1 00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:14,648 Okay, it's freezing. 2 00:00:14,781 --> 00:00:19,853 We are making our way to nine-zero-zero-zero. 3 00:00:20,621 --> 00:00:24,224 I'm gonna try to find the North Pole. 4 00:00:24,358 --> 00:00:25,626 Look at that. 5 00:00:26,860 --> 00:00:28,295 Look how crazy that is. 6 00:00:28,929 --> 00:00:32,833 I don't know how it's okay to let me get off the boat 7 00:00:32,966 --> 00:00:34,635 and walk on the ocean. 8 00:00:35,936 --> 00:00:37,104 Oh, jeez. 9 00:00:37,604 --> 00:00:40,474 At least they'll find my body in 1,000 years. 10 00:00:41,308 --> 00:00:43,010 Come on. I'ma find this. 11 00:00:44,411 --> 00:00:47,247 There is a geographic North Pole, 12 00:00:47,381 --> 00:00:51,618 but it's a difficult thing to find 13 00:00:52,552 --> 00:00:55,889 because the ice is moving. 14 00:00:57,524 --> 00:01:00,460 It felt like I was chasing the North Pole. 15 00:01:02,462 --> 00:01:04,364 Ninety-seven, ninety-seven. Ninety-eight! 16 00:01:04,865 --> 00:01:06,533 Ninety-five. 17 00:01:07,267 --> 00:01:09,069 So it's 98 there, hold on. 18 00:01:10,337 --> 00:01:13,707 I set out for 100 days... 19 00:01:14,942 --> 00:01:19,413 and here I am looking for 90 degrees north. 20 00:01:23,617 --> 00:01:26,186 There it is. The North Pole. 21 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,122 Whoo! 22 00:01:29,890 --> 00:01:32,960 Whoo-hoo-hoo! 23 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:35,028 Here I am... 24 00:01:36,530 --> 00:01:38,065 top of the world. 25 00:01:41,435 --> 00:01:44,771 North Pole, baby! 26 00:01:45,706 --> 00:01:50,644 There's not many people who have been from Pole to Pole. 27 00:01:50,777 --> 00:01:54,881 To actually reach the North Pole 28 00:01:55,015 --> 00:02:01,088 was a delicious moment of accomplishment. 29 00:02:02,289 --> 00:02:05,392 But I knew we weren't finished. 30 00:02:07,094 --> 00:02:09,429 Because my final goal 31 00:02:09,563 --> 00:02:11,598 wasn't to just get to the pole. 32 00:02:12,265 --> 00:02:14,868 It was to dive under it. 33 00:02:15,902 --> 00:02:18,238 What was I thinking when I said yes to that? 34 00:03:11,525 --> 00:03:13,660 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, 35 00:03:13,794 --> 00:03:18,565 our odyssey across the globe is coming to an end. 36 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:28,408 I set out on this journey 37 00:03:28,542 --> 00:03:31,311 because my mentor Dr. Counter told me 38 00:03:31,445 --> 00:03:34,347 that the answers to everything important 39 00:03:34,481 --> 00:03:37,617 are out at the edges of our world. 40 00:03:38,752 --> 00:03:41,121 And, man, was he right. 41 00:03:41,822 --> 00:03:43,824 It's been an incredible journey. 42 00:03:43,957 --> 00:03:45,992 We've discovered deadly creatures 43 00:03:46,126 --> 00:03:48,395 which could save millions of lives. 44 00:03:48,728 --> 00:03:50,363 That's insane. 45 00:03:50,831 --> 00:03:53,200 We've learned of rivers in the sky. 46 00:03:53,767 --> 00:03:55,802 We recorded a language 47 00:03:55,936 --> 00:03:57,671 on the verge of extinction 48 00:03:57,804 --> 00:04:00,507 and explored the secret of happiness 49 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,009 in a land above the clouds. 50 00:04:03,710 --> 00:04:06,713 And now the final leg 51 00:04:07,214 --> 00:04:08,882 of our journey. 52 00:04:09,182 --> 00:04:10,684 I'm putting my neck on the line 53 00:04:10,817 --> 00:04:15,589 for a discovery that could eclipse all of that. 54 00:04:15,989 --> 00:04:18,458 We're landing, we're landing. Let me get my stuff. 55 00:04:24,331 --> 00:04:25,265 Ah. 56 00:04:25,398 --> 00:04:27,601 - Hey. - Hey! 57 00:04:28,368 --> 00:04:29,569 Allie. How you doing? 58 00:04:29,703 --> 00:04:30,737 - Nice to meet you. - Good. How are you? 59 00:04:30,871 --> 00:04:32,439 - Hold on. - Let's get in there. 60 00:04:32,572 --> 00:04:33,707 Thank you for coming all the way up here. 61 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:36,109 Uh, no. This is fantabulous. 62 00:04:36,243 --> 00:04:38,812 It is a very beautiful place. 63 00:04:38,945 --> 00:04:40,113 You know how to pick locations. 64 00:04:40,247 --> 00:04:41,548 - For sure. - I do. I do. 65 00:04:41,681 --> 00:04:44,351 I'm very, very excited for you, 'cause it gets better. 66 00:04:44,484 --> 00:04:45,986 I'm ready. Let the games begin. 67 00:04:46,119 --> 00:04:47,721 Follow me. This way. 68 00:04:49,189 --> 00:04:50,490 My name is Allison Fong, 69 00:04:50,624 --> 00:04:53,960 and I'm an oceanographer and sea ice ecologist. 70 00:04:59,032 --> 00:05:01,434 So, you know, this moment in history, 71 00:05:01,568 --> 00:05:05,105 our planet is facing a very big crisis. 72 00:05:07,307 --> 00:05:09,176 By burning fossil fuels, 73 00:05:09,876 --> 00:05:12,145 we created an abundance of carbon dioxide 74 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:13,613 in the atmosphere... 75 00:05:14,781 --> 00:05:16,249 that is warming the earth 76 00:05:17,083 --> 00:05:19,786 and causing all sorts of extreme events. 77 00:05:23,623 --> 00:05:25,258 And so Will and I are embarking 78 00:05:25,392 --> 00:05:28,161 on a scientific expedition to the North Pole 79 00:05:28,295 --> 00:05:30,797 to see if there's anything that we can do about it. 80 00:05:32,098 --> 00:05:35,635 There used to be tons of snow covering these mountains. 81 00:05:35,769 --> 00:05:37,971 Doesn't look like there's a lot of snow here now. 82 00:05:38,104 --> 00:05:39,606 That's kind of the problem. 83 00:05:40,207 --> 00:05:42,509 I believe that living under the ice 84 00:05:42,642 --> 00:05:43,743 at the North Pole, 85 00:05:43,877 --> 00:05:46,613 there are some of the most efficient organisms 86 00:05:46,746 --> 00:05:47,881 on planet Earth 87 00:05:48,014 --> 00:05:51,084 at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 88 00:05:52,452 --> 00:05:53,887 If my theories are correct, 89 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:56,189 then this could be a breakthrough 90 00:05:56,323 --> 00:05:57,624 for climate change. 91 00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:00,527 - Alright. - Alright, here we go. 92 00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:01,661 Headed north. 93 00:06:02,195 --> 00:06:03,663 There we go. 94 00:06:04,231 --> 00:06:05,732 The only way to do this kind of work 95 00:06:05,866 --> 00:06:09,236 is to dive under that ice and collect samples. 96 00:06:17,677 --> 00:06:20,380 But first, we've got to get there. 97 00:06:20,513 --> 00:06:21,715 There she is! 98 00:06:22,215 --> 00:06:24,451 That's our ride to the top of the earth. 99 00:06:24,584 --> 00:06:26,653 That is a big, giant boat. 100 00:06:27,187 --> 00:06:28,488 She's a big icebreaker, 101 00:06:28,622 --> 00:06:31,391 and that's what we need where we're going. 102 00:06:31,524 --> 00:06:33,493 Yeah, for me an icebreaker, 103 00:06:33,627 --> 00:06:36,363 it's like, girl, your feet must be tired 104 00:06:36,496 --> 00:06:39,499 'cause you've been running through my mind all day long. 105 00:06:40,300 --> 00:06:42,235 How's that? I hope, I hope that's a better-- 106 00:06:42,369 --> 00:06:44,904 I hope that's a better icebreaker than mine. 107 00:06:48,141 --> 00:06:50,543 The ambition of the entire journey 108 00:06:50,677 --> 00:06:53,213 is gigantic. 109 00:06:53,346 --> 00:06:55,448 You know, it was like, wow. 110 00:06:55,949 --> 00:07:01,087 We're on a scientific mission to help save the planet. 111 00:07:01,221 --> 00:07:03,256 Oh, thank you. 112 00:07:03,924 --> 00:07:07,627 And if somebody offered me that script as a movie, 113 00:07:07,761 --> 00:07:10,964 I'd be like, come on, man. Come on, really? 114 00:07:11,698 --> 00:07:14,634 Send that to Matt Damon, 'cause he's smart. 115 00:07:14,768 --> 00:07:16,803 Like, Matt's gonna have to make that. 116 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:42,329 Welcome onboard. 117 00:07:42,462 --> 00:07:43,463 Nice to meet you. 118 00:07:43,596 --> 00:07:44,864 Welcome in my, my office, 119 00:07:44,998 --> 00:07:46,499 the best office in the world. 120 00:07:47,267 --> 00:07:51,171 Right, so this is my first time on an icebreaker. 121 00:07:51,304 --> 00:07:54,074 How, how does it break the ice? I'm not nervous. 122 00:07:54,207 --> 00:07:55,976 I'm not nervous, I'm just asking. 123 00:07:56,109 --> 00:07:57,644 How does the ship break the ice? 124 00:07:57,777 --> 00:08:00,113 We use the weight of the hull. 125 00:08:01,614 --> 00:08:03,383 Thirty thousand tons, 126 00:08:03,516 --> 00:08:07,020 and we jump above the ice and we break the ice 127 00:08:07,153 --> 00:08:10,557 to optimize this route to the North Pole. 128 00:08:10,690 --> 00:08:12,225 Alright, so you feel confident 129 00:08:12,359 --> 00:08:13,994 that crashing the ship into the ice 130 00:08:14,127 --> 00:08:15,095 is going to be successful 131 00:08:15,228 --> 00:08:16,730 and you'll get us to the North Pole. 132 00:08:16,863 --> 00:08:18,365 Yeah, but you know, which is very important 133 00:08:18,498 --> 00:08:20,800 is don't take it for granted. 134 00:08:20,934 --> 00:08:22,769 We're entering a different world. 135 00:08:22,902 --> 00:08:25,405 Only ice and weather will decide. 136 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:28,908 I'm just breaking down this mission, 137 00:08:29,042 --> 00:08:30,710 getting a sense of what we're doing. 138 00:08:30,844 --> 00:08:32,245 And so, essentially, 139 00:08:32,379 --> 00:08:34,280 um, the captain, you see the captain? 140 00:08:34,414 --> 00:08:36,816 That's the captain right there. You see, right there. 141 00:08:36,950 --> 00:08:38,585 He's just gonna slam the boat on purpose 142 00:08:38,718 --> 00:08:40,653 into the ice for a week, 143 00:08:40,787 --> 00:08:42,489 um, till we get to the North Pole, 144 00:08:42,622 --> 00:08:45,258 and he's pretty sure that the boat will be fine. 145 00:08:45,392 --> 00:08:47,894 And Allie thinks it's a good idea for us 146 00:08:48,028 --> 00:08:49,295 to get out of the boat 147 00:08:49,429 --> 00:08:52,298 and scuba dive under the North Pole. 148 00:08:53,633 --> 00:08:55,435 Between the three of us, 149 00:08:56,102 --> 00:09:00,673 one of us has made a really bad life decision 150 00:09:01,508 --> 00:09:03,943 and I'm not sure which one of us it is. 151 00:09:05,078 --> 00:09:07,747 Welcome on board. Uh, my name is Eli. 152 00:09:07,881 --> 00:09:09,682 - Eli. Um... - Yeah. 153 00:09:09,816 --> 00:09:11,751 I wanna learn my way around the boat, so... 154 00:09:11,885 --> 00:09:13,052 Alright. 155 00:09:15,455 --> 00:09:18,191 Here we have which deck we're on and which main vertical zone. 156 00:09:18,324 --> 00:09:19,459 - Okay. - Some of these zones 157 00:09:19,592 --> 00:09:21,361 can be locked away if there's water intrusion 158 00:09:21,494 --> 00:09:22,395 or something like that. 159 00:09:22,529 --> 00:09:24,597 - Oh! Water intrusion. - Yeah. 160 00:09:24,731 --> 00:09:25,932 That's like when you're on a plane, 161 00:09:26,066 --> 00:09:28,401 and they say, "In case of a water landing..." 162 00:09:28,535 --> 00:09:30,637 It's like, yo, there ain't no water landing. 163 00:09:30,770 --> 00:09:33,006 What that-- That means you crashed. 164 00:09:33,907 --> 00:09:35,008 What do, what do these things mean? 165 00:09:35,141 --> 00:09:36,376 What are all of these? 166 00:09:36,509 --> 00:09:38,912 So it's basically the documents for abandoning. 167 00:09:39,045 --> 00:09:42,849 Everything on the walls is about if the damn boat crash. 168 00:09:43,316 --> 00:09:46,352 Damn, where is the fun stuff on the damn boat? 169 00:09:48,188 --> 00:09:51,758 Okay. So I've been to, to the South Pole, 170 00:09:51,891 --> 00:09:53,226 I've been to Ecuador. 171 00:09:53,359 --> 00:09:54,494 I fought anaconda, 172 00:09:54,627 --> 00:09:59,365 and now I'm about to explore the dessert tray. 173 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:02,869 Now, this is how exploration is supposed to be. 174 00:10:03,536 --> 00:10:05,238 I was telling them from the beginning. 175 00:10:05,371 --> 00:10:07,774 I was saying, "This is how we're supposed to be doing it." 176 00:10:07,907 --> 00:10:10,076 I'm gonna see if that's strawberry or raspberry. 177 00:10:10,210 --> 00:10:11,411 That's what I need to know. 178 00:10:11,544 --> 00:10:14,614 This is gonna be the first part of my expedition. 179 00:10:27,594 --> 00:10:29,095 This is your captain 180 00:10:29,229 --> 00:10:31,030 speaking from the bridge. 181 00:10:32,499 --> 00:10:36,469 We are just arriving at the edge of the sea ice. 182 00:10:49,048 --> 00:10:53,353 We, uh, we ran out of ocean. 183 00:11:02,996 --> 00:11:05,698 Whoo! Whoo. That was a big one. 184 00:11:08,001 --> 00:11:10,670 To watch the ship break the ice... 185 00:11:10,803 --> 00:11:12,605 It's not little ice. 186 00:11:14,073 --> 00:11:16,209 It's from the size of a car 187 00:11:16,342 --> 00:11:22,715 to giant apartment-sized pieces of ice. 188 00:11:22,849 --> 00:11:25,652 That is so thick. 189 00:11:26,619 --> 00:11:29,255 It's really, really loud. 190 00:11:30,123 --> 00:11:32,625 And it's rocking the ship. 191 00:11:42,235 --> 00:11:46,039 Seeing the ice made it more real for me. 192 00:11:47,273 --> 00:11:50,243 It made me realize just how crazy 193 00:11:50,376 --> 00:11:52,579 this expedition really is. 194 00:11:53,313 --> 00:11:56,316 Diving under ice is new for Will, 195 00:11:56,783 --> 00:11:58,685 but it's also new for me. 196 00:11:59,218 --> 00:12:02,922 I've dove in warmer waters, temperate waters that are cold, 197 00:12:03,056 --> 00:12:05,391 but never this cold, and certainly not frozen. 198 00:12:08,595 --> 00:12:11,998 Growing up in Rhode Island, we have tons of coastline. 199 00:12:12,131 --> 00:12:16,169 So the ocean was just a natural place for me to be. 200 00:12:16,302 --> 00:12:18,871 I love understanding how things work. 201 00:12:19,005 --> 00:12:23,276 And so science was a way of taking my natural curiosity 202 00:12:23,409 --> 00:12:25,812 and investigating the world around me. 203 00:12:26,379 --> 00:12:27,714 When I told my parents I was gonna be a scientist 204 00:12:27,847 --> 00:12:28,948 and not a medical doctor, 205 00:12:29,082 --> 00:12:30,516 they're like, "Why would you do that?" 206 00:12:30,650 --> 00:12:33,386 I was like, "There's something beautiful and amazing 207 00:12:33,519 --> 00:12:36,389 and awe-inspiring in the power of science." 208 00:12:37,557 --> 00:12:39,726 And so I thought to myself, "What can I do?" 209 00:12:39,859 --> 00:12:43,396 Where is it that I can really make a difference? 210 00:12:44,530 --> 00:12:45,832 And it's microbes. 211 00:12:45,965 --> 00:12:47,567 Because microbes are 212 00:12:47,700 --> 00:12:49,102 the unsung heroes of our planet. 213 00:12:49,235 --> 00:12:52,305 They're what makes this planet unique in our universe. 214 00:12:56,442 --> 00:13:00,079 Okay. Alright, so you got your little Batcave. 215 00:13:00,213 --> 00:13:01,481 This is where all the, like, 216 00:13:01,614 --> 00:13:03,616 real magic happens actually, right? 217 00:13:03,750 --> 00:13:07,186 So we're in the lab and I wanted to give you a chance to see 218 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:08,988 what we're actually looking for 219 00:13:09,122 --> 00:13:10,356 - under the ice. - Okay. 220 00:13:10,490 --> 00:13:12,925 But first, let's, uh, work on the atmosphere here. 221 00:13:13,059 --> 00:13:14,127 Mm-hmm. 222 00:13:14,260 --> 00:13:15,795 - Ooh. - Ooh! Okay. 223 00:13:19,699 --> 00:13:22,101 - Check this out. - Wow. 224 00:13:22,235 --> 00:13:25,905 This is a single-cell organism called phytoplankton. 225 00:13:26,039 --> 00:13:28,074 They're just absolutely incredible. 226 00:13:30,209 --> 00:13:32,145 Oh, phyto... phytoplankton, yeah. 227 00:13:32,278 --> 00:13:35,014 Um... I knew everything. 228 00:13:35,148 --> 00:13:36,749 When I was growing up, phytoplankton was 229 00:13:36,883 --> 00:13:38,918 all we, we talked about. 230 00:13:39,352 --> 00:13:41,054 We would be on the corner in Philly 231 00:13:41,187 --> 00:13:42,322 and somebody would walk up and say, 232 00:13:42,455 --> 00:13:44,457 "Yo, man. Did you hear about phytoplankton?" 233 00:13:44,590 --> 00:13:47,060 And we would stop basketball games 234 00:13:47,193 --> 00:13:50,563 when, when a new phytoplankton, 235 00:13:50,697 --> 00:13:52,065 uh, discovery was made. 236 00:13:52,198 --> 00:13:54,634 It was the, it was the biggest thing 237 00:13:54,767 --> 00:13:56,369 when I was growing up. 238 00:13:57,970 --> 00:14:01,140 Alright, so take me all the way back to five years old. 239 00:14:01,274 --> 00:14:05,144 Okay, so that is a phytoplankton. 240 00:14:05,278 --> 00:14:06,979 Yep. So phytoplankton 241 00:14:07,113 --> 00:14:10,049 are tiny little plant-like cells. 242 00:14:10,183 --> 00:14:12,752 Trillions and trillions of them live in the ocean. 243 00:14:12,885 --> 00:14:15,488 They're the reason that this planet is habitable 244 00:14:15,621 --> 00:14:17,924 for all the other living organisms 245 00:14:18,057 --> 00:14:19,025 that use oxygen. 246 00:14:19,158 --> 00:14:20,326 Wow. 247 00:14:23,863 --> 00:14:26,799 Around 2.4 billion years ago, 248 00:14:28,134 --> 00:14:32,305 our planet's climate was transformed by phytoplankton. 249 00:14:36,142 --> 00:14:37,276 Through photosynthesis, 250 00:14:37,410 --> 00:14:39,812 they harness the energy of sunlight. 251 00:14:41,547 --> 00:14:44,150 They consume huge amounts of carbon 252 00:14:44,283 --> 00:14:45,885 and fill the atmosphere with oxygen... 253 00:14:47,887 --> 00:14:50,957 making life possible for all of the animal kingdom. 254 00:14:58,531 --> 00:15:02,835 Phytoplankton are like the lungs of the planet. 255 00:15:03,102 --> 00:15:08,040 So they clean the atmosphere of CO2, 256 00:15:08,174 --> 00:15:09,909 and they create oxygen. 257 00:15:10,042 --> 00:15:11,244 Yeah. So that CO2 258 00:15:11,377 --> 00:15:13,446 doesn't get back into the atmosphere. 259 00:15:13,579 --> 00:15:15,815 It stays trapped there for thousands of years. 260 00:15:15,948 --> 00:15:18,084 So, we gotta get phytoplankton their flowers. 261 00:15:18,217 --> 00:15:19,585 They-they don't get their flowers. 262 00:15:19,719 --> 00:15:21,287 - No, they don't. - It's like the trees, 263 00:15:21,420 --> 00:15:25,191 the trees get all the props for us being able to breathe. 264 00:15:26,726 --> 00:15:29,262 We know how efficient phytoplankton are 265 00:15:29,395 --> 00:15:31,664 at utilizing sunlight for energy. 266 00:15:32,432 --> 00:15:35,835 But in the Arctic, it's dark for half of the year. 267 00:15:36,202 --> 00:15:37,837 So the big question has always been, 268 00:15:37,970 --> 00:15:41,140 what do they do when there is no direct sunlight? 269 00:15:41,274 --> 00:15:43,009 Do they still have the potential 270 00:15:43,142 --> 00:15:44,677 to photosynthesize? 271 00:15:45,178 --> 00:15:47,513 This area of research can transform 272 00:15:47,647 --> 00:15:49,415 our understanding of climate change. 273 00:15:49,549 --> 00:15:51,551 That's why we need that sample. 274 00:15:57,423 --> 00:15:59,592 This is, uh, officially 275 00:15:59,725 --> 00:16:03,129 the wildest day of my whole life. 276 00:16:03,262 --> 00:16:04,797 Yeah, check this out. 277 00:16:08,401 --> 00:16:10,403 That's a doggone polar bear. 278 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,742 That's my first polar bear right there. 279 00:16:19,045 --> 00:16:20,046 I don't know why I'm whispering 280 00:16:20,179 --> 00:16:22,081 'cause it's a really long way away. 281 00:16:22,215 --> 00:16:24,016 It just seems like you should whisper 282 00:16:24,150 --> 00:16:25,785 when you see a polar bear. 283 00:16:27,587 --> 00:16:29,422 For multiple reasons. 284 00:16:31,424 --> 00:16:32,992 Craziness, folks. 285 00:16:43,069 --> 00:16:44,637 This is your captain speaking 286 00:16:44,770 --> 00:16:46,138 from the bridge. 287 00:16:46,272 --> 00:16:48,608 North Pole just ahead of us. 288 00:16:52,478 --> 00:16:55,681 As we got to the North Pole, 289 00:16:55,815 --> 00:16:59,819 you know, the excitement of that was very short-lived. 290 00:17:00,286 --> 00:17:04,957 I, I was very insecure about the dive. 291 00:17:05,091 --> 00:17:07,126 We're gonna stop the ship, 292 00:17:07,260 --> 00:17:09,161 and we're gonna get off the ship. 293 00:17:09,295 --> 00:17:10,263 Yeah. 294 00:17:10,396 --> 00:17:11,597 And then we're gonna stand 295 00:17:11,731 --> 00:17:13,866 on a piece of floating ice, 296 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,802 and then we're gonna scuba dive under the ice. 297 00:17:16,936 --> 00:17:17,904 Yeah. 298 00:17:19,205 --> 00:17:20,439 It's dangerous 299 00:17:20,573 --> 00:17:22,241 because we're going into an environment 300 00:17:22,375 --> 00:17:24,977 where maybe 5 to 10 meters of ice 301 00:17:25,111 --> 00:17:27,446 are hanging over your head. 302 00:17:27,580 --> 00:17:30,883 If you run into a problem, you can't just go directly up. 303 00:17:31,017 --> 00:17:35,087 You have to find that hole in the ice to properly resurface. 304 00:17:38,324 --> 00:17:42,395 I generally do well with stress, 305 00:17:42,528 --> 00:17:45,631 but I was very concerned 306 00:17:45,765 --> 00:17:49,168 that this time I had bitten off more than I could chew. 307 00:17:49,302 --> 00:17:51,804 Is that, is that a storm in the distance? 308 00:17:52,772 --> 00:17:53,839 - Are you worried we're gonna-- - No, no, no. 309 00:17:53,973 --> 00:17:56,175 I'm just, I'm trying to keep my eye out, 310 00:17:56,309 --> 00:17:57,944 and I just wanna be alert. 311 00:17:58,377 --> 00:17:59,879 Alert, okay, yes. 312 00:18:02,481 --> 00:18:06,085 The idea of coming up 313 00:18:06,218 --> 00:18:07,987 and bumping into ice 314 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:11,991 and knowing you can't get out right there if you had to... 315 00:18:15,261 --> 00:18:17,763 I was really thinking to myself, 316 00:18:17,897 --> 00:18:21,133 "Oh, no. Is this the one where it goes wrong?" 317 00:18:29,742 --> 00:18:31,610 The weather's terrible now. 318 00:18:32,545 --> 00:18:35,548 Terrible, terrible, terrible. 319 00:18:37,950 --> 00:18:43,055 The whole doggone trip coming down to this moment. 320 00:18:50,396 --> 00:18:51,731 Calum, how are you feeling about today? 321 00:18:51,864 --> 00:18:54,500 - Optimistic. - Optimistic. Okay. 322 00:18:54,634 --> 00:18:58,070 The word was "optimistic," but his voice didn't sound good. 323 00:19:06,078 --> 00:19:07,446 Ready to go? 324 00:19:09,915 --> 00:19:10,850 Stand by. 325 00:19:20,493 --> 00:19:22,061 Oh, this is terrible. 326 00:19:22,662 --> 00:19:24,930 This is absolutely terrible. 327 00:19:28,701 --> 00:19:30,436 I ain't no professional diver, 328 00:19:30,970 --> 00:19:33,139 but this don't seem like dive weather. 329 00:19:37,710 --> 00:19:38,878 Hey, so how many people 330 00:19:39,011 --> 00:19:41,947 have you taken out to dive in this kind of weather? 331 00:19:42,081 --> 00:19:43,716 Oh, you are the first one. 332 00:19:43,849 --> 00:19:45,718 Oh, I'm the first. 333 00:19:45,851 --> 00:19:47,820 There's no way this is a good idea. 334 00:19:49,755 --> 00:19:52,692 The weather was not good for the dive. 335 00:19:53,859 --> 00:19:55,694 When we got there, you know, 336 00:19:55,828 --> 00:19:58,864 it was like a snowstorm rolled in. 337 00:20:00,366 --> 00:20:02,034 This is ridiculous, man. 338 00:20:03,069 --> 00:20:05,805 I can't even see the damn dive site. 339 00:20:06,572 --> 00:20:09,141 The captain with the weather coming in, 340 00:20:09,275 --> 00:20:13,079 said, "It was a now-or-never kind of situation." 341 00:20:16,015 --> 00:20:18,484 Uh, the boat is supposed to be leaving. 342 00:20:18,617 --> 00:20:21,120 The captain has given us, uh, one shot. 343 00:20:21,253 --> 00:20:23,422 Then we got to go over here. 344 00:20:23,556 --> 00:20:26,459 Jeez. Oh, good heavens. 345 00:20:26,592 --> 00:20:30,496 This was the highest fear point 346 00:20:30,629 --> 00:20:33,165 for me in the entire journey. 347 00:20:35,167 --> 00:20:36,502 The thing is, Arctic weather 348 00:20:36,635 --> 00:20:38,504 can change in, like, a snap. 349 00:20:38,637 --> 00:20:40,973 So 20 minutes from now could be bright sun. 350 00:20:41,307 --> 00:20:44,643 - Beautiful. You never know. - Or it could be worse? 351 00:20:44,777 --> 00:20:45,845 - Or it could be worse. - Or it could be worse. 352 00:20:45,978 --> 00:20:47,046 Yeah, it could be worse. 353 00:20:47,179 --> 00:20:49,248 - Oh, it can always be worse. - Yeah. 354 00:20:54,019 --> 00:20:55,654 This is exceptionally cold water, 355 00:20:55,788 --> 00:20:58,290 so I don't want you guys completing this task 356 00:20:58,424 --> 00:20:59,758 any longer than 10 minutes. 357 00:21:00,126 --> 00:21:03,129 If anybody gets any sort of serious leak, 358 00:21:03,262 --> 00:21:05,197 the dive is terminated. 359 00:21:05,564 --> 00:21:06,665 Uh-oh. 360 00:21:06,799 --> 00:21:08,567 Come on, you can do it. 361 00:21:15,608 --> 00:21:16,942 That's better. 362 00:21:18,577 --> 00:21:22,047 Diving in general is a risky endeavor. 363 00:21:22,815 --> 00:21:25,618 Diving under ice is inherently more risky. 364 00:21:25,751 --> 00:21:28,020 And in a very remote place, 365 00:21:28,154 --> 00:21:30,589 you're really stacking the challenges. 366 00:21:32,124 --> 00:21:33,459 Okay, I'm going. 367 00:21:33,893 --> 00:21:37,129 But this research could change our outlook 368 00:21:37,263 --> 00:21:38,564 on the planet. 369 00:21:38,697 --> 00:21:40,065 Going in. 370 00:21:42,334 --> 00:21:43,936 How can you not be all in? 371 00:21:47,239 --> 00:21:48,774 Oh, my goodness. 372 00:21:49,475 --> 00:21:50,709 Freezing? 373 00:21:51,210 --> 00:21:52,244 Cold. 374 00:21:58,751 --> 00:22:00,686 I was legitimately scared 375 00:22:01,854 --> 00:22:03,656 but I could tell the weather was coming in. 376 00:22:03,789 --> 00:22:05,291 I could tell we were pushing. 377 00:22:05,424 --> 00:22:06,692 Yep. 378 00:22:07,426 --> 00:22:08,727 I wanted it to be perfect, 379 00:22:08,861 --> 00:22:10,830 and I wanted to get the sample. 380 00:22:11,964 --> 00:22:14,934 And I could feel the, the tension. 381 00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:26,145 Good to go? 382 00:22:27,513 --> 00:22:29,615 Hang on, guys, I got a problem. 383 00:22:32,518 --> 00:22:34,253 Okay, I'm gonna sit you back down. 384 00:22:38,490 --> 00:22:40,726 Frozen. See ice in there, see? 385 00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:43,262 Yeah. Hot water's coming in. 386 00:22:46,065 --> 00:22:47,700 My thing froze. 387 00:22:48,133 --> 00:22:51,103 And it was right before I was about to jump in. 388 00:22:51,704 --> 00:22:54,073 That's how cold it is at the North Pole. 389 00:22:57,543 --> 00:22:59,011 I'm seeing bubbles. 390 00:23:01,547 --> 00:23:03,249 And I'm supposed to be down there. 391 00:23:08,621 --> 00:23:10,222 It's getting cold. 392 00:23:11,590 --> 00:23:15,728 At this point, Will's taking more time than anticipated. 393 00:23:17,496 --> 00:23:18,631 But because we're a team, 394 00:23:18,764 --> 00:23:21,233 we're on standby until all of the divers 395 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:22,501 are safely in the water. 396 00:23:23,335 --> 00:23:25,738 You're gonna need more hot water, guys. 397 00:23:26,272 --> 00:23:28,607 Time is ticking. Time is ticking away 398 00:23:28,741 --> 00:23:32,144 before I can actually do what I came to do. 399 00:23:32,278 --> 00:23:33,579 Let's try again. 400 00:23:42,688 --> 00:23:45,791 Come on, Will. Come on, Will. 401 00:23:46,659 --> 00:23:50,729 Three, two, one. Go. 402 00:24:05,210 --> 00:24:07,079 Wow! 403 00:24:13,719 --> 00:24:15,487 Look at that. Jeez. 404 00:24:16,021 --> 00:24:19,191 I could see under the ice sheet... 405 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:25,497 and it was like an upside-down 406 00:24:25,631 --> 00:24:28,767 ice mountain range. 407 00:24:28,901 --> 00:24:31,670 And the sun was coming through and all of that. 408 00:24:32,104 --> 00:24:34,506 It was just stunning. 409 00:24:35,374 --> 00:24:36,508 It was definitely those 410 00:24:36,642 --> 00:24:40,779 once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. 411 00:24:41,847 --> 00:24:43,582 Allie to WS. 412 00:24:44,049 --> 00:24:46,218 Holy [bleep]. This is amazing! 413 00:24:46,352 --> 00:24:47,486 It was incredible. 414 00:24:47,619 --> 00:24:49,788 It was absolutely incredible. 415 00:24:50,522 --> 00:24:52,491 It was like going through a crystal castle. 416 00:24:54,126 --> 00:24:56,495 All of the ice crystals are reflecting the light 417 00:24:56,628 --> 00:24:58,197 that's shining in on you. 418 00:24:58,931 --> 00:25:00,499 It was literally incredible. 419 00:25:01,767 --> 00:25:03,335 Let's go towards the areas 420 00:25:03,469 --> 00:25:06,939 that look greenish along the bottom of this ice. 421 00:25:07,973 --> 00:25:09,441 Show me the way. 422 00:25:11,243 --> 00:25:12,945 The dive was going well. 423 00:25:13,078 --> 00:25:16,448 I see the target samples that I want. 424 00:25:17,983 --> 00:25:21,920 And all we need to do was swim two and a half meters 425 00:25:22,054 --> 00:25:23,856 and slurp a sample. 426 00:25:31,897 --> 00:25:34,900 No. My valve. 427 00:25:36,702 --> 00:25:37,936 No. 428 00:25:45,010 --> 00:25:46,178 Yeah, we've got a problem. 429 00:25:52,918 --> 00:25:55,087 My face mask went into free-flow. 430 00:25:55,821 --> 00:25:58,123 Abort! Abort! 431 00:25:58,257 --> 00:26:01,293 I started hearing, "Abort dive. Abort dive." 432 00:26:03,829 --> 00:26:07,099 And that's not what you wanna hear. 433 00:26:08,967 --> 00:26:11,437 This is it. I have to surface. 434 00:26:12,838 --> 00:26:15,474 Break the ice. Break the ice. 435 00:26:24,817 --> 00:26:26,084 There we go. There we go. 436 00:26:26,218 --> 00:26:28,153 - There we go. - Wow. 437 00:26:49,475 --> 00:26:51,276 Oh, my God. 438 00:26:52,811 --> 00:26:54,346 Well, that was terrible. 439 00:26:56,682 --> 00:27:00,252 No samples. 440 00:27:02,087 --> 00:27:05,190 Literally, it's within my fingertips. 441 00:27:06,158 --> 00:27:09,094 Right? And that's the hardest part about this. 442 00:27:09,461 --> 00:27:11,096 We have no samples. 443 00:27:17,202 --> 00:27:19,004 So it would have taken waiting 444 00:27:19,138 --> 00:27:21,840 at least until the next day to try it again, 445 00:27:21,974 --> 00:27:24,676 and the weather was still relatively poor. 446 00:27:26,278 --> 00:27:28,847 We weren't going to be able to convince the captain 447 00:27:28,981 --> 00:27:31,250 to stay another day. 448 00:27:32,417 --> 00:27:35,587 So it was gut-wrenching when I actually felt the ship move. 449 00:27:37,189 --> 00:27:41,693 It was the realization that the opportunity was gone, 450 00:27:41,827 --> 00:27:43,428 really gone. 451 00:27:49,067 --> 00:27:52,304 So we missed the sample. 452 00:27:52,838 --> 00:27:54,339 Yeah. 453 00:27:54,907 --> 00:27:56,909 Uh, well, that sucks. 454 00:27:57,042 --> 00:27:59,011 Yeah, I guess that's putting it pretty lightly. 455 00:27:59,144 --> 00:28:02,614 And the hardest part about, I think, this 456 00:28:02,748 --> 00:28:05,484 is that when you're so close, 457 00:28:05,617 --> 00:28:07,352 - and I mean, we were, like... - I know. My God. 458 00:28:07,486 --> 00:28:08,887 - ...you know, you could feel it. - Yeah. 459 00:28:09,021 --> 00:28:10,122 Like, we were there. 460 00:28:10,255 --> 00:28:12,791 It was in our, in our grasp. 461 00:28:13,492 --> 00:28:16,562 For me, to miss out on this is just, 462 00:28:16,695 --> 00:28:20,566 there's just a lot of feelings that I have about it. 463 00:28:20,699 --> 00:28:21,633 Yeah. 464 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:23,001 To come all the way 465 00:28:23,135 --> 00:28:26,705 to the North Pole and miss. 466 00:28:26,838 --> 00:28:27,906 Yeah. 467 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:29,808 I can see, you know, 468 00:28:29,942 --> 00:28:33,378 how heartbreaking this thing is. 469 00:28:33,512 --> 00:28:34,546 Yeah. 470 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,481 It's like... 471 00:28:36,615 --> 00:28:41,453 Yeah, just, it feel, it feels like I slowed you down. 472 00:28:42,621 --> 00:28:46,658 For me, it feels like being in the way, you know. 473 00:28:48,660 --> 00:28:51,296 You know, there are a lot of moving parts. 474 00:28:51,430 --> 00:28:55,300 And, um, when we got out of the water, 475 00:28:55,434 --> 00:28:58,136 and I was thinking about what it is that went wrong 476 00:28:58,270 --> 00:29:00,105 and what part of the process could have been better. 477 00:29:00,238 --> 00:29:02,240 And could I have been better? 478 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:10,349 But it's not your fault. 479 00:29:10,482 --> 00:29:13,285 You know, it's not any single person's fault 480 00:29:13,418 --> 00:29:18,256 for having not brought their very best to the work. 481 00:29:18,690 --> 00:29:20,058 Sometimes you fail. 482 00:29:20,192 --> 00:29:22,194 There's probably people all over the place 483 00:29:22,327 --> 00:29:24,262 who have failed somehow at doing something. 484 00:29:24,396 --> 00:29:27,866 Just not as big as us. 485 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,369 That might be, that also might be true. 486 00:29:30,502 --> 00:29:34,606 Uh, it's a pretty, it's a pretty significant fail. 487 00:29:38,210 --> 00:29:41,313 Seeing Allie's disappointment 488 00:29:41,446 --> 00:29:43,782 in missing the, the sample, 489 00:29:43,915 --> 00:29:47,619 I realized Allie had missed 490 00:29:48,153 --> 00:29:50,122 a part of her life's work, 491 00:29:50,622 --> 00:29:52,891 something that she may never have 492 00:29:53,025 --> 00:29:55,260 another opportunity to pursue. 493 00:29:55,394 --> 00:30:00,532 That's where it really started to, uh, feel bad. 494 00:30:16,815 --> 00:30:17,716 The second day, 495 00:30:17,849 --> 00:30:20,652 I'm sitting in my room, feeling horrible, 496 00:30:21,386 --> 00:30:23,121 and someone is communicating via the radio 497 00:30:23,255 --> 00:30:27,025 that we've been called by the captain. 498 00:30:27,159 --> 00:30:30,362 There's a good weather window and so there's the opportunity 499 00:30:30,495 --> 00:30:33,031 to get back in the water under some ice. 500 00:30:33,799 --> 00:30:36,001 We've moved significantly further south, 501 00:30:36,134 --> 00:30:38,270 but it's still in the high Arctic. 502 00:30:40,906 --> 00:30:43,442 I'm definitely used to being the guy 503 00:30:43,575 --> 00:30:46,845 that takes the shot at the, at the buzzer, 504 00:30:46,978 --> 00:30:52,484 but we're on an expedition that has a mission. 505 00:30:52,617 --> 00:30:55,354 And with a more experienced dive buddy, 506 00:30:55,487 --> 00:30:59,057 Allie's got a better chance to bring her discoveries back home. 507 00:30:59,458 --> 00:31:02,227 So I'm gonna step aside. 508 00:31:05,230 --> 00:31:09,434 Step it in in three, two, one. 509 00:31:09,568 --> 00:31:10,602 Allie. 510 00:31:18,343 --> 00:31:19,711 And we're there. 511 00:31:21,113 --> 00:31:23,215 And it's again, incredible. 512 00:31:25,817 --> 00:31:29,254 My dive buddy and I worked quickly to collect material 513 00:31:29,388 --> 00:31:31,223 off the bottom of the ice. 514 00:31:32,858 --> 00:31:35,761 That's the moment where all of the hope 515 00:31:35,894 --> 00:31:37,496 turns into reality. 516 00:31:41,166 --> 00:31:42,300 We collected samples. 517 00:31:42,434 --> 00:31:44,603 We collected really, really good samples. 518 00:31:51,209 --> 00:31:54,412 Welcome back to the lab. Let's see what we got. 519 00:31:54,546 --> 00:31:56,047 - Let's see what you got. - See what we got. 520 00:31:56,181 --> 00:31:57,249 So I wanted to give you a chance 521 00:31:57,382 --> 00:31:58,984 to see some of the things that we found... 522 00:31:59,117 --> 00:32:00,619 - Okay. - ...while we were out there. 523 00:32:00,752 --> 00:32:02,954 - You ready? - Yes, I'm very, very ready. 524 00:32:03,088 --> 00:32:04,089 - Okay. - I'm excited. 525 00:32:04,222 --> 00:32:06,091 This is, this is the, uh, 526 00:32:06,224 --> 00:32:07,826 the part that I most enjoy. 527 00:32:07,959 --> 00:32:09,995 - You most enjoy. - I'ma enjoy, so-- 528 00:32:10,128 --> 00:32:12,297 Is it because it's warm, and not cold 529 00:32:12,430 --> 00:32:14,266 and not freezing and snowing in your nose? 530 00:32:14,399 --> 00:32:15,667 - Exactly. - Yeah. Me too. 531 00:32:17,469 --> 00:32:18,970 - Let me show you. - Yeah. 532 00:32:21,039 --> 00:32:21,973 There. 533 00:32:22,107 --> 00:32:23,108 We put part of the sample 534 00:32:23,241 --> 00:32:25,143 that we collected in these bottles, 535 00:32:25,277 --> 00:32:27,112 and these bottles are gastight. 536 00:32:27,245 --> 00:32:29,014 And we've been keeping them in an incubator 537 00:32:29,147 --> 00:32:32,918 that has a control setting for temperature and light, right? 538 00:32:33,051 --> 00:32:34,452 So it's cold and it's low light. 539 00:32:34,586 --> 00:32:38,256 And we've been measuring all of the oxygen and CO2 540 00:32:38,390 --> 00:32:40,125 that they've been using and creating. 541 00:32:40,492 --> 00:32:43,361 And if you look at the top, do you see those little dots? 542 00:32:43,495 --> 00:32:45,263 - Yeah, so that-- - Those are gas bubbles. 543 00:32:45,397 --> 00:32:49,434 Okay, so that was gas bubbles all created 544 00:32:49,568 --> 00:32:53,104 within a sealed environment in the dark. 545 00:32:53,238 --> 00:32:54,639 That's right. 546 00:32:55,907 --> 00:32:56,842 This experiment shows 547 00:32:56,975 --> 00:32:59,911 that Arctic phytoplankton are incredible. 548 00:33:01,580 --> 00:33:04,616 They produce oxygen while consuming carbon 549 00:33:04,749 --> 00:33:08,119 at imperceptibly low light levels. 550 00:33:08,653 --> 00:33:10,956 So you can imagine, like, when people are designing 551 00:33:11,089 --> 00:33:13,692 and thinking about how do we like, create cooler technology 552 00:33:13,825 --> 00:33:15,360 that might slow down climate change, 553 00:33:15,494 --> 00:33:18,864 they're looking at how you can create power out of things 554 00:33:18,997 --> 00:33:20,966 like CO2 and sunshine. 555 00:33:21,099 --> 00:33:22,801 That's spectacular. 556 00:33:24,102 --> 00:33:25,871 These polar phytoplankton 557 00:33:26,004 --> 00:33:28,640 are some of the most light-sensitive cells 558 00:33:28,773 --> 00:33:30,442 we've ever seen. 559 00:33:30,575 --> 00:33:33,979 If we can figure out how to harness their potential, 560 00:33:34,112 --> 00:33:37,516 it could revolutionize the future of green energy. 561 00:33:38,350 --> 00:33:39,484 But not only that, 562 00:33:39,618 --> 00:33:42,487 it could also help reverse climate change 563 00:33:42,621 --> 00:33:45,457 because they not only generate power, 564 00:33:45,790 --> 00:33:49,461 they do it by consuming CO2. 565 00:33:50,462 --> 00:33:53,398 But this single entity has all of the power 566 00:33:53,532 --> 00:33:57,602 to create an earth that is habitable for all of us. 567 00:33:57,736 --> 00:34:00,739 You have no idea that all of that is going on 568 00:34:00,872 --> 00:34:02,407 in a drop of seawater. 569 00:34:02,540 --> 00:34:04,776 - It's a whole universe. - A whole universe, yeah. 570 00:34:04,910 --> 00:34:06,978 It's a whole universe of microscopic life. 571 00:34:14,386 --> 00:34:16,521 It blows my mind 572 00:34:16,655 --> 00:34:19,124 that just a single drop of water 573 00:34:19,724 --> 00:34:23,261 could open up an astonishing new frontier 574 00:34:23,395 --> 00:34:25,397 for the future of our planet. 575 00:34:27,299 --> 00:34:29,901 I guess my mentor, Dr. Counter, was right. 576 00:34:30,035 --> 00:34:32,904 The answers to everything important... 577 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,408 are at the edges of our world. 578 00:34:40,478 --> 00:34:42,647 And the point of all of our exploring 579 00:34:42,781 --> 00:34:46,518 is to return to the place where we started 580 00:34:46,651 --> 00:34:49,588 and know that place for the first time. 581 00:34:51,489 --> 00:34:55,160 Three, two, one. 582 00:35:07,238 --> 00:35:08,974 Traveling Pole to Pole 583 00:35:09,107 --> 00:35:12,577 has not only changed the way I see our planet, 584 00:35:12,978 --> 00:35:15,580 it's changed the way I see myself. 585 00:35:17,215 --> 00:35:19,517 I've been inspired 586 00:35:19,651 --> 00:35:23,722 by the truly extraordinary people I've met, 587 00:35:23,855 --> 00:35:28,626 to ask burning questions about our place on Earth. 588 00:35:29,561 --> 00:35:31,162 Questions about our health... 589 00:35:32,497 --> 00:35:34,966 happiness, history, 590 00:35:35,533 --> 00:35:38,436 even our ultimate survival. 591 00:35:52,550 --> 00:35:55,754 I've been to the edges of our world. 592 00:35:56,254 --> 00:35:58,023 But coming home, 593 00:35:58,156 --> 00:36:00,792 it feels like my journey is just beginning, 594 00:36:00,925 --> 00:36:04,796 because I'm even more curious now than when I first began, 595 00:36:04,929 --> 00:36:07,799 and that is a beautiful thing.