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 END OF THE WORLD, THE FROZEN LAND OF ANTARCTICA.

DYLAN: WE'LL TREK DEEP INTO THIS ICE-FILLED LAND WHERE

TEMPERATURES DROP BELOW MINUS 100 DEGREES.

WE'LL MEET THE UNIQUE ANIMALS STRUGGLING TO

SURVIVE IN BITTER COLD.

AND DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT DOESN'T RAIN FOR

THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

AND WE'LL JOIN THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WORKING TO

UNDERSTAND ANTARCTICA'S PAST AND WHAT IT MIGHT

MEAN FOR OUR FUTURE.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS HUMAN BEINGS HAVE

SPREAD OUT ACROSS EVERY CONTINENT ON THE PLANET

EXCEPT ONE; ANTARCTICA.

THIS FROZEN, LONELY WILDERNESS AT THE BOTTOM

OF THE WORLD IS THE LARGEST UNINHABITED PLACE

ON EARTH.

ANTARCTICA IS COVERED BY A MASSIVE SHEET OF ICE, 5

MILLION SQUARE MILES WIDE AND 1 MILE THICK; 90

PERCENT OF ALL THE ICE IN THE WORLD.

IT IS THE COLDEST, DRIEST, MOST EXTREME CONTINENT ON

EARTH AND AT TIMES SEEMS LIKE IT'S AS REMOTE AS THE

MOON.

DYLAN: THIS IS WHAT SUMMER LOOKS LIKE IN ANTARCTICA.

DYLAN: WE'RE HEADED SOUTH ONBOARD AN ICEBREAKER,

A SPECIAL TYPE OF SHIP.

IT SLICES THROUGH THICK LAYERS OF ICE PROVIDING

SAFE PASSAGE FOR OTHER SHIPS.

THE MEN AND WOMEN ON THIS VESSEL ARE TRAVELING TO A

PLACE NOT MEANT FOR HUMAN LIFE, NOT MEANT FOR MUCH

LIFE AT ALL...

...OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO THE ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHER,

ARISTOTLE, REASONED THAT THE WORLD WAS ROUND AND

THAT THERE MUST BE A GREAT SOUTHERN CONTINENT.

THE GREEKS CALLED THE STARS ABOVE THE NORTH POLE

ARCTOS AND THEY NAMED THE FAR POLE ANTARCTOS.

THEY IMAGINED A LAND OF STRANGE BEASTS AND

STRANGER CUSTOMS WHERE THE LAWS OF NATURE MIGHT BE

REVERSED.

WHETHER OR NOT THIS LAND EXISTED WAS THE GREATEST

MYSTERY ON EARTH FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS...

...ANTARCTICA IS A CONTINENT FAR LARGER THAN THE UNITED

STATES.

IT IS THREE TIMES HIGHER IN ELEVATION THAN ANY

OTHER CONTINENT.

THE AIR HERE IS DRIER THAN THE SAHARA DESERT, YET 70

PERCENT OF THE FRESH WATER IN THE WORLD IS FROZEN

HERE IN ICE SHEETS UP TO 3 MILES THICK.

FOR CENTURIES ANTARCTICA WAS THE ULTIMATE GOAL FOR

ADVENTURERS.

GETTING HERE WAS THE HARDEST THING A HUMAN

BEING COULD DO.

EXPLORERS CAME BRAVELY IN WOODEN SHIPS.

THE CONDITIONS WERE BRUTAL BUT THEY NEVER GAVE UP.

IN 1911 ROBERT FALCON SCOTT OF BRITAIN AND ROALD

AMUNDSEN OF NORWAY BOTH STARTED FOR THE SOUTH

POLE.

BOTH MEN WOULD REACH THE POLE BUT ONLY ONE OF THEM

WOULD RETURN...

...THESE MEN WERE SCOTT'S CREW, SITTING LIKE KNIGHTS

AT A LONG TABLE BENEATH THEIR BATTLE FLAGS...

...THE LONG TABLE IS STILL THERE, THE CHAIRS THEY SAT

ON, THE CUPS THEY DRANK FROM.

HERE THEY HELPED TO BUILD THE FOUNDATIONS OF

ANTARCTIC SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION.

THEY WORKED AT THE VERY EDGE OF WHAT WAS KNOWN AND

THE LESSONS THEY LEARNED WERE OFTEN HARD

DYLAN :NEAR SCOTT'S OLD HUT IN THE SHADOW OF A

VOLCANO CALLED MOUNT EREBUS YOU'LL FIND

A NURSERY ON THE ICE.

DYLAN: WEDDELL SEALS WERE ONE OF THE FIRST ANIMALS STUDIED

IN ANTARCTICA AND ONE OF A FEW SPECIES THAT LIVES

THERE ALL YEAR.

DYLAN: THIS PUP WAS BORN A FEW WEEKS AGO AND NOW IT'S

TIME TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM.

DYLAN: AT HOME BENEATH THE ICE, THE SEALS CALL

EERILY TO ONE ANOTHER...

[SEAL CALL]

DYLAN: SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN STUDYING SEALS HERE

SINCE THE 20TH CENTURY.

BUT THEY ARE STILL FASCINATED BY HOW THESE

ANIMALS HAVE ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE AND TO THE

FREEZING WATER.

DYLAN: THE SEAL'S BLOOD CARRIES SO MUCH OXYGEN THAT

IT CAN HOLD ITS BREATH FOR OVER AN HOUR.

THE ICE HERE IS 6 FEET THICK.

UNDERNEATH IS WHERE ANTARCTICA HIDES ITS COLOR

AND ITS COMPLEXITY.

DYLAN: FORESTS OF TINY PLANTS CALLED ALGAE GROW

IN THE ICE AS IF IN A GREENHOUSE.

MILLIONS OF KRILL WHICH ARE LIKE SMALL SHRIMP EAT

THE ALGAE, FISH EAT THE KRILL, AND SEALS EAT THE

FISH.

THIS CHAIN OF LIFE IS SO ISOLATED AND BALANCED IT

GIVES SCIENTISTS CLUES TO THE HEALTH OF THE WHOLE

PLANET.

DYLAN: BUT DIVING HERE IS AGONY FOR THE

FIRST 20 MINUTES.

AFTER THAT, IT BECOMES DANGEROUS.

DYLAN: THE WATER AROUND ANTARCTICA IS SO COLD

DIVERS CAN FALL UNCONSCIOUS AFTER ONLY 15

MINUTES OF EXPOSURE, EVEN IN THE THICKEST WETSUITS.

AND CONDITIONS BECOME FATAL IN JUST HALF AN

HOUR.

BUT THE FREEZING OCEAN AROUND ANTARCTICA IS

ACTUALLY THE BEST PLACE FOR LIFE TO HAVE A

FIGHTING CHANCE; ON LAND IT'S EVEN WORSE.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL VISIT THE BEST-DRESSED

ANIMALS ON ANTARCTICA AND DISCOVER BIRDS THAT FLY

BELOW THE WAVES.

AND LATER WE'LL REVEAL A HIDDEN WORLD OF WONDER

LOCKED AWAY IN DEEP CAVERNS FOR THOUSANDS OF

YEARS.

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: LESS THAN 2 PERCENT OF ANTARCTICA IS

FREE OF ICE AND THE SOIL IS SO DRY AND COLD ALMOST

NOTHING GROWS THERE EXCEPT MOSS AND FUNGUS.

THE ANIMALS THAT DO COME ON LAND DON'T STAY LONG.

EMPEROR PENGUINS ARE ONE OF THE FEW ANIMALS THAT

LIVE AROUND THE COAST OF ANTARCTICA.

THEY COME ONSHORE TO BREED AND PROTECT THEIR YOUNG,

BUT THERE'S NO FOOD TO BE FOUND ABOVE THE WAVES;

ONLY ICE AND ROCKS.

[PENGUINS CALLING]

DYLAN: THE EMPEROR PENGUIN IS THE TALLEST AND

HEAVIEST OF ALL LIVING PENGUIN SPECIES, AND IS

REGULARLY FOUND IN ANTARCTICA.

DYLAN: THEY TYPICALLY LIVE 20 YEARS IN THE WILD,

ALTHOUGH SOME INDIVIDUALS MAY LIVE TO THE RIPE OLD

AGE OF 50.

USING THIS SPECIAL CAGE TO PROTECT THEM FROM SEALS,

SCIENTISTS CAN OBSERVE PENGUIN BEHAVIORS

UNDERWATER LIKE NEVER BEFORE...

...PENGUINS HAVE A THICK COAT OF WATER-RESISTANT

FEATHERS THAT PROVIDE 80 TO 90 PERCENT OF THEIR

WARMTH.

A LAYER OF FAT UNDER THE FEATHERS PROVIDES THE

REST.

HUMANS HAVE NO SUCH NATURAL DEFENSES AGAINST

THE COLD WEATHER.

ALTHOUGH THIS DIVER IS WEARING A STATE-OF-THE-ART

WETSUIT, HE'S STILL IN FOR A VERY COLD DIP.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: YOU CAN SEE WHAT GREAT SWIMMERS THESE BIRDS

ARE.

THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FLY ABOVE THE WAVES BUT

THEY SURELY CAN FLY BELOW THEM.

DYLAN: EMPEROR PENGUINS HUNT TOGETHER AND COORDINATE

THEIR DIVING TO MAXIMIZE THEIR SUCCESS.

THEY REGULARLY DIVE OVER 800 FEET DEEP FOR AS LONG

AS 18 MINUTES, AND SOMETIMES THEY GO MUCH

LOWER.

AFTER A FEMALE LAYS A SINGLE EGG THE MALE KEEPS

THE EGG WARM AND SAFE WHILE THE FEMALE RETURNS

TO THE SEA TO FEED.

DYLAN: PARENTS CONTINUE TO TAKE TURNS CARING FOR THEIR

CHICK.

DYLAN: THIS IS A LARGE COLONY OF ADELIE PENGUIN.

THEY ARE FOUND ALONG THE ENTIRE ANTARCTIC COAST AND

ROUTINELY MIGRATE OVER 8,000 MILES A YEAR AROUND

THE FROZEN CONTINENT.

DYLAN: AT THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS THEY PILE STONES

TOGETHER FOR THEIR NESTS.

DYLAN: AND LIKE THE EMPEROR PENGUINS, MALES AND

FEMALES SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CARING

FOR THEIR YOUNG.

DYLAN: AT THE EDGE OF THE PENGUIN'S EMPIRE ICEBERGS

MOVE SLOWLY OUT TO SEA.

THEY ARE PIECES OF ANTARCTICA, BORN HIGH ON

THE CONTINENT WHERE SNOW PACKS INTO ICE AND

FLOWS SLOWLY OUTWARD.

DYLAN: AS THE ICE SHEET MOVES IT STRAINS AND SPLITS.

SOME CREVICES ARE SO HUGE THEY COULD SWALLOW A

HOUSE.

THEY CAN BE HUNDREDS OF FEET DEEP.

THIS ICE IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD, EVEN MILLIONS.

LARGE CRACKS IN THE ICE CAN BE HIDDEN FROM VIEW AT

THE SURFACE.

DYLAN: WINDBLOWN SNOW CAN GRADUALLY BUILD A DELICATE

BRIDGE ACROSS THE GAP AT THE TOP.

THE BRIDGES CAN BE QUITE INVISIBLE ON THE SURFACE.

SOME WILL SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF A MAN, BUT SOME

WILL NOT.

DYLAN: THIS IS ONLY A DEMONSTRATION.

BUT THIS WAS REAL.

A LARGE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT WAS ON ITS WAY TO A

WEATHER STATION WHEN THE GROUND GAVE WAY.

FORTUNATELY THE DRIVER SURVIVED BUT THE TRACTOR

WAS LOST TO ANTARCTICA.

DYLAN: ANTARCTICA IS FULL OF SURPRISES.

THESE PONDS LOOK SHALLOW BUT THEY'RE NOT.

WHEN A DIVER SWAM THROUGH A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF

ONE OF THESE POOLS THIS IS WHAT SHE FOUND.

DYLAN: SCIENTISTS WERE EXPECTING ONLY ROCK-HARD

ICE, BUT ANTARCTICA REMINDS US AGAIN WE HAVE

ONLY JUST BEGUN TO UNDERSTAND OUR PLANET.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL TEAM UP WITH

SCIENTISTS RACING TO SOLVE THE RIDDLES OF CLIMATE

CHANGE AND DISCOVER WHAT ANTARCTICA'S PAST HAS

TO TELL US ABOUT OUR PLANET'S FUTURE.

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.

WHILE EXPLORING ANTARCTICA, SCIENTISTS

HAVE DISCOVERED DRY VALLEYS HUNDREDS OF MILES

LONG WHERE IT PROBABLY HASN'T RAINED FOR

THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

THE LAND THERE IS SO DRY ASTRONAUTS COME TO

PRACTICE EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED FOR EXPLORING

MARS.

ANTARCTICA IS THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR ANSWERS

TO THE GREATEST MYSTERY OF OUR TIME; WHAT MAKES

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT.

DYLAN: ONCE THESE DRY VALLEYS WERE FULL OF ICE.

BUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE

CLIMATE AND THE ICE THAT WAS HERE DISAPPEARED.

IT LEFT BEHIND VAST EMPTY VALLEYS WHERE ALGAE GROWS

INSIDE SOLID ROCK AND THE LAND IS SO ARID IT HAS

PROBABLY NOT RAINED FOR A MILLION YEARS.

DYLAN:SEA ICE AROUND THE CONTINENT WAXES AND WANES.

IN WINTER ANTARCTICA DOUBLES IN SIZE.

THE EXPANSE OF COLDNESS AFFECTS CLIMATE ALL OVER

THE GLOBE.

BUT ANTARCTICA NOT ONLY AFFECTS CLIMATE, IT ALSO

RECORDS IT.

FAR FROM CIVILIZATION A CORE DRILL DIGS DEEP INTO

THE ICE SHEET.

DYLAN: ICE LAYERS CAN BE READ LIKE THE RINGS OF

TREES. THE CLIMATE RECORD GOES BACK OVER 100,000 YEARS.

IN TRAPPED BUBBLES OF ANCIENT AIR ICE CORES TELL

A SIMPLE STORY.

WHEN THE LEVELS OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE

CHANGE SO DOES THE CLIMATE.

DYLAN: THIS CORE CAME FROM 466 FEET DOWN.

IT'S ICE THAT FELL AS SNOW ABOUT 4,000 YEARS AGO.

IN THIS CRYSTAL BALL OF ICE THE NEWS FROM

ANTARCTICA IS BAD.

THE COLORS IN THIS ICE MEAN THERE ARE TRACES OF

METHANE, LEAD AND INCREASED CARBON DIOXIDE.

THIS ICE PROVES THAT HUMANS ARE CHANGING THE

AIR AND WE ARE STARTING TO SEE THE EFFECTS.

20 YEARS AGO SCIENTISTS PREDICTED THAT MANMADE

CHEMICALS WOULD THIN THE PLANET'S PROTECTIVE LAYER

OF OZONE.

FOUND IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE, THE OZONE

LAYER SHIELDS THE EARTH FROM HARMFUL RADIATION.

RECENTLY THE THINNING BECAME DRAMATIC, LETTING

DANGEROUS ULTRAVIOLET RAYS FROM THE SUN, SHOWN HERE

IN RED, HIT THE EARTH.

NOBODY NOTICED IT EXCEPT IN ANTARCTICA.

DYLAN: HERE SCIENTISTS CONDUCTING WEATHER BALLOON

THEORETICAL RESEARCH NOTICED THE CHANGE IN THE

UPPER ATMOSPHERE AND LEARNED THAT MANMADE

CHEMICALS WERE CAUSING IT.

DYLAN: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION MAY SLOW

PRODUCTION OF THE CHEMICAL BUT THE DAMAGE HAS

BEEN DONE. SO THE RESEARCH GOES ON,

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT

WE ARE DOING TO OUR WORLD AND TRYING TO FIND OUT IN

TIME TO SAVE IT.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL VISIT THE MOST REMOTE

RESEARCH BASE ON THE PLANET AND DISCOVER WHAT

HAPPENED TO THE BRAVE EXPLORERS AMUNDSEN AND

SCOTT.

WHEN THE JOURNEY CONTINUES.

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

ANNOUNCER: WE NO RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: ONLY A LITTLE MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE LIVE ON

ANTARCTICA FULL-TIME; ALMOST ALL OF THEM ARE

SCIENTISTS CONDUCTING VARIOUS EXPERIMENTS ON

CLIMATE AND WEATHER.

THE CONTINENT IS GOVERNED BY A SERIES OF TREATIES

THAT BAN MILITARY ACTIVITY AND ESTABLISHES THE

CONTINENT AS A NATURAL PRESERVE DEVOTED TO PEACE

AND SCIENCE.

[SOUNDS OF WIND/WEATHER]

DYLAN: ANTARCTICA IS UNRELENTING.

EVEN IN SUMMER TEMPERATURES REACH 40

BELOW.

DYLAN: IN THIS CLIMATE YOU MUST COOPERATE TO SURVIVE.

DYLAN: HERE THAT HARD TRUTH APPLIES EVEN TO POLITICS.

THE ANTARCTICA TREATY HAS LASTED FOR MORE THAN 30

YEARS AND STANDS AS A MODEL FOR A HAPPIER WORLD.

DYLAN: TODAY PLANES LAND AT WHAT SEEMS TO BE A

SPACE STATION.

HERE ON ICE 9,000 FEET THICK PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER

THE WORLD WORK ON MANY EXCITING PROJECTS.

DYLAN: DURING THE 6 MONTHS OF DAYLIGHT THE SUN MAKES AN

ALMOST PERFECT CIRCLE IN THE SKY EVERY DAY.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: IN JANUARY 1912 WHEN CAPTAIN ROBERT FALCON

SCOTT AND HIS COMPANIONS ARRIVED AT THE SOUTH POLE,

THEY FOUND ROALD AMUNDSEN HAD BEEN THERE FIRST, JUST

4 WEEKS BEFORE.

ALTHOUGH SCOTT AND THE CREW REACHED THE SOUTH

POLE, THEIR RETURN JOURNEY WAS A DISASTER.

FROSTBITE, HUNGER AND A BLIZZARD FINALLY ENDED

CAPTAIN SCOTT'S VOYAGE.

WHEN THEIR CAMP WAS FINALLY FOUND BY A RESCUE

PARTY 8 MONTHS LATER IT WAS DISCOVERED THE CREW

WAS CARRYING 35 POUNDS OF GEOLOGICAL SAMPLES FROM

THE SOUTH POLE THAT THEY HAD HAULED HUNDREDS OF

MILES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE.

DYLAN: THE AMUNDSEN/SCOTT SOUTH POLE STATION IS A

TESTAMENT TO HUMAN PERSEVERANCE IN THE FACE

OF IMPOSSIBLE ODDS.

CAPTAIN SCOTT'S QUEST CONTINUES, DRIVEN BY THE

SAME FORCE THAT INSPIRED THE EXPLORER KNIGHTS OF

OLD.

DYLAN: ANTARCTICA IS A SYMBOL OF HUMAN CURIOSITY AND

COURAGE.

IT REMAINS THE LAST GREAT UNEXPLORED FRONTIER ON THE

PLANET AND A REMINDER THAT SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON

COOPERATION.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE

WORLD.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪