:22,557 --> 00:23:25,307
(dramatic music)
413
00:23:28,850 --> 00:23:30,770
A popular destination for tourists
414
00:23:30,770 --> 00:23:32,650
from all over the world.
415
00:23:32,650 --> 00:23:34,790
They visit the historical monuments,
416
00:23:34,790 --> 00:23:36,950
vestiges of a great past,
417
00:23:36,950 --> 00:23:39,625
and center of a former empire.
418
00:23:39,625 --> 00:23:42,375
(dramatic music)
419
00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:50,700
The Schonbrunn Palace, a magical place,
420
00:23:50,700 --> 00:23:52,913
reminiscent of times long gone.
421
00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,110
20 million years ago, in the Miocene,
422
00:24:00,110 --> 00:24:02,470
migrants came from Africa.
423
00:24:02,470 --> 00:24:04,320
An aceratherium.
424
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:05,880
Except for the missing horn,
425
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,105
it resembles today's rhinoceros.
426
00:24:08,105 --> 00:24:10,855
(dramatic music)
427
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,820
Bear dogs, predators who emigrated from America,
428
00:24:19,820 --> 00:24:23,300
meet chalicotherium, odd looking herbivores,
429
00:24:23,300 --> 00:24:26,110
who stand 2 1/2 meters tall.
430
00:24:26,110 --> 00:24:30,023
The impressive giants walk on their knuckles, like gorillas.
431
00:24:35,430 --> 00:24:38,010
With its mild climate, Vienna is considered
432
00:24:38,010 --> 00:24:40,423
one of the most livable cities in the world.
433
00:24:44,067 --> 00:24:47,250
(grass rustling)
434
00:24:47,250 --> 00:24:49,940
A similar climate is also appreciated
435
00:24:49,940 --> 00:24:52,424
by the deinotherium, a proboscidean
436
00:24:52,424 --> 00:24:55,920
with downward curved tusks in the lower jaw.
437
00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,050
These prehistoric relatives of modern day elephants
438
00:24:59,050 --> 00:25:01,463
use their tusks to peel off bark.
439
00:25:06,870 --> 00:25:10,000
Where today the woods border the outskirts of the city,
440
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,290
20 million years ago, swamp forests stretched to the sea.
441
00:25:14,290 --> 00:25:15,890
The climate is warm.
442
00:25:15,890 --> 00:25:19,740
Towards the sea, the landscape changes into mangroves.
443
00:25:19,740 --> 00:25:24,434
Along the coast, there are oyster beds, and mussel colonies.
444
00:25:24,434 --> 00:25:26,934
(light music)
445
00:25:31,130 --> 00:25:34,800
Later, the area transforms into a river landscape,
446
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,410
dotted with swamps.
447
00:25:36,410 --> 00:25:38,910
Flocks of birds cross the area.
448
00:25:38,910 --> 00:25:42,030
It's the forerunner of today's Danube Delta,
449
00:25:42,030 --> 00:25:43,913
a species rich hotspot.
450
00:25:45,410 --> 00:25:48,480
And so Vienna is, then as now,
451
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,121
an international meeting place.
452
00:25:51,121 --> 00:25:53,871
(dramatic music)
453
00:26:04,460 --> 00:26:07,670
But not all of Europe is as coveted.
454
00:26:07,670 --> 00:26:10,433
This continent has its badlands too.
455
00:26:11,418 --> 00:26:14,168
(dramatic music)
456
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,580
I know this looks like Africa or North America,
457
00:26:20,580 --> 00:26:21,740
but it isn't.
458
00:26:21,740 --> 00:26:22,740
It's Europe.
459
00:26:22,740 --> 00:26:25,720
We're in Europe's only desert, in southwest Spain.
460
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,910
A place called Tabernas.
461
00:26:27,910 --> 00:26:30,632
They filmed lots of the spaghetti westerns here.
462
00:26:30,632 --> 00:26:32,791
And the landscape is so fascinating,
463
00:26:32,791 --> 00:26:34,891
I'm gonna have to get out and have a look.
464
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:39,070
In fact, the desert isn't as barren
465
00:26:39,070 --> 00:26:41,493
and empty as it looks at first glance.
466
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,560
Red-legged partridges are very adaptable.
467
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,963
They cope well with aridity, and the rocky desert soil.
468
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,733
Iberian ibexes also enjoy the sparsely vegetated area.
469
00:26:57,630 --> 00:27:00,170
In winter, they come down from the snowy mountains
470
00:27:00,170 --> 00:27:01,833
to find food in the desert.
471
00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:04,398
In the barren terrain, the shy animals
472
00:27:04,398 --> 00:27:06,483
have everything well in view.
473
00:27:07,666 --> 00:27:10,416
(dramatic music)
474
00:27:14,230 --> 00:27:17,763
A few rainy days are enough to make the desert bloom.
475
00:27:20,110 --> 00:27:23,640
Many plant seeds rest in the soil during drought.
476
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,713
A little water wakes them up.
477
00:27:28,370 --> 00:27:30,540
The colorful splendor cannot hide
478
00:27:30,540 --> 00:27:32,770
how extreme the desert is.
479
00:27:32,770 --> 00:27:36,825
In summer, the temperatures reach up to 50 degrees celsius.
480
00:27:36,825 --> 00:27:39,325
(light music)
481
00:27:41,150 --> 00:27:43,030
That's when it becomes a tough fight
482
00:27:43,030 --> 00:27:47,472
against water shortages, and extreme heat, for everyone.
483
00:27:47,472 --> 00:27:49,972
(light music)
484
00:27:54,460 --> 00:27:57,330
Many of these plants also live in Africa,
485
00:27:57,330 --> 00:28:00,533
but the European desert has some special features.
486
00:28:08,420 --> 00:28:10,219
This is a typical desert,
487
00:28:10,219 --> 00:28:12,260
which despite what you might think,
488
00:28:12,260 --> 00:28:15,420
doesn't actually mean it has to be really hot.
489
00:28:15,420 --> 00:28:18,740
It's December, and I'm quite comfortable dressed like this.
490
00:28:18,740 --> 00:28:21,810
Above all else, a desert is dry.
491
00:28:21,810 --> 00:28:24,750
I've just walked up this river valley behind me.
492
00:28:24,750 --> 00:28:28,030
It's got a couple of puddles in it, nothing much else.
493
00:28:28,030 --> 00:28:29,050
In an environment like this,
494
00:28:29,050 --> 00:28:31,710
you might expect to find cacti growing.
495
00:28:31,710 --> 00:28:33,933
What we actually find are these plants.
496
00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:40,940
Now, anyone who's been to the beach knows things like this.
497
00:28:40,940 --> 00:28:43,963
They've got very salty juice.
498
00:28:45,270 --> 00:28:48,220
The people here put them on salads.
499
00:28:48,220 --> 00:28:52,180
Here's another salty kind of plant.
500
00:28:52,180 --> 00:28:55,710
It's producing little deposits of salt on its leaves.
501
00:28:55,710 --> 00:28:58,120
Now both of these are the types of plants
502
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,740
you'd expect to find at the seaside,
503
00:29:00,740 --> 00:29:02,490
rather than the middle of a desert.
504
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,160
If a lot of salt is present in the soil,
505
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:09,113
it will affect the local biosphere.
506
00:29:12,670 --> 00:29:15,390
In fact, there are places in the Tabernas
507
00:29:15,390 --> 00:29:17,743
with small stalactite formations.
508
00:29:21,010 --> 00:29:23,040
And where water evaporates,
509
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,616
delicate salt crystals slowly grow.
510
00:29:26,616 --> 00:29:29,366
(dramatic music)
511
00:29:42,250 --> 00:29:46,453
Over many years, an entire salt wall has formed.
512
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,770
Wow, and this is what I was looking for.
513
00:29:51,770 --> 00:29:54,710
There's ground water seeping out of this cliff face,
514
00:29:54,710 --> 00:29:56,830
bringing all sorts of minerals with it,
515
00:29:56,830 --> 00:30:00,160
and when you taste the water, it's really salty.
516
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,640
A lot of these minerals in here are rock salt.
517
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,110
That's telling us deep underground,
518
00:30:04,110 --> 00:30:06,920
there must be vast deposits of salt,
519
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:08,217
and that's telling us that,
520
00:30:08,217 --> 00:30:10,010
where today there's a desert,
521
00:30:10,010 --> 00:30:11,310
there used to be an ocean.
522
00:30:13,270 --> 00:30:16,750
This desert landscape was once a sea floor.
523
00:30:16,750 --> 00:30:19,212
The coastal area of an ocean.
524
00:30:19,212 --> 00:30:21,962
(dramatic music)
525
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,210
Today, the Tabernas lies at the foot of a mountain range,
526
00:30:28,210 --> 00:30:29,713
the Betic Cordillera.
527
00:30:31,970 --> 00:30:34,420
And only 20 kilometers further south
528
00:30:34,420 --> 00:30:36,820
lies the Mediterranean coast,
529
00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:39,113
with the famous sand beaches of Andalucia.
530
00:30:40,177 --> 00:30:42,927
(dramatic music)
531
00:30:47,290 --> 00:30:50,580
And this is where the desert meets the seawater.
532
00:30:50,580 --> 00:30:52,890
This coastline, in terms of geological process,
533
00:30:52,890 --> 00:30:54,070
is not at all fixed.
534
00:30:54,070 --> 00:30:56,070
It depends completely on how much water's
535
00:30:56,070 --> 00:30:57,580
in the Mediterranean.
536
00:30:57,580 --> 00:30:59,353
And the Mediterranean itself is just a part
537
00:30:59,353 --> 00:31:01,260
of the Atlantic Ocean.
538
00:31:01,260 --> 00:31:04,400
They're connected of course via the Straits of Gibraltar.
539
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:06,620
But it wasn't always like that.
540
00:31:06,620 --> 00:31:09,560
If we go back in time several million years,
541
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,190
we see that there are two channels
542
00:31:11,190 --> 00:31:13,910
connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
543
00:31:13,910 --> 00:31:16,770
And then something happened geologically.
544
00:31:16,770 --> 00:31:20,860
A mountain range rises up around Gibraltar,
545
00:31:20,860 --> 00:31:23,540
and it cuts off both of those channels.
546
00:31:23,540 --> 00:31:25,230
That's the same movement in fact
547
00:31:25,230 --> 00:31:28,713
which lifted the Tabernas Desert out of the Mediterranean.
548
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:31,690
There's no more water coming from the Atlantic
549
00:31:31,690 --> 00:31:34,070
into the Mediterranean, so it dries out,
550
00:31:34,070 --> 00:31:36,763
and a huge salty desert is produced.
551
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,310
That process six million years ago
552
00:31:40,310 --> 00:31:42,963
influenced the whole of the Mediterranean region.
553
00:31:46,470 --> 00:31:48,250
At this time, the landscape
554
00:31:48,250 --> 00:31:50,550
is already similar to today's,
555
00:31:50,550 --> 00:31:54,100
but then the water begins to gradually retreat,
556
00:31:54,100 --> 00:31:55,260
and it leaves its mark,
557
00:31:55,260 --> 00:31:58,680
a mighty layer of salt that can still be traced
558
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:00,833
in the soil of the Mediterranean Sea.
559
00:32:02,380 --> 00:32:05,890
It's an area with vastly different landscapes,
560
00:32:05,890 --> 00:32:08,647
but life has a hard time in this desert.
561
00:32:08,647 --> 00:32:11,397
(dramatic music)
562
00:32:19,130 --> 00:32:22,880
In the middle, the last remnants of seawater collect
563
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:25,823
and form highly concentrated puddles of salt.
564
00:32:29,530 --> 00:32:32,480
A breeding ground for stromatolites,
565
00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:37,060
sedimentary rocks produced by salt loving microorganisms.
566
00:32:37,060 --> 00:32:39,670
Very simple, old forms of life,
567
00:32:39,670 --> 00:32:41,443
that have survived to this day.
568
00:32:43,580 --> 00:32:47,270
High rock formations rise from the desert floor.
569
00:32:47,270 --> 00:32:49,390
These large mountain ranges tower
570
00:32:49,390 --> 00:32:52,280
more than 3000 meters high.
571
00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:53,980
We know these mountains.
572
00:32:53,980 --> 00:32:56,123
Today, they are the Balearics.
573
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:00,433
Mallorca.
574
00:33:03,710 --> 00:33:06,760
The island mountains provide better living conditions
575
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:08,483
than the expanse of the desert.
576
00:33:14,620 --> 00:33:18,280
Six million years ago, the entire Mediterranean area
577
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,930
forms a gigantic depression.
578
00:33:20,930 --> 00:33:23,520
In the coastal area, the continental shelf
579
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,780
of mainland Europe rises 1000 meters
580
00:33:26,780 --> 00:33:28,441
above the desert floor.
581
00:33:28,441 --> 00:33:31,191
(dramatic music)
582
00:33:32,780 --> 00:33:35,120
The water of the great European rivers,
583
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:37,770
such as the Rhone, falls many meters
584
00:33:37,770 --> 00:33:41,602
over long cascades, and cuts canyons into the bedrock.
585
00:33:41,602 --> 00:33:44,352
(dramatic music)
586
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,600
Traces of this period can still be found
587
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:57,026
in the underwater landscapes of the Mediterranean.
588
00:33:57,026 --> 00:34:00,943
(dramatic music and splashing)
589
00:34:09,850 --> 00:34:13,440
The Rhone is still a river with a strong current.
590
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,920
In a vast delta, it flows into the Mediterranean,
591
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:18,988
and creates the unique natural paradise
592
00:34:18,988 --> 00:34:21,266
of the Camargue.
593
00:34:21,266 --> 00:34:23,849
(upbeat music)
594
00:34:26,950 --> 00:34:29,060
But the wild canyons of the past
595
00:34:29,060 --> 00:34:30,563
can only be found inland.
596
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:36,920
Many of the typical caves and cast landscapes
597
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,720
of the Mediterranean, such as the Adeje,
598
00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:43,050
originated in a time when there was an extreme gradient
599
00:34:43,050 --> 00:34:44,800
along the coast of the sea,
600
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,043
and water crashed into the depths with heavy impact.
601
00:34:50,758 --> 00:34:53,091
(splashing)
602
00:35:00,010 --> 00:35:03,653
The sea has long since recovered from its dramatic past.
603
00:35:05,010 --> 00:35:07,890
The Mediterranean didn't stay dry for very long.
604
00:35:07,890 --> 00:35:09,580
The Atlantic pretty quickly found a way
605
00:35:09,580 --> 00:35:11,580
through that mountain range,
606
00:35:11,580 --> 00:35:14,323
and the sea came back, flooding the salty desert.
607
00:35:15,230 --> 00:35:18,293
It must have been a really dramatic event.
608
00:35:19,210 --> 00:35:20,950
Although I have to admit, on such a beautiful day
609
00:35:20,950 --> 00:35:23,740
on the beach like this, I can hardly imagine it.
610
00:35:27,730 --> 00:35:31,155
Colin enjoys the last sun rays of the day.
611
00:35:31,155 --> 00:35:34,380
In the next chapter of European natural history,
612
00:35:34,380 --> 00:35:36,423
colder times lie ahead.
613
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:43,613
The ice age began about 2.7 million years ago.
614
00:35:46,540 --> 00:35:49,673
But what did cold times mean for life on earth?
615
00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:00,290
Iceland is one of the northernmost landscapes in Europe,
616
00:36:00,290 --> 00:36:02,810
with many echoes of the ice age.
617
00:36:02,810 --> 00:36:05,863
Here, nature's power is palpable.
618
00:36:09,890 --> 00:36:13,523
Both beautiful, and unforgiving.
619
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,970
The island is made up of two different continents.
620
00:36:19,970 --> 00:36:22,550
The active gap between the North American
621
00:36:22,550 --> 00:36:26,400
and European plates runs across the country.
622
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,750
The energy from the earth's interior makes itself felt
623
00:36:29,750 --> 00:36:31,053
in many places.
624
00:36:36,710 --> 00:36:39,670
There are comparatively few animal species.
625
00:36:39,670 --> 00:36:43,013
(birds squawking)
626
00:36:43,013 --> 00:36:45,513
(light music)
627
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,663
The Icelandic horses were brought in by settlers.
628
00:36:55,370 --> 00:36:58,960
Inland, the ground is permanently frozen.
629
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:00,850
Before the first humans arrived,
630
00:37:00,850 --> 00:37:04,020
the Arctic fox was the only native mammal.
631
00:37:04,020 --> 00:37:06,770
(dramatic music)
632
00:37:08,030 --> 00:37:11,620
Gigantic glaciers cover large parts of the island,
633
00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:13,390
and shape the environment,
634
00:37:13,390 --> 00:37:16,203
just like in central Europe during the ice ages.
635
00:37:19,264 --> 00:37:22,640
Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Europe,
636
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,653
up to 900 meters thick in some areas.
637
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:32,470
Wow, it's impressive here.
638
00:37:32,470 --> 00:37:35,750
You can almost feel the weight of the ice above your head.
639
00:37:35,750 --> 00:37:37,220
I don't know how much is up there,
640
00:37:37,220 --> 00:37:38,950
and I really don't want to know.
641
00:37:38,950 --> 00:37:40,430
This used to be snow.
642
00:37:40,430 --> 00:37:42,752
Several hundred years ago it fell upon the mountains,
643
00:37:42,752 --> 00:37:45,170
and through its own weight it's been compacted down
644
00:37:45,170 --> 00:37:47,398
to this beautifully clear ice.
645
00:37:47,398 --> 00:37:49,180
It's a really bizarre feeling.
646
00:37:49,180 --> 00:37:51,457
You can look into here, meters.
647
00:37:51,457 --> 00:37:53,060
You feel as if you can, at least,
648
00:37:53,060 --> 00:37:56,100
but actually this ice is continually on the move.
649
00:37:56,100 --> 00:37:57,840
It's continually being produced,
650
00:37:57,840 --> 00:37:59,600
and continually melting.
651
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:01,730
And ice ages are a bit like that.
652
00:38:01,730 --> 00:38:03,070
Constantly coming and going.
653
00:38:03,070 --> 00:38:04,870
We've had several on earth.
654
00:38:04,870 --> 00:38:08,973
We define and ice age as being when both poles are frozen.
655
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,630
But sometime in the past,
656
00:38:11,630 --> 00:38:14,560
maybe the whole earth was completely frozen.
657
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,019
The last ice age we had
658
00:38:16,019 --> 00:38:18,980
began about 2 1/2 million years ago.
659
00:38:18,980 --> 00:38:21,240
And we can see, although we call it as ice age,
660
00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:24,040
it's actually a really complicated thing.
661
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,580
It's not just one mass of ice.
662
00:38:25,580 --> 00:38:28,525
The ice comes and goes, comes and goes.
663
00:38:28,525 --> 00:38:32,140
That slight cooling or warming of the earth,
664
00:38:32,140 --> 00:38:34,650
which leads to the ice advancing, or retreating.
665
00:38:34,650 --> 00:38:36,990
Now, why exactly those slight cooling
666
00:38:36,990 --> 00:38:40,612
or warming episodes occur, we're not quite clear.
667
00:38:40,612 --> 00:38:45,440
The last really cold period ended about 10,000 years ago.
668
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,730
Since then, the ice is retreating.
669
00:38:47,730 --> 00:38:49,620
You can hear the running water behind me.
670
00:38:49,620 --> 00:38:51,450
That's a meltwater stream.
671
00:38:51,450 --> 00:38:53,370
So in fact this glacier is disappearing,
672
00:38:53,370 --> 00:38:55,650
and probably this beautiful ice cave
673
00:38:55,650 --> 00:38:57,634
may not be here next year.
674
00:38:57,634 --> 00:38:59,960
(dramatic music)
675
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:03,533
Everywhere ice melts, life is gaining ground.
676
00:39:04,610 --> 00:39:09,240
Special green algae can exist even under icy conditions,
677
00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:11,420
and even microscopic animals,
678
00:39:11,420 --> 00:39:14,833
such as the water bears, survive in extreme cold.
679
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,470
But for most living beings,
680
00:39:19,470 --> 00:39:22,020
a world of ice is problematic.
681
00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:23,810
That's why during the ice age,
682
00:39:23,810 --> 00:39:26,363
life thrives only beyond the great glaciers.
683
00:39:30,785 --> 00:39:33,340
The mammoth and woolly rhinoceros
684
00:39:33,340 --> 00:39:35,720
are the giants of the ice age.
685
00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:37,790
They wander in search of food.
686
00:39:37,790 --> 00:39:39,773
Nutritious herbs, for example.
687
00:39:45,944 --> 00:39:48,650
(dramatic swoop)
688
00:39:48,650 --> 00:39:51,290
About 15,000 years ago, the glaciers
689
00:39:51,290 --> 00:39:54,050
are slowly releasing the continent.
690
00:39:54,050 --> 00:39:56,253
This creates unique habitats.
691
00:39:59,540 --> 00:40:01,790
The ice ages also show us
692
00:40:01,790 --> 00:40:04,883
how fleeting landscapes on our earth can be.
693
00:40:06,460 --> 00:40:08,470
With fluctuating temperatures,
694
00:40:08,470 --> 00:40:11,190
living conditions change incredibly quickly,
695
00:40:11,190 --> 00:40:13,556
from a natural history point of view.
696
00:40:13,556 --> 00:40:16,306
(dramatic music)
697
00:40:19,670 --> 00:40:22,240
Witnesses from the past still stand
698
00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:24,143
on the northeast coast of England.
699
00:40:28,620 --> 00:40:31,243
They remind us of a land long gone.
700
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,690
This is glacial clay.
701
00:40:35,690 --> 00:40:39,030
Left here 10,000 years ago as the world got warmer,
702
00:40:39,030 --> 00:40:40,910
and the ice retreated.
703
00:40:40,910 --> 00:40:42,880
Now there was no North Sea here at that time,
704
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:46,030
because sea level was much lower, about 100 meters,
705
00:40:46,030 --> 00:40:50,190
and this sort of plastered landscape
706
00:40:50,190 --> 00:40:52,050
caused huge peat bogs to form.
707
00:40:52,050 --> 00:40:54,563
There's lots of peat here, as you can see.
708
00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:57,980
And even trees.
709
00:40:57,980 --> 00:41:02,200
This is a 7000 year old tree stump.
710
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:03,700
It's got its roots.
711
00:41:03,700 --> 00:41:05,350
There are branches lying around here.
712
00:41:05,350 --> 00:41:07,730
There are remainders of leaves.
713
00:41:07,730 --> 00:41:10,290
This is like looking at an ancient forest fossil,
714
00:41:10,290 --> 00:41:11,890
absolutely fascinating.
715
00:41:11,890 --> 00:41:14,260
Now this forest, straight from here,
716
00:41:14,260 --> 00:41:15,200
right over to France,
717
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:18,880
and you could walk to France from here, 7000 years ago.
718
00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:20,950
The stone age people who lived here,
719
00:41:20,950 --> 00:41:24,120
found absolutely ideal conditions.
720
00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:25,470
There was lots of game.
721
00:41:25,470 --> 00:41:27,390
There were lots of fish.
722
00:41:27,390 --> 00:41:30,243
But this paradise was fairly quickly lost.
723
00:41:32,750 --> 00:41:35,250
Doggerland, a perfect moment
724
00:41:35,250 --> 00:41:37,180
in the history of the earth.
725
00:41:37,180 --> 00:41:40,400
The receding ice is first followed by light.
726
00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:43,760
Then, increasingly dense forests.
727
00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:45,113
Fertile soil.
728
00:41:46,090 --> 00:41:47,550
It's getting warmer.
729
00:41:47,550 --> 00:41:51,560
Sea eagles find plenty of fish in coastal waters.
730
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:53,540
The animal world is changing.
731
00:41:53,540 --> 00:41:55,360
Instead of wandering mammoths,
732
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:57,573
there are other four legged herbivores.
733
00:41:59,190 --> 00:42:02,870
They are local animals, such as deer, wild boar,
734
00:42:02,870 --> 00:42:06,510
or roe deer, who do not need to migrate,
735
00:42:06,510 --> 00:42:09,833
because they find enough food on the planes all year round.
736
00:42:12,420 --> 00:42:13,980
But the history of the forests
737
00:42:13,980 --> 00:42:16,941
between England and France ends soon.
738
00:42:16,941 --> 00:42:19,524
(upbeat music)
739
00:42:20,490 --> 00:42:22,340
The shrinking ice of the glaciers
740
00:42:22,340 --> 00:42:25,100
causes sea levels to rise.
741
00:42:25,100 --> 00:42:27,010
The soils become salted,
742
00:42:27,010 --> 00:42:30,070
and the landscape sinks into the sea.
743
00:42:30,070 --> 00:42:33,416
The British island is separated from mainland Europe.
744
00:42:33,416 --> 00:42:36,166
(dramatic music)
745
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,750
Only the remains of ancient trees on the English coast
746
00:42:41,750 --> 00:42:45,603
bare witness to the paradise of the last ice age.
747
00:42:49,940 --> 00:42:50,773
Doggerland.
748
00:42:57,697 --> 00:42:59,240
A view from space shows
749
00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:02,040
how much man changes his surroundings.
750
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:05,653
Europe's major metropolises shine brightly at night.
751
00:43:07,340 --> 00:43:10,103
Far down south, the Gulf of Naples.
752
00:43:13,030 --> 00:43:16,470
A dark area is particularly conspicuous,
753
00:43:16,470 --> 00:43:19,053
in the middle of the brightly lit urban area.
754
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,160
Mount Vesuvius.
755
00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:24,363
No people live on its slopes.
756
00:43:25,240 --> 00:43:27,960
Naples in the early morning.
757
00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:30,180
It's quiet in the big city.
758
00:43:30,180 --> 00:43:32,450
A deceptive calm.
759
00:43:32,450 --> 00:43:34,780
The Neapolitan people know that,
760
00:43:34,780 --> 00:43:36,350
not only because in a few minutes,
761
00:43:36,350 --> 00:43:38,640
life awakens in the streets,
762
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:40,317
but because there is always a hint
763
00:43:40,317 --> 00:43:43,021
of great danger in the air.
764
00:43:43,021 --> 00:43:45,771
(dramatic music)
765
00:43:51,110 --> 00:43:52,483
Roman columns.
766
00:43:54,490 --> 00:43:58,113
These are the walls of an historical city: Pompeii.
767
00:44:04,419 --> 00:44:07,090
About 20,000 people are said to have lived here,
768
00:44:07,090 --> 00:44:09,173
in the year 79 A.D.
769
00:44:11,900 --> 00:44:15,060
Wealthy Romans, who led a privileged life,
770
00:44:15,060 --> 00:44:17,360
supported by slaves.
771
00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:22,360
A functioning society, until disaster struck.
772
00:44:22,914 --> 00:44:25,664
(dramatic music)
773
00:44:29,990 --> 00:44:31,607
Exceptional.
774
00:44:31,607 --> 00:44:34,357
(dramatic music)
775
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,020
The atmosphere in this town is bizarre.
776
00:44:43,020 --> 00:44:43,853
It feels as if there ought
777
00:44:43,853 --> 00:44:46,450
to be Romans running backwards and forwards.
778
00:44:46,450 --> 00:44:48,440
In fact it's completely still.
779
00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:50,593
And it's been that way for 2000 years.
780
00:44:51,824 --> 00:44:54,430
On the 24th of August, 79 A.D.,
781
00:44:54,430 --> 00:44:57,140
Vesuvius had a cataclysmic eruption.
782
00:44:57,140 --> 00:44:59,210
Now some of the Pompeiians could flee,
783
00:44:59,210 --> 00:45:01,250
but most of them stayed in the town,
784
00:45:01,250 --> 00:45:03,020
and that was their undoing.
785
00:45:03,020 --> 00:45:05,640
As the hot ash clouds rolled down the side of the volcano,
786
00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:09,410
they were buried in their beds, turned instantly to stone.
787
00:45:09,410 --> 00:45:11,340
And what's amazing is that they were so surprised
788
00:45:11,340 --> 00:45:14,100
by this volcano, because it certainly wasn't the first time
789
00:45:14,100 --> 00:45:15,503
the Vesuvius had erupted.
790
00:45:18,010 --> 00:45:20,140
When the city was unearthed,
791
00:45:20,140 --> 00:45:23,193
archeologists found more than just ruins.
792
00:45:24,110 --> 00:45:27,720
Forms that human bodies left in the hot ashes.
793
00:45:27,720 --> 00:45:32,110
Impressive freeze frames of a devastating catastrophe.
794
00:45:32,110 --> 00:45:35,170
About 1000 such bodies were found,
795
00:45:35,170 --> 00:45:38,743
but the total number of victims was many times higher.
796
00:45:41,038 --> 00:45:43,788
(dramatic music)
797
00:45:50,990 --> 00:45:53,800
The old volcano, with its long history,
798
00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:56,253
still towers above it all today.
799
00:45:59,090 --> 00:46:02,550
The ancient crater structures still hold the traces
800
00:46:02,550 --> 00:46:04,778
of past eruptions.
801
00:46:04,778 --> 00:46:07,528
(dramatic music)
802
00:46:11,460 --> 00:46:15,210
The history of the volcano begins 400,000 years ago.
803
00:46:15,210 --> 00:46:18,383
The first volcanic activity manifests itself.
804
00:46:19,720 --> 00:46:22,410
A mountain is building up, the Monte Somma,
805
00:46:22,410 --> 00:46:24,350
the forerunner of Vesuvius.
806
00:46:24,350 --> 00:46:27,980
20,000 years ago, it reaches its maximum altitude,
807
00:46:27,980 --> 00:46:29,640
1800 meters.
808
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:33,350
Then the first explosive outbreak blows the tip off.
809
00:46:33,350 --> 00:46:35,860
Rest periods are followed by further outbreaks
810
00:46:35,860 --> 00:46:37,113
in the coming millennia.
811
00:46:38,020 --> 00:46:40,360
The eruption in Roman times was already
812
00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:42,930
the fourth great eruption in its history,
813
00:46:42,930 --> 00:46:45,830
and the emergence of the actual Vesuvius,
814
00:46:45,830 --> 00:46:47,023
with its present peak.
815
00:46:48,498 --> 00:46:50,915
(explosions)
816
00:46:55,060 --> 00:46:58,493
Smaller eruptions follow, up until the last century.
817
00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:04,080
A dangerous mountain, yet people still live
818
00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:06,493
in the immediate vicinity of the volcano.
819
00:47:07,790 --> 00:47:09,033
It's a tradition.
820
00:47:09,869 --> 00:47:12,619
(dramatic music)
821
00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:18,048
North of Vesuvius, scientists uncover the walls
822
00:47:18,048 --> 00:47:19,433
of an old ruin.
823
00:47:23,620 --> 00:47:28,093
It's a Roman bath, built 400 years after the catastrophe.
824
00:47:33,980 --> 00:47:36,917
It belongs to a generous country estate.
825
00:47:36,917 --> 00:47:39,667
(dramatic music)
826
00:47:42,660 --> 00:47:43,920
And most of it is buried
827
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:47,713
in the ashes of the volcano, under modern apartments.
828
00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:56,510
It's a magnificent building from Roman times,
829
00:47:56,510 --> 00:47:58,663
and further ruins lie below.
830
00:48:01,300 --> 00:48:04,510
Following each eruption, people build new houses
831
00:48:04,510 --> 00:48:07,183
on the ruins, again and again.
832
00:48:10,790 --> 00:48:13,960
It's the mountain that attracts people and nature.
833
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:15,710
It destroys many things,
834
00:48:15,710 --> 00:48:17,903
but it also creates something new.
835
00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:21,810
Only a few years after an eruption,
836
00:48:21,810 --> 00:48:24,986
pioneer plants begin to reclaim the soil,
837
00:48:24,986 --> 00:48:26,630
and others follow.
838
00:48:26,630 --> 00:48:29,130
(light music)
839
00:48:39,106 --> 00:48:43,390
Lava and ash from the volcano contain valuable minerals.
840
00:48:43,390 --> 00:48:45,823
Fertilizer that furthers growth.
841
00:48:47,240 --> 00:48:49,803
An entire region benefits from this.
842
00:48:50,834 --> 00:48:53,417
(upbeat music)
843
00:48:57,610 --> 00:49:01,370
The fruits are unique, famous for their taste.
844
00:49:01,370 --> 00:49:02,533
As is the wine.
845
00:49:05,380 --> 00:49:07,960
There are many animals and plants.
846
00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:10,609
Following catastrophes, a lot of things in nature
847
00:49:10,609 --> 00:49:13,370
have to start all over again.
848
00:49:13,370 --> 00:49:16,880
The locals are joined by immigrants, conquering the area.
849
00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:19,463
(upbeat music)
850
00:49:35,980 --> 00:49:39,393
And so, and interesting mixture emerges.
851
00:49:41,380 --> 00:49:44,200
The volcano might be a tyrant,
852
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,433
but it is also a patron.
853
00:49:47,300 --> 00:49:51,290
The events of Vesuvius are dramatic, but not unique.
854
00:49:51,290 --> 00:49:53,990
All over the world, life is confronted
855
00:49:53,990 --> 00:49:57,000
with the violence of nature.
856
00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:00,010
Colin Devey has reached the end of his journey,
857
00:50:00,010 --> 00:50:01,830
at the Cape of Miseno.
858
00:50:01,830 --> 00:50:05,543
The view of the Bay of Naples is particularly beautiful.
859
00:50:06,380 --> 00:50:08,930
Time to say farewell.
860
00:50:08,930 --> 00:50:12,409
And that I guess is the quintessence of our expedition.
861
00:50:12,409 --> 00:50:14,797
On the one side, the forces of our planet
862
00:50:14,797 --> 00:50:18,040
are still extremely dangerous for humankind,
863
00:50:18,040 --> 00:50:21,170
but on the other side, it's exactly those forces
864
00:50:21,170 --> 00:50:24,132
that make life on this planet possible in the first place.
865
00:50:24,132 --> 00:50:26,920
So, studying them, and understanding them,
866
00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:29,036
is absolutely essential for all of us.
867
00:50:29,036 --> 00:50:31,740
And that's what my predecessor,
868
00:50:31,740 --> 00:50:35,220
Pliny the Younger knew, when he stood here 1900 years ago,
869
00:50:35,220 --> 00:50:38,300
with this excellent view over the Bay of Naples,
870
00:50:38,300 --> 00:50:40,095
and wrote down his observations
871
00:50:40,095 --> 00:50:43,950
of the eruption of Vesuvius, which was destroying Pompeii.
872
00:50:43,950 --> 00:50:46,120
Now it was those observations
873
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:49,010
that formed the basis of the study of geology.
874
00:50:49,010 --> 00:50:51,500
So as a geologist it's really quite emotional
875
00:50:51,500 --> 00:50:54,480
to stand here with this view behind me.
876
00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:57,969
And I'm gonna enjoy the atmosphere for a few more minutes.
877
00:50:57,969 --> 00:50:59,170
Now think about it.
878
00:50:59,170 --> 00:51:01,970
Our planet is constantly in motion,
879
00:51:01,970 --> 00:51:04,473
and it's always worth taking a closer look.
880
00:51:05,350 --> 00:51:06,320
Cheerio.
881
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:09,153
(dramatic music)
66389
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