All language subtitles for Arctic Secrets S01E02 Devon Island Land of Ice 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD+2 0 H 264-QOQ

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The Arctic: a vast
forbidding wildernes

Few regions in the wor
have inspired greater a

than its iciest reac

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Devon Island is
such a place:

a cold desert at
the top of the worl

On the sea ice, predat
and prey have battled h

for thousands of year

*

But their battlegrou
is melting.

*

An ice-bound sanctuary
Arctic creatures

is under threat.

*

Devon Island is remot
from the world most of us

But what happens
here affects us al

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This is a voyage o
exploration

through an island of

*

*

*

*

*

Devon Island,
in the Canadian Arct

archipelago,
is the world's larg

uninhabited island

*

It appears barren, and i
harsh for most life fo

*

But not for the Arct
apex predator,

supremely adapted
to this landscape

*

The ice itself is
a creature -

developing, transformi
and perishing.

*

Its darkest corners
stories of the forces

have formed our plane
and how we are forming it

*

For nine months of the y
Devon Island's weathe

is far
below freezing.

Temperatures hover
above freezing,

in what passes
for summer here.

*

Most of its surface
frost-fractured roc

*

Few creatures or plan
can survive here.

*

Devon Island is so bar
and hostile that NASA h

used its blasted terr
to mimic the

exploration of Mars

*

*

An ice cap tops th
island's mountainous pe

*

The core of this massi
dome formed 100,000 years a

Now it spreads over five
a half thousand square mi

*

It has grown from
accumulated snow,

increasing in densit
becoming compacted,

and hardening into ic

*

In places, the ic
reaches 2,900 feet dee

*

There may be an abundance
of frozen water,

but Devon Island is a de

It rarely snows an
rainfall is comparabl

the Gobi desert.

*

What little fall
freezes,

and keeps adding to the ic

*

From the ice cap flo
fourteen glaciers

which slide down the isla
rocky terrain towards the

*

The glaciers reach t
island's edge,

thrusting onwards.

Massive blocks of ic
break off and topple i

the Arctic ocean
as icebergs.

*

For six months of th
year, darkness dominate

this frozen land

*

During winter the
surrounding sea is cove

in continuous, solid

*

When the sun
returns in spring

it won't set for four m

*

The unrelenting lig
warms this frozen dese

The ice begins to mov

*

Shifting sea ice on the

ruptures with long cra
called leads.

Prevailing winds an
currents determine whe

the leads will form, o
in the same area every y

*

These leads shape avenue
for seals to come up for

*

It's spring; the se
don't have to work as h

to maintain thei
breathing holes.

In fall, when the ic
thin, the seals cut h

with the sharp claw
on their foreflippe

*

The harp seal uses as ma
as fifteen holes, swimm

between them and pushin
its head through

to keep them open.

Now it's spring
and the sun is up,

they can bask on the i

But they stay aler
for polar bears.

*

The polar bear has roam
the sea ice in darkne

all winter.

Greenland Inuit call
polar bear Pisugtooq

The Great Wanderer.

*

Pausing only to slee
it stays on the pro

in an unceasing
search for seals.

In this region a po
bear's home territo

can cover 23,000
square miles.

This stretch of sea
along Devon Island i

called the Polar Bea
Highway, where about

sixteen hundred
travel back and fort

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Scanning the horizon
it's not unusual to

up to ten stalking for

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A pregnant female stay
put over the winte

nestling in a den on l

*

In spring she and he
cub emerge, ravenous.

*

For over four months a
has only known the war

huddle of the den an
its mother's milk

Now the world opens up a
the mother will teac

to survive in th
Arctic expanse.

Winds and currents
gather and grow stronge

(waves crashing)

(shifting ice)

The clash of gigantic
sheets forces up ridg

Underneath is air
and open water.

Seals have a
lifeline for brea

*

And polar bears have a
avenue for their hun

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A polar bear can scent
seal up to 10 miles aw

It can target a seal
beneath three feet of s

*

And it's powerful enou
to break through the thic

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Seals must emerge to
breathe every fifteen min

When the hunting is goo
a polar bear will only

a seal's blubber and s

It can eat a hundred pou
of blubber in one sit

*

This bear could lur
around a promising

breathing hole for da

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Devon Island doesn't se
like a place humans wou

like to visit.

*

But scientists are arr

from the Universit
of Alberta, Canada.

*

It's taken fourteen mon
to plan this trip

prepare, for the
difficulties Devon Is

will present.

They visit at th
start of summer,

when the 24-hour
days are brightest

(indistinct chatt

In a couple of month
the accumulated warmth

the relentless,
glaring sunlight on sn

will stir up fo

And on the heights o
the ice cap,

the sun can trigger
avalanche.

*

In the early spring
2015 two Dutch researche

collecting data on s
ice nearby fell thro

an unexpectedly thi
patch and died.

*

Earth and Atmospheric
scientist Dr Martin Sh

and graduate student
Ashley Dubnick are here

examine one of nature
laboratories for

processing water and i

(indistinct chatt

What they study here h
worldwide implication

Glaciers are probably
most important control

the average level
the global oceans

They represent a lar
storage of water on

continents...and if
melt then that water end

in the ocean and se
level rises so big c

like New York wit
millions of peopl

vulnerable to rising
levels. It's such a

problem probably over
hundred million peop

live within a trave
of current sea level ele

And trillions o
dollars of infrastru

are located in
the same region.

It's a problem we'
gonna have to confron

I guess there's tw
ways to look at th

you can either let it happ
figure out how you deal w

Or you think it might
better to stop it happe

*

If the Devon Islan
ice cap were to melt compl

it would raise
the levels of all

world's seas by
almost half an inch

It doesn't sound like m
but this is one frac

of the Arctic's meltin

The ice cap here has be
steadily shrinking since

shedding its water
into the world's ocea

By the end of this cent

sea level is expecte
to rise by two fee

Hundreds of millions
homes would disappear,

and great cities, such
Mumbai or downtown New Yor

would be in grave
danger of flooding

Martin and his team pl
to visit the underbel

one of the glacier
flowing from the ice c

They want to examine bas
ice - at the foundatio

a glacier, where
interacts with the gro

beneath, and
meltwater gathers.

*

They have a two-hour
journey across a landsca

slashed by deep crevass
that crack into the

as the glacier
moves downhill.

*

In summer, water fro
melting snow and ice

courses down these
crevasses running to t

bottom of the glacie

*

Then it streams alon
channels between bedroc

and ice, following t
glacier's course to the

*

Martin and his team w
be traveling over unev

slippery terrain
unpredictable weather

It's a risky ventu

They'll plot their co
with satellite imag

aerial photography
and GPS.

*

Technology can guide the
but they'll still ha

pick their way
around the hazards.

*

The difficulty and r
seem less important

in the magnificence t
surrounds them.

*

I certainly feel
affinity to glaci

and ice sheets.

I've worked on them
most of my life.

I think they're remark
places to spend time

partly because of
the isolation..

*

A chance to think

that you don't ge
where everything's very ru

I just think they'r
important part

of the global environm

I think we have ou
responsibilities a

community to protect a
preserve all of tho

parts of the
global system.

*

*

*

*

*

Martin and Ashley arri
at the underside of the g

*

They're not sure
what they'll fin

*

They follow a
passage down...

which leads to
an ice cave.

This has been carved b
meltwater streaming dow

and dissolving the
edge of the glacie

*

In late summer, chunks
ice tumble down and

their meltwater flo
into these caves.

*

At summer's end, torren
of water flood throu

making it too
dangerous to visit

*

This channel reveal
a cross section of t

glacial wall ove
30 feet high.

The bands in the curvi
wall of ice

were formed in different

They are lighter or da
according to how much

debris was in the
meltwater that flowed do

here and then froze aga

*

The glacier's underbe
tells a traveller's

of ten thousand year

*

Some years, the glaci
scraped over rough terr

captured rocks,
and dragged them along wit

*

But there's more:
they find bird feath

mosses, and the shells
marine mollusks

caught in the ice

Look at that;
you see the striati

on the surface of the s

The shells are remnants
a brief warm period

nine thousand years ag

The warm weather melted
the lower reaches

of the ice cap.

The Arctic Ocean the
deluged Devon Island's val

*

When the climate chill
again, the sea retrea

and the glaciers
advanced down the islan

overriding the shel

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The team discovers
another, more fragil

relic from the
same warm period.

A blade of grass.

*

When the sea flooded the
valleys, lush vegetat

flourished on the
hillsides of Devon Isl

*

The returning glacie
crushed the plants an

swept them along.

*

A blade of grass nin
thousand years old wou

not normally be found
a damp stem like thi

*

*

*

Martin and Ashley ventu
deeper into the cave

*

Wow...wow...
- It's pretty amazi

*

(Indistinct conversat

Ice crystals,
formed by condensation

cover the walls.

This incredible arra
crystal structures on

surface...perfec
hexagonal ice crystal

which is just, you kn
breathtaking.

Like you're walking thro
world of crystal

I've never seen anyth
like it anywhere el

*

Ice crystals form arou
particles of grit or

Water vapor attaches to
and freezes in facets

reflect the structu
of the water molecul

Then the crystal grow
from the edges in branch

just like a snowfla

*

*

Martin and Ashley move
deeper under the glaci

Here, the ice above th
heads is more than

fifty feet thic

*

*

*

*

They're now about a
thousand feet in

alien territory, fu
than they've ever bee

*

*

It is dripping he

There is actuall
water there.

Martin is surprised
find water originating

Heat rising from th
earth's crust

has warmed the cavern.

*

In the late 1980'

the sort of mantr
was that it's col

dark, and that ther
no life there.

There always seemed to
a scientist in t

back of the room
who'd say,

"well, there's g
to be microbes,"

and I thought well re
we ought to have a lo

When this water is
analyzed it confirm

Martin's suspicions

It houses as many microb
as ordinary surface wa

anywhere on earth.

Microbes are single-c
organisms, the world

oldest lifeform.

There are as many on
person's hand as

there are people in the w

But most scientists di
think they could

live in a glacie

*

The microbes don't a
come from the surface

Generations of them hav
lived in the glaci

for thousands of year

Surviving, mostly,
feeding on the burie

decaying vegetation th
included the blade of gr

*

Martin and Ashley's
find confirms a growi

understanding that
glaciers contain man

living microorganism

*

This frozen ecosystem
is constantly in moti

The massive glacier for
its way to the edg

of the island.

*

Here, it finally coll
into the ocean in one

nature's greatest
spectacles...

the calving of iceber

(thunderous crashing

(thunderous crashing

(thunderous crashing

(thunderous crashing

(waves crashing)

*

This berg from Devon
Island begins its lo

journey by slipping i
the shifting contours

an Arctic marvel.

It enters a remarkab
body of water that

baffles scientists -
North Water Polynya.

*

It's an expanse of t
Arctic Ocean, between

Canada and Greenland,
that stays free of ice a

even in the darkest
coldest months of wint

*

The phenomenon
is mysterious.

Theories include swi
surface currents an

cyclones that pul
ice away from the sea

The polynya provides
haven for creatures

rest and feed in a s
otherwise locked in by

(bird calls)

*

Thousands of thick-bil
murres gather here i

summer to nest and rai
their young

on precipitous ledge

*

(chirping)

The female lays one eg
in a breeding season

It's pointed at one e
which stops it rollin

a cliff edge.

Instead, it spin
on the spot.

(chirping)

Murres dance around th
cliff face with ea

But their most natur
element is the sea

*

Murres dive deeper tha
almost any other bird

seize their prey and
stay underwater

for four minutes.

*

By the end of summer, wh
the chicks have fledge

the cliff-face
colony is deserted

The murres migrate sout
and spend all winte

in the North Atlant

*

Bowhead whales find a
sanctuary in the

polynya for breeding

For three hundred year
commercial whalers

inflicted mass
slaughter on bowheads

The devastation
was greatest in th

northeastern Arctic Oce

The whaling industry end
a century ago when the

were so few bowheads
left, it was no lon

profitable to pursue t

*

Populations in other par
the Arctic have recover

Around this region thou
they were feared to

still be irreparably dam

*

Scientists have bee
pleased to find the num

of bowheads here
finally growing.

*

The sociable walrus
congregates here too

*

These mammals may lumber
on land, but they sw

elegantly underwater
where they can stay f

thirty minutes befo
surfacing for ai

*

A mother gives birth
a calf in seclusion,

soon rejoins the her
cradling her baby

as a human mother would

As polar ice thins
walruses lose thei

floating staging pos
where they can rest

launch a hunt.

They've been congregati
in unusual numbers on

shorelines, far
from their prey.

Inuit say that walr
can predict weather

One elder said:
"The walrus will go

when there is going to
strong winds blowing soo

In every herd of walrus
one will act as look

for predators,
braying an alarm.

(growls)

*

Polar bears stalk t
waters of the polyny

looking for
seals and birds.

*

They're powerful
and dauntless.

*

The bear is not th
only hunter here.

A group of Inuit ha
crossed the sea ice

Devon from neighboring
Cornwallis Island

in search of seal
to feed their communit

following
a hunting traditio

thousands of years ol

Mark Amarualik has bee
coming to Devon Islan

since he was a chil

Good way to find out
size of a polar be

you put your boot prin
it...that's about an

footer right there.
a polar bear trac

*

Mark has learned throug
generations

how to observe the polar

He's on the look out
seal, but he must al

keep a wary eye for bea

*

*

Trying to get clos
Sometimes it can take hou

females end up
more round like that

*

(Laughs)

It took me about - clo
two hours to get to hi

that's a
lot of patience

Mark takes time to stu
the polar bear's

hunting prowess.

*

He's got very good sens
of smell, good heari

good eyesight...

Being close to a stalk
polar bear, Mark and h

friends know seals
are not far away.

*

*

Wily seals have surviv
constant pursuit b

polar bears and are
masters of escape.

Every time they pop th
head up, I tell you

go down, sit down,
watch for a litt

Mark's friend Joadame
Iqaluk uses a traditi

Inuit blind, calle
taluaqtuut to

approach the seal.

*

*

He's 130 feet away,
but the seal is on to

*

(Laughs)

The seal is in its ele
but out here Mark

has to be constantly aw
of sudden weather change

It started to loo
little like t

weather is picking u

Yeah.

All those ice cryst
you see out there

that's indicating a st
some wind picking up

Mark is tuned to th
island's weather.

He understands how
the ice behaves.

How it's affected b
the winds and current

*

He can predict where
leads will open.

And when he can walk ou
on sea ice two-fingers

and still be safe

*

Nowadays, Mark hears ic
cracking more often dur

his trips, and sees
too thin to walk o

*

Mark wants to understan
why the ice is changi

So he's guiding scient
who want to navigate

Devon Island.

*

Today he's with Christ
Haas, a professor of s

ice geophysics and
electromagnetics at

York University in Toro

Yeah, the ice, ah.

Christian hopes to
understand and predict

types of changes
Mark has observed.

He and his scientific t
are measuring the sea i

around Devon Island.

This is our
electromagnetic ic

thickness sounder.

This method allows t
measure the thickness

the ice as we
travel along.

The sounder sends signa
through the ice to t

seawater below,
registering the ice's de

Christian can measure i
thickness more than ha

the length of Devon
Island in a day.

The amassed research o
Christian Haas and oth

scientists shows that,
average, sea ice acro

the Arctic has thinn
by 13% since 1979.

*

In some regions Christ
has documented changes

that are even
more alarming.

At the North pole
for example,

when I started my resea

the ice was 2.5
meters thick and now

only about a meter th
anymore in the summer

So that is a
lot of change we've se

There's another
time-honored way to

detect thin ice
on the polar sea.

(Dogs barking)

The traditional sled
can sense and avoid i

(Whimpering)

Most Inuit travel
snowmobiles nowadays, bu

they frequently st
rely on their dogs

protection during a h
or on long journeys

The breed is 4,000 yea
old and is as much at ho

here as polar
bears and seals.

*

A pack of dogs can
fight off a polar b

*

And when the wind whips
blinding white out

they can guide travel
back home.

*

The Inuit could not ha
survived here

without their dogs

*

*

Not long ago stranger
came to these Arctic se

lacking the life-sav
knowledge they needed.

*

For almost 400 years
explorers searched the

waters for the Northwe
Passage, a long sough

after trade rout
between Europe and Asia

*

They came here on one
doomed expedition after ano

*

They sailed in oak shi
three inches thick w

iron bows, to forc
through the ice,

but it crushed the hu

They brought new inventio
such as canned food

but it was not
enough to beat the Arc

*

They died from scurvy
tuberculosis,

and the deep,
unending cold.

*

Many explorers passed b
Devon Island on their w

through the maze of Arc
ice and uncharted lan

*

A passage was eventuall
found a hundred years ag

but the route was s
tortuous it had

no commercial use.

*

Now, their struggles wo
be easier,

though still hazardou

*

During the summer the
warming climate is open

permanent channels
in the Arctic sea

Nations vie for th
rights to these wate

*

Today's explorations se
undersea riches of oil

gas around this have
for polar bears.

*

This once-impenetrabl
region has become vulnerab

*

Off the northern coast
Devon Island an iceber

continues its journe
moving south from th

North Water Polynya.

*

It's picked up by t
Baffin Bay current a

floats south into t
Atlantic, traveling

10 miles a day.

*

Some icebergs are glimps
off the coast of t

United States befor
they dissolve.

*

Icebergs are the ice c
and glaciers

set loose into the oce

In recent years, mor
have been sliding

into the polar sea

(crashing)

As glaciers recede
they're calving gian

Between 2010 and 2011 an
iceberg four times t

size of Manhattan
roamed the Arctic ocea

*

With each ice berg
floating free,

the sea level rise

*

Devon Island's ice on l
and sea is

becoming more unpredictab

(Dogs barking)

The Inuit knowledge o
ice in the Arctic, le

over thousands of year
no longer applies.

*

*

Wildlife must adapt
if it can.

*

From tiny drops of
meltwater, to iceberg

to the oceans...

the effects of clim
change cascade.

*

Research on Devon Islan
reveals that the fra

Arctic ecosystem has
become unbalanced.

*

The ice is dissolvi
year after year,

at faster rates

*

As more icebergs ply th
course South,

they carry this warni
from the North.

*

*

*

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