Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE TO THE OCEAN FLOOR TO

DISCOVER THE CREATURES LIVING IN THE MOST EXTREME

ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH...

...WE'RE HEADING TO DEEP-WATER VOLCANOES TO

SOLVE A MYSTERY MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING.

WE'LL WITNESS THE POWERFUL FORCES SHAPING OUR WORLD,

MEET ANIMALS THAT NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE, AND

UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF HOW LIFE BEGAN ON OUR PLANET.

DYLAN: FROM THE GRASS PLAINS OF AFRICA TO THE

FROZEN TUNDRA OF ALASKA, TO THE DENSE JUNGLES OF

THE AMAZON, OUR WORLD IS FULL OF UNIQUE

ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE HOME TO AMAZING PLANTS AND

ANIMALS, BUT THERE IS ONE ENVIRONMENT SO EXTREME AND

SO REMOTE, THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE SEEM TO

COME FROM ANOTHER PLANET.

TODAY, WE'RE ON A JOURNEY WHERE NO ONE HAS EVER GONE

BEFORE, TO THE DARK, SILENT, FREEZING WATERS AT

THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, A PLACE OF VIOLENT

VOLCANOES, BONE-CRUSHING PRESSURE, AND LIVING

FOSSILS.

DYLAN: THIS ANCIENT AND MYSTERIOUS PATTERN IS

CALLED PALEODICTYON NODOSUM.

IT WAS DISCOVERED BY PALEONTOLOGIST DOLF

SEILACHER ALONG THIS ROCKY SHORELINE ON THE COAST OF

SPAIN.

DR. SEILACHER: I CAME HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME 50

YEARS AGO ON MY HONEYMOON.

DR. SEILACHER: I WAS JUST A YOUNG GEOLOGIST FASCINATED

BY THE LAYER OF ROCKS THRUST UP FROM THE DEEP OCEANS

MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

HERE IS WHERE I FOUND THE VERY STRANGE FOSSILIZED

BURROWS OF AN ANIMAL THAT LIVED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS

OF YEARS BEFORE THE DINOSAURS.

ONLY NOW AFTER 50 YEARS DO WE HAVE A CHANCE TO SOLVE

THIS GREAT MYSTERY AND MAYBE CATCH THE OLDEST

LIVING FOSSIL ON EARTH, PALEODICTYON NODOSUM.

DYLAN: THIS IS THE RESEARCH VESSEL ATLANTIS.

ITS DESTINATION IS THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE SYSTEM

FIVE HUNDRED MILES AHEAD AND 12 THOUSAND FEET DOWN.

ONBOARD ARE GEOLOGISTS PETER RONA AND DOLF

SEILACHER.

DOLF BELIEVES THE STRANGE FOSSILS HE DISCOVERED WERE

FROM ANIMALS LIVING IN THE DEEP OCEAN.

TO PROVE HIS THEORY, HE'LL NEED HELP FROM THE WORLD'S

MOST FAMOUS SUBMARINE, ALVIN.

FOR THE UPCOMING JOURNEY, ALVIN IS BEING OUTFITTED

WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION CAMERAS AND FOUR THOUSAND

WATTS OF ILLUMINATION.

ALVIN AND THE CREW ARE BOUND FOR THE MOST EXTREME

PLACE ON EARTH.

DYLAN: THE SEARCH FOR THE OLDEST LIVING FOSSIL

ACTUALLY BEGAN 30 YEARS EARLIER ON A SERIES OF DIVES IN

THE PACIFIC OCEAN NEAR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.

DYLAN: BACK THEN, SCIENTISTS WERE INVESTIGATING

A STRANGE VOLCANIC PROCESS.

OCEAN WATER WAS INTERACTING WITH HOT ROCKS

BENEATH THE SURFACE, CREATING THESE ELABORATE

STRUCTURES AND CAUSING A BLACK COCKTAIL OF

POISONOUS CHEMICALS TO EMERGE.

IT WAS HERE WHERE SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED THE

MOST INCREDIBLE LIFE ON EARTH.

THESE CREATURES WERE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO

COMPREHEND.

SENSORS ON THE SUBMARINE SHOWED THE SURROUNDING

WATER CONTAINED DEADLY LEVELS OF HYDROGEN

SULFIDE, AND IT WAS HOT ENOUGH TO MELT LEAD.

SCIENTISTS WERE AMAZED.

THEY THOUGHT NOTHING COULD SURVIVE DOWN HERE.

THEY WERE WRONG.

DYLAN: THE DISCOVERY OF DEEP-SEA CREATURES IN THE

PACIFIC OCEAN WAS THE FIRST CLUE THAT CONNECTED SEILACHER'S

ANCIENT FOSSILS IN SPAIN WITH VOLCANIC RESEARCH

BEING CONDUCTED IN THE MID-ATLANTIC.

TODAY, WE'RE HEADING TO THE MOST REMOTE AND

DANGEROUS LOCATION ON EARTH.

ONBOARD THE ALVIN IS PETER RONA, CHIEF PILOT BRUCE

STRICKROT, AND OF COURSE, DOLF SEILACHER.

THERE'S NO TURNING BACK AND NO QUICK RESCUE.

DYLAN: PAST THE FIRST THOUSAND FEET, ALL TRACES

OF SUNLIGHT DISAPPEAR INTO COMPLETE AND TOTAL

DARKNESS.

AS THE SUB DESCENDS, THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE A

SCIENTIST MAY GLIMPSE A CREATURE NEVER BEFORE SEEN

BY HUMANS EYES AND PERHAPS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

DYLAN: THE CREATURES OF THE DEEP OCEAN LIVE WITHOUT

SEASONS, WITHOUT REST, WITHOUT TIME.

DR. SEILACHER: THESE CREATURES WERE PROBABLY

AROUND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OR EVEN A BILLION

YEARS AGO.

THERE IS JUST NO WAY FOR US TO KNOW.

THEY ARE LIKE PHANTOMS OF THE SEA.

DYLAN: IT WILL TAKE DR. DOLF SEILACHER AND THE

CREW ONBOARD THE ALVIN OVER TWO HOURS TO MAKE THE

TWO-AND-A-HALF-MILE DESCENT TO THE OCEAN

FLOOR.

ONCE THERE, IT'S A RACE AGAINST TIME TO EXPLORE

LAVA BEDS AND HOPEFULLY COLLECT A SAMPLE BEFORE

RETURNING HOME.

THIS VOYAGE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'RE HEADING TO THE LARGEST AND

LONGEST MOUNTAIN RANGE ON EARTH, THE MID-ATLANTIC

RIDGE HIDDEN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, AND LATER,

WE'LL DISCOVER LIFE FORMS THAT SURVIVE WHERE ALL

OTHERS PERISH.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: THE FAMOUS DEEP-OCEAN RESEARCH VESSEL

NAMED ALVIN IS ON ITS WAY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE

ATLANTIC OCEAN.

THE SUBMARINE HAS MADE OVER 4,400 DIVES.

IT'S HELPED SCIENTISTS COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT

EXTREME ANIMAL HABITATS.

IT'S ALSO HELPED THE UNITED STATES MILITARY

RECOVER LOST HYDROGEN BOMBS.

IT'S EVEN EXPLORED THE WRECKAGE OF THE TITANIC.

NOW IT'S ON A MISSION OF DISCOVERY TO VOLCANOES

DEEP BELOW THE WAVES, WHERE THE OLDEST CREATURES

ON EARTH HAVE LIVED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF OUR

WORLD.

DYLAN: THE LARGEST GEOLOGICAL FEATURE ON THE

FACE OF THE EARTH IS HIDDEN UNDER FIVE MILES OF

WATER.

IT'S CALLED THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE, A

MOUNTAIN RANGE MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND FEET HIGH,

FIVE HUNDRED MILES WIDE, AND SOME 24 THOUSAND MILES

LONG.

THE OUTER SHELL OF THE EARTH IS CALLED THE CRUST.

IT'S MADE UP OF PLATES THAT FLOAT ON A LAYER OF

LIQUID ROCK CALLED THE MANTLE.

THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE IS WHERE TWO OF THESE PLATES

HAVE BEEN COLLIDING TOGETHER FOR OVER ONE

HUNDRED MILLION YEARS.

THIS VOLCANIC SYSTEM IS THE OVEN OF OUR PLANET.

IT BAKES THE EARTH'S CRUST ON A DAILY BASIS AND

PROVIDES NUTRIENTS TO CREATURES LIVING IN THE

DEEP OCEAN ABYSS.

OCCASIONALLY, IT ROASTS THOSE CREATURES ALIVE.

ONE EXAMPLE IS IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OFF THE

COAST OF MEXICO.

THE DEEP-SEA ANIMALS THAT LIVED HERE WERE SUDDENLY

BOILED WHEN A VOLCANO RUPTURED UP THROUGH THE

CRUST BENEATH THEM.

ALMOST INSTANTLY, THEIR EXTRAORDINARY WORLD SIMPLY

DISAPPEARED, YET JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS LATER, A

CREW ONBOARD THE ALVIN RETURNED TO THIS LOCATION,

AND SCIENTISTS WERE AMAZED BY WHAT THEY SAW.

MYSTERIOUS SPAGHETTI WORMS COVERED THE ROCKS, ALONG

WITH LARGE CRABS, NUMEROUS SPECIES OF OCTOPUS, AND

SOMETHING THEY NAMED DUMBO, A CREATURE THAT

DEFIED COMPREHENSION.

DYLAN: LIFE HAD NOT JUST RETURNED; IT WAS BACK WITH

A SCALE ALMOST BEYOND BELIEF.

AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL WAS THIS MAGNIFICENT

40-FOOT VOLCANIC COLUMN DECORATED WITH

SIX-FOOT-LONG TUBEWORMS.

THEY SEEMED MORE LIKE PLANTS THAN ANIMALS.

THE TUBEWORMS CLEARLY THRIVED IN THE HOT WATER,

BUT SCIENTISTS WERE ASTONISHED TO DISCOVER

THAT THE RED COLORING OF THESE WORMS CAME FROM

THEIR BLOOD, BLOOD VERY MUCH LIKE OUR OWN.

HOW CAN THESE FANTASTIC CREATURES OF THE DARK

SHARE THE VERY BLOOD THAT FLOWS THROUGH OUR OWN

VEINS?

DYLAN: FIVE BILLION YEARS AGO, A GIANT STAR A HUNDRED TIMES

GREATER THAN OUR OWN SUN BLEW UP INTO A SUPERNOVA.

THROUGHOUT THE REMAINING CLOUD OF GAS AND DEBRIS,

THERE ACCUMULATED ENOUGH MATTER TO REIGNITE NEW

STARS, INCLUDING OUR SUN.

AS THE SUN FORMED, SO DID THE PLANETS OF OUR SOLAR

SYSTEM, GROWING LARGER AS THEY ACQUIRED DEBRIS FROM

SPACE.

THE THIRD PLANET FROM THE SUN BEGAN TO COOL, BUILD A

SOLID CRUST, AND COULD SUPPORT LIQUID WATER.

OCEANS FORMED, AND LIFE FLOURISHED, BLANKETING THE

EARTH WITH GREEN PLANTS THAT HARNESSED ENERGY FROM

THE SUN USING PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

WE ONCE BELIEVED THE SUN'S RADIATION TO BE THE SOURCE

OF ENERGY FOR ALL LIFE ON EARTH, BUT DEEP BENEATH

THE EARTH'S CRUST THERE REMAINS AN ANCIENT FURNACE

FUELED BY DECAYING RADIATION FROM THAT LONG

AGO GIANT STAR.

IT IS THIS ENERGY THAT GIVES LIFE TO THE

EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES OF THE DEEP SEA, CREATURES

FEEDING FROM THE EMBERS OF A DEAD STAR THAT STILL

BURNS DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH.

DYLAN: THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN MAY BE WHERE ALL LIFE

BEGAN, OR AT LEAST ALL LIFE WE KNOW OF.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY. WHAT ON EARTH

COULD BE CAUSING THESE PERFECT HEXAGON SHAPES TO

APPEAR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN NEAR DEEP-SEA

VOLCANOES FOR OVER 50 MILLION YEARS?

DR. DOLF SEILACHER IS ON THE HUNT FOR ANSWERS

ONBOARD THE DEEP-OCEAN RESEARCH VESSEL NAMED

ALVIN, BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO LOCATE THE SITE OF

THIS MYSTERY BEFORE RETURNING TO THE SURFACE;

AND WHEN YOU'RE OVER TWO MILES BELOW THE WAVES, YOU

DON'T WANT TO BE LATE HEADING HOME.

DYLAN: TRAVELING TO THE SEA FLOOR AND BACK WILL USE UP

FIVE HOURS OF ALVIN'S AIR SUPPLY AND BATTERY POWER.

THAT LEAVES DOLF AND THE OTHER SCIENTISTS ONLY FOUR

HOURS TO FIND THEIR TARGET AND RECOVER A SPECIMEN.

DYLAN: ON THE WAY TO THEIR DESTINATION, THEY FIND

WONDERS OF LIFE IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE.

DR. SEILACHER: EVERYWHERE WE WENT, THE GEOLOGY WAS

AS OF LIFE, MASSIVE STRUCTURES GROWING NOT IN

MILLIONS OF YEARS, BUT ALMOST BEFORE OUR EYES.

DYLAN: HOW CAN SO MANY STRANGE CREATURES LIVE

ALONG VOLCANIC VENTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN?

AFTER DECADES OF EXPLORATION AND STUDY,

SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED THE KEY, HUNDREDS OF SPECIES

OF SPECIALIZED BACTERIA GROWING ON THE ROCKS.

THESE BACTERIA USE CHEMICAL ENERGY FROM THE

HOT WATER TO PRODUCE NUTRIENTS.

DYLAN: SHRIMP AND OTHER DEEP-SEA ANIMALS USE

THE BACTERIA AS FOOD.

THESE BACTERIA LIVE IN TEMPERATURES THAT OTHER

LIFE FORMS CAN'T WITHSTAND.

THE SHRIMP THAT EAT THEM WALK A FINE LINE BETWEEN A

GOOD SOLID MEAL AND GETTING BURNED ALIVE.

DYLAN: SOON, SIMILAR TYPES OF BACTERIA WERE FOUND AT

DOZENS OF SITES AROUND THE WORLD.

ON THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE, THEY FOUND THE MOST

FANTASTIC SITE OF ALL THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD.

SCIENTISTS DUBBED IT THE ASTRODOME.

THE BACTERIA WERE GROWING ON THE ROCKS, ON THE

SHRIMPS, ON EVERYTHING.

WHEN SCIENTISTS BEGAN TO PROBE DEEPER INTO THE

CHIMNEY WALLS THEMSELVES, THEY MADE THE MOST

ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.

DYLAN: IN TOTAL DARKNESS, BATHED IN THE POISON BREATH

OF THE INNER EARTH, AT 3,500 POUNDS OF PRESSURE PER

SQUARE INCH AND TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING 230

DEGREES FAHRENHEIT LIVES THE MICROSCOPIC

HYPERTHERMOPHILE.

DYLAN: THERE IS NO HARSHER ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH.

THERE IS NO CREATURE MORE ALIEN TO US, YET LIKE US,

THEY HAVE THE SAME FOUR BASE CHEMICALS OF DNA.

WE ARE RELATED, AND THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THIS

IS WHERE OUR JOURNEY BEGAN BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

DYLAN: DOLF SEILACHER AND PETER RONA HAVE FINALLY

ARRIVED AT THE EDGE OF A DEAD VOLCANO.

DR. SEILACHER: WE LOOKED IN THE AREA PETER CALLS

THE VALLEY OF PALEODICTYON.

I WAS SURPRISED THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING WHERE

THERE WAS NO OBVIOUS LIFE, BUT THAT IS PERHAPS THE

ANIMAL'S SECRET.

DR. SEILACHER: I CERTAINLY HAD NOT EXPECTED TO FIND

SO MANY.

THEY WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE BY THE THOUSANDS.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, THE MYSTERIOUS PATTERNS HAVE

BEEN FOUND.

ARE THE CREATURES THAT LEFT THEM NEARBY?

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY. TWO MILES BELOW

THE OCEAN, DR. DOLF SEILACHER AND PETER RONA

HAVE FINALLY FOUND THE MARKINGS OF A PALEODICTYON

NODOSUM.

TRY SAYING THAT FIVE TIMES FAST.

THIS LITTLE CREATURE IS ONE OF THE MOST MYSTERIOUS

LIFE FORMS ON THE PLANET.

NOT ONLY DOES IT LIVE IN THE MOST EXTREME

ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH, NO ONE HAS EVER ACTUALLY SEEN

ONE.

PERHAPS, THAT'S ABOUT TO CHANGE.

DR. SEILACHER: AS SOON AS I GOT THERE, AND LOOKED AT THE

HEXAGON SHAPE, AND THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE HOLES,

HIS WAS MY PALEODICTYON NODOSUM.

THE CREATURE IS PROBABLY FAR MORE [........] LIKE THE SHRIMP

AND THE TUBEWORMS.

BUT UNLIKE THEM IT MUST BE VERY EFFICIENT BECAUSE

THE NUTRIENTS ARE SO SPARSE.

DR. SEILACHER: WE HAD VERY LITTLE TIME LEFT, SO THE

SUB PILOT WENT TO WORK RIGHT AWAY.

AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE OF FINDING THEM, COLLECTING

SOME SAMPLES WOULD BE FAIRLY EASY.

DOWN, DOWN THERE.

DR. SEILACHER: AT LAST, AFTER EIGHT HOURS IN THE

SUB AND 50 YEARS ON THE CLIFFS OF SPAIN, I FINALLY

HAD THE PALEODICTYON.

IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT.

DR. SEILACHER: WE FULLY EXPECTED THE CREATURE TO

COME SWIMMING OUT AT ANY MOMENT.

THEN WE WENT IN AFTER IT.

DR. SEILACHER: IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME THAT THE

TUNNELS WOULD BE THERE, AND THE TUNNELS WERE

THERE, BUT NOT A CREATURE IN ANY OF THEM.

DYLAN: THERE HAVE BEEN A DOZEN DIVES, BUT THEY HAVE

NOT YET FOUND THE ANIMAL ITSELF.

DYLAN: ALTHOUGH THE CREATURES REMAIN A MYSTERY, THEY

ARE REMARKABLE, AND FINDING THEIR FOSSILS ON THE

CLIFFS OF SPAIN SUGGEST THEY HAVE OUTLIVED ALMOST

ALL OTHER FORMS OF LIFE ON EARTH.

DR. SEILACHER: THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IT

IS STILL ALIVE AND DIGGING ITS WONDERFUL BURROWS, THE

SAME AS THE FOSSILS I FOUND 50 YEARS AGO ON MY

HONEYMOON, BUT SHE IS VERY SHY, AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN

HER, AND I PROBABLY NEVER WILL.

BUT THAT IS BETTER, I THINK, BECAUSE I CAN STILL

IMAGINE ANYTHING I WANT.

DYLAN: WE OFTEN LOOK TO THE STARS AND WONDER IF

LIFE EXISTS.

NOW WE KNOW TO LOOK TO THE DEEP ABYSS AS WELL.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR ADVENTURE TO THE VOLCANOES

OF THE DEEP.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.