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In the Peruvian jungle,
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could there really be
a boiling river
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that kills on contact?
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I'm sitting here thinking,
holy cow,
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this thing is massive!
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Will the identification
of an unknown sailor
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reveal what happened in
Australia's biggest naval disaster?
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This is the only body to be
recovered from the tragedy.
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00:00:25,655 --> 00:00:29,025
And has a dark secret
being concealed from the world
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00:00:29,137 --> 00:00:31,167
on this Caribbean wreck.
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00:00:31,275 --> 00:00:35,445
It's highly probable that the owners of
this wreck did not want it to be found.
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00:00:40,344 --> 00:00:43,554
The underwater
realm is another dimension.
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It's a physically hostile place
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where dreams of promise
can sink into darkness.
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I'm Jeremy Wade,
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00:00:56,551 --> 00:00:58,311
and I'm searching the world
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to bring you the most iconic
and baffling underwater mysteries
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00:01:02,103 --> 00:01:03,693
known to science.
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00:01:05,275 --> 00:01:07,545
The vast majority of our ocean
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00:01:07,655 --> 00:01:11,025
is unobserved, unmapped,
and unexplored.
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It's a dangerous
frontier that swallows evidence.
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You have nowhere to run.
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Where unknown is normal.
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And understanding is rare.
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In the Gulf of Mexico, an estimated
4,000 ship wrecks litter the sea floor.
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And tuned inside
are countless secrets
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from America's past.
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The remains
of a 19th century ship
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found near the Mexican coast,
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are rumored to have
a sinister history.
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And if true,
this will shock the world.
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2017, in the small
coastal town of Sisal, Mexico,
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a local fisherman leads
a team of archeologists
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00:02:08,448 --> 00:02:12,378
to a mysterious wreck
two miles offshore.
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00:02:12,482 --> 00:02:14,932
As with much
of maritime archaeology,
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00:02:15,034 --> 00:02:17,794
we're often guided
by local knowledge.
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00:02:17,896 --> 00:02:20,686
And that's absolutely
the case here.
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Some fisherman in Sisal,
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have known about
this wreck for generations.
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00:02:25,827 --> 00:02:29,787
And rumor suggests
the ship has a shady past.
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00:02:29,896 --> 00:02:33,686
There were rumors that this ship was
conducting some sort of illegal activity.
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00:02:33,793 --> 00:02:36,523
Perhaps transporting
the most heinous of cargos.
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To uncover the truth,
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00:02:39,620 --> 00:02:43,860
archeologists from Mexico's
Institute of Anthropology and History,
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start looking for clues.
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00:02:46,172 --> 00:02:47,902
When they were
first examining it,
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they didn't know
what they were looking at.
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00:02:50,275 --> 00:02:54,825
The remains were scattered
over an area of half a mile squared.
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00:02:56,068 --> 00:02:58,448
The team use a
portable magnetometer
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00:02:58,551 --> 00:03:02,591
that can detect metal from
nearly 1,500 feet away.
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00:03:02,689 --> 00:03:04,719
This ship had a wooden hull.
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00:03:06,586 --> 00:03:09,586
It's got paddle wheel
and a boiler.
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00:03:11,137 --> 00:03:13,517
The archeologists find elements
of the propulsion system,
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00:03:13,620 --> 00:03:16,340
including the rocker arm that
helps power the paddle wheel.
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00:03:17,413 --> 00:03:19,413
These specific features reveal
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00:03:19,517 --> 00:03:23,517
that this is a vessel from a
narrow slice of maritime history.
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A side paddle steamer.
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00:03:26,482 --> 00:03:28,762
Steamers transported
mail and cargo
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00:03:28,862 --> 00:03:30,762
across the Atlantic
to the Caribbean
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00:03:30,862 --> 00:03:33,662
from the 1840s until the 1870s.
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00:03:33,758 --> 00:03:35,828
All the original
components were found,
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00:03:35,931 --> 00:03:38,411
but that only tells us
the type of ship.
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00:03:38,517 --> 00:03:40,337
That doesn't tell us which ship.
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00:03:42,172 --> 00:03:44,932
Then the divers
get a lucky break.
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00:03:45,034 --> 00:03:49,484
Hidden in the sand, they
uncover several pieces of cutlery.
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And they're stamped with a name.
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Zangroniz Brothers and Company.
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00:03:56,068 --> 00:03:59,858
Slowly, the pieces
of the story come together.
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00:03:59,965 --> 00:04:02,965
This is a really critical find,
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00:04:03,068 --> 00:04:07,758
as it's a key emblem of
who it was owned by.
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The Zangroniz family
operated side paddle steamers
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00:04:11,206 --> 00:04:12,826
across the Atlantic from Europe
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00:04:12,931 --> 00:04:14,661
and around the Caribbean,
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00:04:14,758 --> 00:04:18,168
trading in commodities
like sugar and natural fibers.
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00:04:19,206 --> 00:04:21,586
They were give literally
carte blanche
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00:04:21,689 --> 00:04:22,999
to do a lot of trade.
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Their reputation
was relatively stellar.
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00:04:27,482 --> 00:04:29,792
Searching for
more clues about the wreck,
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00:04:29,896 --> 00:04:34,336
the team delved deeper
into the Zangroniz family.
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00:04:34,448 --> 00:04:38,308
Once you began looking into
the commerce and the company,
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00:04:38,413 --> 00:04:42,413
then the documents literally
begin to come out of the woodwork.
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Through detailed analysis,
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00:04:43,965 --> 00:04:45,925
investigators were
able to determine
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that this was
the wreck of La Union.
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00:04:50,413 --> 00:04:53,863
La Union was one oftwo side paddle steamers
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00:04:53,965 --> 00:04:56,065
owned by the Zangroniz family.
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00:04:56,172 --> 00:04:58,172
It sunk in 1861.
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00:05:00,068 --> 00:05:02,278
But the team's
investigations reveals
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00:05:02,379 --> 00:05:05,209
much more
about this merchant ship
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00:05:05,310 --> 00:05:09,170
which has been hidden
for more than 150 years.
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00:05:09,275 --> 00:05:11,475
It's highly probable
that the owners of this wreck,
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00:05:11,586 --> 00:05:13,336
did not want it to be found.
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00:05:15,241 --> 00:05:18,761
The Zangroniz family
had free reign on the high seas.
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00:05:19,827 --> 00:05:23,927
Their trade unchecked
and inhumane.
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00:05:24,034 --> 00:05:28,384
La Union stopped
on one of its voyages
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00:05:28,482 --> 00:05:31,722
just a year
before it sank in 1860
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00:05:31,827 --> 00:05:35,967
and it had
a slave labor cargo onboard.
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00:05:36,068 --> 00:05:40,548
There were at least 30
slaves on this ship including children.
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00:05:40,655 --> 00:05:43,895
One was as young
as 12 months old.
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00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,000
The documentation is clear.
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00:05:46,103 --> 00:05:49,523
The Zangroniz brothers were
engaged in human trafficking.
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La Union was a slave ship.
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00:05:56,965 --> 00:06:01,235
But slavery had been illegal
in Mexico since the 1820's.
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00:06:01,344 --> 00:06:04,314
32 years beforethe sinking of La Union.
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00:06:05,655 --> 00:06:09,825
So what was a slave ship doing
sailing from Mexico?
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00:06:09,931 --> 00:06:11,831
And we have
evidence of ship wrecks
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00:06:11,931 --> 00:06:14,861
which were part of
the Atlantic slave trade.
108
00:06:14,965 --> 00:06:17,585
But this is
a different kind of network.
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00:06:17,689 --> 00:06:18,829
We're seeing something new.
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00:06:20,620 --> 00:06:23,100
Further investigations
of historical records
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reveals something startling.
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The enslaved people
aboard were Maya,
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indigenous Mexicans.
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00:06:32,206 --> 00:06:36,026
This is the first Mayan
slave ship ever discovered.
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00:06:37,068 --> 00:06:40,098
So, where was this
human cargo being taken
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00:06:40,206 --> 00:06:43,996
when slavery was
illegal in their homeland?
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00:06:44,103 --> 00:06:47,623
The answer may lay
in the Mexico's troubled past.
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The War of the Castes
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00:06:50,137 --> 00:06:56,377
was one that basically persisted
from about 1847 till 1901.
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00:06:56,482 --> 00:07:00,212
This caste war pitted
the wealthy European Mexicans,
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00:07:00,310 --> 00:07:01,690
the Yucatecos,
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00:07:01,793 --> 00:07:04,593
against the more modest
and traditional Maya.
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00:07:04,689 --> 00:07:07,169
Those are Maya
in the northern Yucatan,
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00:07:07,275 --> 00:07:09,965
found themselves being
dispossessed of their land,
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00:07:10,068 --> 00:07:11,688
they were engaged
in a rebellion,
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00:07:11,793 --> 00:07:14,593
they were seen
as enemy combatants.
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00:07:14,689 --> 00:07:18,659
Did this war provide the
Yucatecos with a convenient excuse
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00:07:18,758 --> 00:07:20,788
to banish their Maya enemy?
129
00:07:22,482 --> 00:07:26,312
Slavery might have been
illegal in Mexico in the 1860s,
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00:07:26,413 --> 00:07:30,523
but elsewhere in the Caribbean
it was still thriving.
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00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:33,000
Slavery isn't illegal in Cuba.
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00:07:34,034 --> 00:07:35,694
With their ship, La Union,
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00:07:35,793 --> 00:07:39,553
the Zangroniz family could take
advantage of the demand for slaves
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00:07:39,655 --> 00:07:42,205
on the Cuban sugar plantations.
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00:07:42,310 --> 00:07:45,280
It was a marriage made in hell.
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00:07:47,241 --> 00:07:48,901
The suffering would have began
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00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,100
onboard La Union.
138
00:07:51,206 --> 00:07:55,686
The Maya were
literally being placed in a cargo hold
139
00:07:55,793 --> 00:08:01,033
and these were right next
to the actual boiler.
140
00:08:01,137 --> 00:08:04,377
So, they were
literally put in harm's way
141
00:08:04,482 --> 00:08:07,382
every time they were loaded
into these very tight
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00:08:07,482 --> 00:08:08,902
and confined quarters.
143
00:08:10,275 --> 00:08:13,445
The discovery of
this wreck has for the first time,
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00:08:13,551 --> 00:08:16,761
revealed a missing chapter
for Mexico's past.
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00:08:17,758 --> 00:08:20,138
So, why is this immoral trade
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00:08:20,241 --> 00:08:22,341
omitted from the history books?
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00:08:22,448 --> 00:08:26,998
We really don't know very much
at all about the Mayan slave trade.
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00:08:27,103 --> 00:08:29,313
The Yucatecos,
who were in charge,
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00:08:29,413 --> 00:08:31,143
would have
wanted this minimized.
150
00:08:31,241 --> 00:08:32,901
So, it remained a dirty secret
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00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,280
in one that went
in the bottom of the sea.
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00:08:36,620 --> 00:08:38,480
Archeologists now know,
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00:08:38,586 --> 00:08:41,166
that people were traffickedonboard La Union,
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00:08:41,275 --> 00:08:43,405
the year before it sank.
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00:08:43,517 --> 00:08:46,377
But they still don't know exactly
what happened to the ship
156
00:08:46,482 --> 00:08:48,862
on that fated last journey,
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00:08:48,965 --> 00:08:51,095
until the team
exploring the wreck
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00:08:51,206 --> 00:08:54,756
uncover new
critical pieces of evidence.
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00:08:54,862 --> 00:08:57,072
Fireboxes
being found in fragments,
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00:08:57,172 --> 00:08:59,482
the chimneys being found
in fragments
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00:08:59,586 --> 00:09:01,996
and there is large
chunks of the wreck
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which have been exposed
to intense heat.
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00:09:05,379 --> 00:09:07,549
The charred
evidence on the sea floor,
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00:09:07,655 --> 00:09:10,585
matches records on land.
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00:09:10,689 --> 00:09:14,759
Minutes after leaving port,
the boiler dramatically explodes.
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It caused the total destruction
of the ship instantaneously.
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00:09:24,551 --> 00:09:26,341
What's still unanswered though
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00:09:26,448 --> 00:09:29,828
is whether human cargo
is onboard the ship
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00:09:29,931 --> 00:09:31,241
when it explodes.
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00:09:40,379 --> 00:09:44,449
A Mayan slave ship has been
identified off the coast of Mexico.
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00:09:44,551 --> 00:09:47,691
The only one ever
discovered in the world.
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00:09:47,793 --> 00:09:50,763
Evidence on the wreck shows
that it exploded.
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00:09:50,862 --> 00:09:53,072
But one question remains,
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were the Maya captives onboard
when it sank?
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00:10:00,206 --> 00:10:01,966
Records indicate that roughly
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00:10:02,068 --> 00:10:04,658
half of the 80 crew
and the 60 passengers
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00:10:04,758 --> 00:10:07,068
lost their lives
in the explosion.
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00:10:07,172 --> 00:10:11,342
We have no idea
what the real death toll was.
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00:10:11,448 --> 00:10:15,308
It was not customary
for customs agents
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00:10:15,413 --> 00:10:17,723
and Mexican officials
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00:10:17,827 --> 00:10:21,687
to document this infernal
trafficking in human lives.
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00:10:24,931 --> 00:10:27,791
The divers find
no human remains.
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00:10:27,896 --> 00:10:32,546
So, does this mean this fated
journey was without a slave cargo?
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00:10:32,655 --> 00:10:37,135
The ocean may have hidden
the true scale of this tragedy.
185
00:10:37,241 --> 00:10:39,341
Once you enter the dimension
186
00:10:39,448 --> 00:10:42,858
of a very shallow settling
of human remains,
187
00:10:42,965 --> 00:10:45,305
you're going to see
an accelerated decomposition
188
00:10:45,413 --> 00:10:48,413
because you'll still have
sunlight entering the freight.
189
00:10:48,517 --> 00:10:52,997
You'll have oxygen and
other factors to contend with.
190
00:10:53,103 --> 00:10:56,033
So, there's still the
possibility that the trafficked Maya
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00:10:56,137 --> 00:10:58,237
were on La Union when it sank.
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00:10:59,482 --> 00:11:01,412
And it has since been revealed
193
00:11:01,517 --> 00:11:05,097
that up to 20,000 Maya
were transported to Cuba
194
00:11:05,206 --> 00:11:07,446
on the ships of
the Zangroniz family.
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00:11:09,655 --> 00:11:11,825
The Maya
have always been a proud
196
00:11:11,931 --> 00:11:13,381
and noble people.
197
00:11:13,482 --> 00:11:18,172
To be enslaved would have been
the worst condition for them.
198
00:11:18,275 --> 00:11:20,165
This was not the Maya way.
199
00:11:20,275 --> 00:11:23,375
The true scale
of this industry of terror,
200
00:11:23,482 --> 00:11:25,692
is yet to be fully uncovered.
201
00:11:25,793 --> 00:11:27,413
We're only beginning
to understand
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00:11:27,517 --> 00:11:29,617
the extent to which
indigenous people
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00:11:29,724 --> 00:11:32,454
from Central America
were enslaved.
204
00:11:32,551 --> 00:11:35,241
But the secretsthat La Union has revealed
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00:11:35,344 --> 00:11:36,794
from this watery grave,
206
00:11:36,896 --> 00:11:39,716
brings us one step closer
to the truth.
207
00:11:47,034 --> 00:11:49,104
As I know from
my own explorations,
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00:11:49,206 --> 00:11:51,516
the jungle rivers
of South America,
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00:11:51,620 --> 00:11:56,210
can embody a deadly mix
of mystery and danger.
210
00:11:56,310 --> 00:11:57,930
And there's one stretch of water
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00:11:58,034 --> 00:12:00,004
that has captured
my imagination.
212
00:12:00,103 --> 00:12:03,663
A mythical
boiling river in Peru.
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00:12:03,758 --> 00:12:06,478
Legend has it,
the water flows so hot
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00:12:06,586 --> 00:12:08,826
it can kill in seconds.
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00:12:08,931 --> 00:12:11,721
Now, could one man
using the latest science
216
00:12:11,827 --> 00:12:15,307
finally separate
myth from reality?
217
00:12:17,655 --> 00:12:19,755
As an eight
year old boy in Peru,
218
00:12:19,862 --> 00:12:22,762
Andres Ruzo is told
by his grandfather
219
00:12:22,862 --> 00:12:26,142
about the legend of
a mysterious boiling river
220
00:12:26,241 --> 00:12:28,101
in the heart of the Amazon.
221
00:12:28,206 --> 00:12:31,026
My grand father
told me this crazy story
222
00:12:31,137 --> 00:12:32,757
about the Spanish
conquest of Peru.
223
00:12:33,758 --> 00:12:35,828
We're talking
about giant anacondas,
224
00:12:36,931 --> 00:12:38,861
fierce warriors
with poison arrows,
225
00:12:38,965 --> 00:12:41,715
piranhas that will
strip your flesh to the bone,
226
00:12:42,586 --> 00:12:44,236
and a lost city of gold.
227
00:12:46,551 --> 00:12:48,931
The boiling river was
one of the details
228
00:12:49,034 --> 00:12:50,414
in this legend.
229
00:12:52,275 --> 00:12:55,995
Years later, the
little boy is a geo scientist
230
00:12:56,103 --> 00:12:58,623
investigating
the waters of Peru.
231
00:12:58,724 --> 00:13:01,484
When a clue to
the existence of boiling river
232
00:13:01,586 --> 00:13:03,966
comes from somewhere
close to home.
233
00:13:04,068 --> 00:13:07,688
I tell my aunt this thing about the
boiling river and that starts to come out
234
00:13:07,793 --> 00:13:09,523
and she goes, "Andres,
it's real, I've been there."
235
00:13:10,965 --> 00:13:14,335
A skeptical Andres
is persuaded to follow his aunt
236
00:13:14,448 --> 00:13:16,758
into the depths
of the rain forest.
237
00:13:16,862 --> 00:13:20,722
The boiling river is a place that
sounds like it's straight out of folklore.
238
00:13:20,827 --> 00:13:23,617
It was a one hour flight
from Lima,
239
00:13:23,724 --> 00:13:27,554
on a truck on a dirt road
for like about two hours.
240
00:13:27,655 --> 00:13:30,305
Then we take a Peke Peke,
a motorized canoe.
241
00:13:31,103 --> 00:13:32,213
And then boom.
242
00:13:33,310 --> 00:13:35,900
You've entered
into another universe.
243
00:13:37,034 --> 00:13:40,724
Andres starts to hear
a low rumble.
244
00:13:40,827 --> 00:13:44,757
It sounded like an ocean wave
that was crashing constantly.
245
00:13:44,862 --> 00:13:47,722
And you'd see these
wisps of white cloud,
246
00:13:47,827 --> 00:13:50,657
It's vapor, high up
in the canopy of these trees.
247
00:13:52,068 --> 00:13:54,928
What greets him is astonishing.
248
00:13:55,034 --> 00:13:58,344
A river running
boiling hot for four miles.
249
00:13:59,862 --> 00:14:01,482
What was your reaction?
250
00:14:01,586 --> 00:14:05,716
I'm sitting here thinking,
holy cow, this thing is massive!
251
00:14:07,620 --> 00:14:11,100
The boiling river is real.
252
00:14:11,206 --> 00:14:15,096
So as you know, Jeremy, the great
thing about myths and legends is,
253
00:14:15,206 --> 00:14:17,656
sometimes they do come true.
254
00:14:17,758 --> 00:14:21,968
A river running at more
than 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
255
00:14:22,068 --> 00:14:24,168
Reaching 80 feet at its widest,
256
00:14:24,275 --> 00:14:27,235
and 20 feet at its deepest.
257
00:14:27,344 --> 00:14:30,244
It's hot enough
that you can boil food in it.
258
00:14:30,344 --> 00:14:34,104
It gives humans
third degree burns in second.
259
00:14:34,206 --> 00:14:39,206
Any animals which are unfortunate
to fall into the river are boiled alive.
260
00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:41,380
Where is this heat coming from?
261
00:14:41,482 --> 00:14:45,312
What's causing the water to
have an increased temperature?
262
00:14:57,068 --> 00:14:58,828
The Peruvian Amazon,
263
00:14:58,931 --> 00:15:02,341
and a boiling river thought
to be no more than a legend,
264
00:15:02,448 --> 00:15:04,278
is very real.
265
00:15:04,379 --> 00:15:07,409
But how this watery
inferno came to be,
266
00:15:07,517 --> 00:15:09,067
remains a mystery.
267
00:15:10,793 --> 00:15:13,283
Can an answer to this
bizarre phenomenon,
268
00:15:13,379 --> 00:15:17,379
be hidden in the science
of geothermal waters?
269
00:15:17,482 --> 00:15:19,592
They exist across the world.
270
00:15:19,689 --> 00:15:23,659
Water rising up through areas
of scorching geology.
271
00:15:23,758 --> 00:15:25,718
Especially near volcanoes.
272
00:15:25,827 --> 00:15:27,377
But they're
in particular locations.
273
00:15:27,482 --> 00:15:30,312
I mean, we know where
to find these things.
274
00:15:30,413 --> 00:15:35,143
What is strange in the case
of this river is it is, A, so hot,
275
00:15:36,344 --> 00:15:39,974
and B, so far away
from volcanoes.
276
00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:45,930
Most of Peru, sits in
what's known as a geo gap.
277
00:15:46,034 --> 00:15:49,344
But there has been no volcanic
activity near the boiling river,
278
00:15:49,448 --> 00:15:51,758
for over 2 million years,
279
00:15:51,862 --> 00:15:57,312
and the nearest volcanic area,
is more than 430 miles away.
280
00:15:57,413 --> 00:16:01,593
So what could be powering
this scorching hot river?
281
00:16:01,689 --> 00:16:05,999
The volcanoes are not
the only type of geothermal activity.
282
00:16:06,103 --> 00:16:10,283
There's hydrothermal flows,
underground geothermal rivers.
283
00:16:10,379 --> 00:16:14,479
We have them, but it's
really cool and unusual,
284
00:16:14,586 --> 00:16:18,656
when we see them in places
that are not necessarily coupled,
285
00:16:18,758 --> 00:16:21,098
to geothermal activity.
286
00:16:21,206 --> 00:16:25,136
This river seems
to go for so long and so hot,
287
00:16:26,172 --> 00:16:28,832
that it looks
to be something else.
288
00:16:28,931 --> 00:16:33,381
Could it be caused by something
outside our scientific understanding?
289
00:16:33,482 --> 00:16:36,032
Indigenous communities have,
290
00:16:36,137 --> 00:16:39,717
attached the river
tremendous spiritual power.
291
00:16:39,827 --> 00:16:42,657
It's become incredibly sacred.
292
00:16:42,758 --> 00:16:46,788
The river is known by its
ancient name, Shanay-Timpishka.
293
00:16:46,896 --> 00:16:50,446
Meaning
'Boiled with heat of the Sun.'
294
00:16:50,551 --> 00:16:53,411
But nowhere on Earth,
can the Sun do this.
295
00:16:56,482 --> 00:17:02,172
Digging deeper, local folklore
suggests an alternative explanation.
296
00:17:02,275 --> 00:17:06,025
At the head of the
river, the waters actually cold.
297
00:17:06,137 --> 00:17:08,377
And as it starts flowing down,
298
00:17:08,482 --> 00:17:12,792
it reaches the place where
there's the first warm water injection.
299
00:17:13,931 --> 00:17:17,591
And that's where
there's this giant stone.
300
00:17:17,689 --> 00:17:22,449
The stone bears a striking
resemblance to the head of a constrictor.
301
00:17:22,551 --> 00:17:26,521
Traditionally, this is believed
to be the home of Yacumama.
302
00:17:26,620 --> 00:17:30,030
And in indigenous traditions,
Yacumama gives birth
303
00:17:30,137 --> 00:17:31,827
to the waters of the Amazon.
304
00:17:35,034 --> 00:17:39,344
For a decade, Andres and his team
have been trying to find out the truth.
305
00:17:39,448 --> 00:17:43,308
Boiling water is an
inhospitable environment,
306
00:17:43,413 --> 00:17:45,413
for any kind of technology.
307
00:17:45,517 --> 00:17:47,517
And of course,
also for scientists.
308
00:17:49,965 --> 00:17:53,995
Thermal drone cameras
help the teams study the boiling water.
309
00:17:55,517 --> 00:18:00,927
You wanna get a good grasp on
the temperature at various locations.
310
00:18:01,034 --> 00:18:04,174
Are there any chemical
signatures that might indicate
311
00:18:04,275 --> 00:18:06,715
what has happened
to this body of water?
312
00:18:06,827 --> 00:18:11,307
What clues do those components
give us about origins?
313
00:18:11,413 --> 00:18:14,553
There are only a few
scientific laboratories in the world,
314
00:18:14,655 --> 00:18:17,925
that can help reveal
the rivers unseen power.
315
00:18:18,034 --> 00:18:22,244
So have you discovered the secret
behind the immense heat of this river?
316
00:18:22,344 --> 00:18:25,034
I'm in the middle of analyzing
more data right now.
317
00:18:25,137 --> 00:18:26,857
But in basic terms,
318
00:18:26,965 --> 00:18:30,475
what we are seeing thus far is
that this is a hot spring on steroids.
319
00:18:31,655 --> 00:18:33,895
Waters could be falling
to Earth,
320
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,140
as far away as the Andes.
321
00:18:37,172 --> 00:18:39,212
Seeping down into the Earth.
322
00:18:39,310 --> 00:18:42,830
Rainwater could have
traveled underground for 60 miles,
323
00:18:42,931 --> 00:18:47,001
from the East Andes, and it may
not be the only source of the water,
324
00:18:47,103 --> 00:18:51,283
which is somehow, heated underground
before being driven to the surface,
325
00:18:51,379 --> 00:18:54,829
in this one particular place
in the Peruvian jungle.
326
00:18:54,931 --> 00:18:58,141
In this hot water in the
subsurface is hidden an area,
327
00:18:59,103 --> 00:19:01,523
a fault zone,
a unique geologic setting,
328
00:19:01,620 --> 00:19:05,380
that allows a mass of hot water,
329
00:19:05,482 --> 00:19:07,592
to get up to the
surface quickly.
330
00:19:09,413 --> 00:19:14,103
The boiling river, seems to be
part of an enormous hydrothermal system.
331
00:19:14,206 --> 00:19:17,896
One of the worlds
largest and most extreme.
332
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,790
The exact nature of that system
however, is still being worked out.
333
00:19:22,896 --> 00:19:28,686
As far as a large tropical
non-volcanic thermal river,
334
00:19:28,793 --> 00:19:31,833
we have still not found
anything quite like this one.
335
00:19:33,586 --> 00:19:38,276
While we still can't fully
explain the extreme heat of the river,
336
00:19:38,379 --> 00:19:40,239
the life that's found within it,
337
00:19:40,344 --> 00:19:44,004
opens up
a whole new area of study.
338
00:19:44,103 --> 00:19:49,903
On planet Earth, we have organisms
that thrive in extreme environments.
339
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,380
We call those organisms
extremophiles.
340
00:19:53,482 --> 00:19:56,212
They're microbial organisms
that have the ability
341
00:19:56,310 --> 00:20:01,860
to withstand extremes in temperature,
chemistry and sometimes pressure.
342
00:20:01,965 --> 00:20:05,205
Do these microscopic
survivors in the boiling river
343
00:20:05,310 --> 00:20:09,790
have the potential to transform
the future of humanity?
344
00:20:09,896 --> 00:20:13,926
Better understanding of these
adaptations might give us clues
345
00:20:14,034 --> 00:20:17,244
to how life
might be adapted elsewhere.
346
00:20:17,344 --> 00:20:19,694
So this mysterious
stretch of river,
347
00:20:19,793 --> 00:20:23,903
could be an ecosystem
with untold capability.
348
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,790
These are the
kind of places where
349
00:20:25,896 --> 00:20:28,786
we're gonna make discoveries
about pharmaceuticals.
350
00:20:28,896 --> 00:20:31,586
Could the boiling
river's jungle, specifically,
351
00:20:31,689 --> 00:20:35,099
hold the keys to solving
a humanitarian crisis?
352
00:20:35,206 --> 00:20:37,716
Or to helping us
fix the next pandemic?
353
00:20:39,275 --> 00:20:41,925
At this point we don't know,
but we're definitely looking into it,
354
00:20:42,034 --> 00:20:45,794
because that is
a real possibility.
355
00:20:45,896 --> 00:20:50,446
So the discovery of the boiling river
was just the beginning of a bigger story.
356
00:20:50,551 --> 00:20:53,101
One potentially full of promise.
357
00:20:53,206 --> 00:20:55,026
Even after ten years,
358
00:20:55,137 --> 00:20:58,997
I mean, we really have barely begun to
scratch the surface of what we can do.
359
00:21:11,965 --> 00:21:16,165
Conflicts at sea are usually won
by the bigger more powerful vessel,
360
00:21:16,275 --> 00:21:19,615
they have the size
and weaponry to prevail.
361
00:21:19,724 --> 00:21:22,974
So, when the grand Australian
warship, HMAS Sydney
362
00:21:23,068 --> 00:21:26,718
is destroyed by an inferior
Nazi vessel in World War II,
363
00:21:26,827 --> 00:21:29,377
it shocks the world.
364
00:21:29,482 --> 00:21:35,522
How did the Germans win such an improbable
victory against a far superior ship?
365
00:21:35,620 --> 00:21:40,720
What compels the mystery, is that
there were no Australian survivors to ask.
366
00:21:40,827 --> 00:21:46,407
Of the 645 crew on board the
Sydney, not one person survived.
367
00:21:46,517 --> 00:21:47,757
What happened?
368
00:21:50,068 --> 00:21:53,588
November 19th, 1941,
369
00:21:53,689 --> 00:21:57,279
state of the art Australian
warship, HMAS Sydney,
370
00:21:57,379 --> 00:22:00,339
is traveling south off the
coast of Western Australia,
371
00:22:00,448 --> 00:22:05,168
when she spots what appears
to be a small merchant ship.
372
00:22:05,275 --> 00:22:07,785
The Sydney signals
it using one of its signal lamps,
373
00:22:07,896 --> 00:22:11,096
to try and get it
to identify itself.
374
00:22:11,206 --> 00:22:14,826
The ship responds by hoisting
the call sign of a Dutch freighter.
375
00:22:17,103 --> 00:22:19,483
The Sydney replieswith a secret signal,
376
00:22:19,586 --> 00:22:23,066
that the apparent
merchant ship should know.
377
00:22:23,172 --> 00:22:27,522
But when the unidentified ship
realized that it can't answer correctly,
378
00:22:27,620 --> 00:22:30,480
it opens fire on the Sydney.
379
00:22:30,586 --> 00:22:36,786
The merchant ship, is in fact, the
German surface raider, HSK Kormoran.
380
00:22:42,655 --> 00:22:48,445
After just half an hour of battle,
both ships are crippled and sinking.
381
00:22:48,551 --> 00:22:52,071
While a fifth of Kormoran's
crew lose their lives,
382
00:22:52,172 --> 00:22:54,832
there are no survivorsfrom the Sydney.
383
00:22:54,931 --> 00:22:59,591
645 Australian souls are lost.
384
00:22:59,689 --> 00:23:03,169
This is the greatest naval
tragedy in Australia's history.
385
00:23:05,275 --> 00:23:07,925
How could the
Kormoran possibly sink,
386
00:23:08,034 --> 00:23:11,244
such a superior
Australian warship?
387
00:23:11,344 --> 00:23:13,834
This is one of the leading
warship in Australian navy,
388
00:23:13,931 --> 00:23:16,171
if not the leading warship.
389
00:23:16,275 --> 00:23:20,685
HMAS Sydney has eight 6
inch guns, eight torpedoes,
390
00:23:20,793 --> 00:23:23,623
and a plethora
of smaller weapons.
391
00:23:24,689 --> 00:23:26,789
Weighs over 7000 tons.
392
00:23:26,896 --> 00:23:31,926
So she's a very capable ship,
for taking the Kormoran.
393
00:23:32,034 --> 00:23:36,624
So what caused the
Sydney to lose every single on its crew?
394
00:23:36,724 --> 00:23:39,934
This is incredibly rare and
almost impossible to replicate.
395
00:23:50,827 --> 00:23:53,927
Australia is desperate to solve
the mystery of what happened
396
00:23:54,034 --> 00:23:56,794
in the last moments
of its finest warship.
397
00:23:56,896 --> 00:24:01,716
However, the only
surviving witness... is the enemy.
398
00:24:01,827 --> 00:24:05,617
318 of the nearly
400 Nazi sailors,
399
00:24:05,724 --> 00:24:09,664
are picked up by allied ships
and brought to Australia.
400
00:24:09,758 --> 00:24:12,658
Will they yield under
the pressure and reveal,
401
00:24:12,758 --> 00:24:16,478
how they pulled
off the impossible.
402
00:24:16,586 --> 00:24:19,926
The German captainof the Kormoran,
403
00:24:20,034 --> 00:24:25,664
indicated that, in ship, was approximately
2000 yards away from the Sydney,
404
00:24:25,758 --> 00:24:27,338
when they engaged.
405
00:24:28,413 --> 00:24:30,933
Which is very very unusual.
406
00:24:31,034 --> 00:24:33,414
Why does the Sydney
come so close,
407
00:24:33,517 --> 00:24:36,407
when it has superior
long range guns?
408
00:24:36,517 --> 00:24:39,927
One theory, suggest that
the Kormoran,
409
00:24:40,034 --> 00:24:43,034
was very close,
and raised its white flag
410
00:24:43,137 --> 00:24:45,067
indicating that it
was surrendering,
411
00:24:45,172 --> 00:24:47,482
when in actual fact, it wasn't.
412
00:24:48,517 --> 00:24:50,617
By luring in the bigger warship,
413
00:24:50,724 --> 00:24:54,344
Hitler's Kormoran can unleash
it's weapons, at the last minute.
414
00:24:54,448 --> 00:24:57,898
Hidden from view
behind steel plates.
415
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,410
These can be retracted
to reveal behind it a deck gun,
416
00:25:02,517 --> 00:25:07,097
and in some cases, even a torpedo tube
that had been mounted on the main deck.
417
00:25:09,137 --> 00:25:13,307
Another theory is that the
captain of the nearly 8000 ton Sydney,
418
00:25:13,413 --> 00:25:15,723
moves in close, deliberately.
419
00:25:15,827 --> 00:25:20,337
The captain of HMAS Sydney, knew
exactly what he was likely to be facing.
420
00:25:20,448 --> 00:25:24,858
Kormoran is a nice sized merchant
ship. She's a valuable prize.
421
00:25:27,758 --> 00:25:31,378
Finding the Sydney
will surely help solve the mystery.
422
00:25:31,482 --> 00:25:33,142
But where is it?
423
00:25:33,241 --> 00:25:35,411
Seventy of the German
prisoners of war,
424
00:25:35,517 --> 00:25:38,827
give accounts of
where the ship went down.
425
00:25:38,931 --> 00:25:40,521
They're are all different.
426
00:25:40,620 --> 00:25:42,590
This was quite typical because,
427
00:25:42,689 --> 00:25:46,209
they viewed the sinking
location of an enemy ship,
428
00:25:46,310 --> 00:25:49,720
as sensitive strategic
military information.
429
00:25:51,241 --> 00:25:55,481
The ocean around
the battle site is scoured for clues.
430
00:25:55,586 --> 00:25:59,406
But it's not until three
months later, in February 1942,
431
00:25:59,517 --> 00:26:02,687
that a potential piece of
evidence turns up in the area.
432
00:26:05,413 --> 00:26:07,173
Floating off Christmas Island,
433
00:26:07,275 --> 00:26:09,165
is a decomposing corpse,
434
00:26:09,275 --> 00:26:12,755
in an Australian navy life raft.
435
00:26:12,862 --> 00:26:16,722
The corpse was
very difficult to try and examine,
436
00:26:16,827 --> 00:26:20,897
much of it had been
torn off by sea birds.
437
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,790
It's found to have no dog tags
whatsoever, so there's no means at all,
438
00:26:24,896 --> 00:26:26,826
of identifying who
this person is.
439
00:26:28,137 --> 00:26:30,277
The corpse is wearing
a boiler suit,
440
00:26:30,379 --> 00:26:32,209
bleached by the sun.
441
00:26:32,310 --> 00:26:37,140
And eyewitnesses report the raft
is damaged from bullet or shrapnel.
442
00:26:37,241 --> 00:26:40,521
The evidence indicates
that this body belonged to a sailor.
443
00:26:40,620 --> 00:26:43,380
The life raft itself
show signs of damage,
444
00:26:43,482 --> 00:26:46,072
that could have
happened during a battle.
445
00:26:46,172 --> 00:26:49,762
This is the only body
to be recovered from the tragedy.
446
00:26:51,103 --> 00:26:53,973
Could it's identification
hold a vital clue,
447
00:26:54,068 --> 00:26:57,718
to what happened in the
final moments of the battle.
448
00:26:57,827 --> 00:27:01,207
In 1942, because the body
has not been identified,
449
00:27:01,310 --> 00:27:03,380
it's buried
in an unmarked grave.
450
00:27:07,068 --> 00:27:09,478
It's not until 2008,
451
00:27:09,586 --> 00:27:11,206
66 years later,
452
00:27:11,310 --> 00:27:12,930
that there's finally
a breakthrough.
453
00:27:14,344 --> 00:27:17,664
A 100 miles off Australia's
most westerly point,
454
00:27:17,758 --> 00:27:20,208
8000 feet below the surface,
455
00:27:20,310 --> 00:27:21,690
is the Kormoran.
456
00:27:21,793 --> 00:27:23,243
and nearby,
457
00:27:23,344 --> 00:27:24,454
the Sydney.
458
00:27:27,344 --> 00:27:29,554
But it's still
another seven years,
459
00:27:29,655 --> 00:27:31,895
before advances in technology,
460
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,760
Finally give scientists another
shot at solving the mystery
461
00:27:35,862 --> 00:27:38,452
of how
this bizarre defeat happened.
462
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,070
In 2016, an expedition is led
by Curtin University,
463
00:27:44,172 --> 00:27:47,862
Western Australian Museum,
and DOF Subsea.
464
00:27:47,965 --> 00:27:50,165
This included the most complex
465
00:27:50,275 --> 00:27:53,235
lighting and imaging systems
466
00:27:53,344 --> 00:27:54,864
ever used underwater
467
00:27:54,965 --> 00:27:57,615
in Australian history.
468
00:27:57,724 --> 00:27:59,454
One and a half miles down,
469
00:27:59,551 --> 00:28:02,311
the powerful lights
of the underwater vehicles
470
00:28:02,413 --> 00:28:07,663
turn the bowels of the ocean
from night to day.
471
00:28:07,758 --> 00:28:10,718
ROV's mounted
with special cameras
472
00:28:10,827 --> 00:28:13,997
record images
every five seconds.
473
00:28:15,655 --> 00:28:19,205
Photogrammetry is
an incredibly important technique
474
00:28:19,310 --> 00:28:21,170
in underwater archaeology.
475
00:28:21,275 --> 00:28:22,825
And, through computer programs
476
00:28:22,931 --> 00:28:24,661
we're able to stitch together
477
00:28:24,758 --> 00:28:27,028
these thousands of still images
478
00:28:27,137 --> 00:28:30,477
to create a three dimensional
model of the sea floor,
479
00:28:30,586 --> 00:28:32,716
and what we discover on it.
480
00:28:32,827 --> 00:28:34,967
What will they
uncover on this wreck
481
00:28:35,068 --> 00:28:38,238
that's been hidden from view
for more than 80 years.
482
00:28:38,344 --> 00:28:43,864
Will the truth of how this rare
defeat happened, finally, be revealed?
483
00:28:52,827 --> 00:28:58,587
The wreck of HMAS Sydney has been
surveyed using ground breaking technology.
484
00:28:58,689 --> 00:29:04,759
8000 feet underwater, 100 miles
off Australia's most western point,
485
00:29:04,862 --> 00:29:08,452
at long last, the ship is
about to surrender the secret
486
00:29:08,551 --> 00:29:13,721
of how it succumbed
to such a crushing defeat.
487
00:29:15,206 --> 00:29:19,716
The ROV's powerful lights
reveal the answer.
488
00:29:19,827 --> 00:29:22,027
The results
of the underwater footage
489
00:29:22,137 --> 00:29:25,967
shows a hole
in the bridge of the ship.
490
00:29:26,068 --> 00:29:28,758
The Kormoran hadstruck a decisive blow
491
00:29:28,862 --> 00:29:32,242
at the heart of the Sydney's
control systems.
492
00:29:32,344 --> 00:29:36,524
A lucky shot or first classtactics from the Kormoran,
493
00:29:36,620 --> 00:29:38,410
the result is the same.
494
00:29:38,517 --> 00:29:43,477
Annihilation of, not only, crucial
technology but key personnel.
495
00:29:43,586 --> 00:29:47,306
If you take out the senior
officers on the bridge
496
00:29:47,413 --> 00:29:52,313
you, literally, take out the nervous
system, the brain of the ship.
497
00:29:53,551 --> 00:29:56,621
We now know what
caused the Sydney to sink,
498
00:29:56,724 --> 00:30:00,694
but, the lack
of any survivors is unusual.
499
00:30:00,793 --> 00:30:05,833
One suggestion involves a
gruesome end for the Australian sailors.
500
00:30:05,931 --> 00:30:09,031
One of the theories is that the Germans,
actually, before the Kormoran sunk,
501
00:30:09,137 --> 00:30:11,717
opened fire with machine guns on
the Australian sailors in the water.
502
00:30:15,689 --> 00:30:20,279
Did the Nazi's fire
on the surviving sailors?
503
00:30:20,379 --> 00:30:24,169
Eye witness accounts of the
Christmas Island body in 1942
504
00:30:24,275 --> 00:30:29,025
report the damage to the raft as
being wither from bullets or shrapnel.
505
00:30:29,137 --> 00:30:31,067
It's inconclusive.
506
00:30:31,965 --> 00:30:33,615
64 years later,
507
00:30:33,724 --> 00:30:35,664
does the body
of the mysterious sailor
508
00:30:35,758 --> 00:30:37,828
show signs of foul play?
509
00:30:39,655 --> 00:30:41,995
The body was
exhumed and was examined in detail.
510
00:30:42,103 --> 00:30:45,793
And, in the autopsy they found
that the individual had died
511
00:30:45,896 --> 00:30:48,166
from a shrapnel fragment
to the brain,
512
00:30:48,275 --> 00:30:50,585
not a machine gun bullet.
513
00:30:50,689 --> 00:30:54,589
We now know this
man was not killed by Nazi gunfire.
514
00:30:54,689 --> 00:30:57,859
What happened to the rest of
the crew we may never know.
515
00:30:59,310 --> 00:31:02,100
Yet, could breakthroughs
in DNA analysis,
516
00:31:02,206 --> 00:31:06,546
at last, reveal the identity
of this lone sailor?
517
00:31:06,655 --> 00:31:09,785
DNA technology
is rapidly developing.
518
00:31:09,896 --> 00:31:12,686
We can now take a sample
from a deceased individual
519
00:31:12,793 --> 00:31:14,383
and determine their ancestry,
520
00:31:14,482 --> 00:31:17,172
their eye color,
their hair color,
521
00:31:17,275 --> 00:31:19,855
and a variety of other things.
522
00:31:19,965 --> 00:31:23,375
Experts determine
he has European ancestry.
523
00:31:23,482 --> 00:31:27,972
Red hair, blue eyes,
and, pale skin.
524
00:31:28,068 --> 00:31:31,238
Then, strontium isotope
testing on the sailor's teeth
525
00:31:31,344 --> 00:31:34,174
pinpoint where he is from.
526
00:31:34,275 --> 00:31:35,585
Strontium is an element
527
00:31:35,689 --> 00:31:38,589
that exists in mineral
deposits all over the world.
528
00:31:39,827 --> 00:31:42,067
As ground water
runs over sediment
529
00:31:42,172 --> 00:31:44,522
it picks up tiny amounts
of strontium
530
00:31:44,620 --> 00:31:47,450
which is, then,
present in drinking water.
531
00:31:47,551 --> 00:31:50,691
When humans
or animals drink local water
532
00:31:50,793 --> 00:31:54,483
they put into their bones
a local strontium signal.
533
00:31:54,586 --> 00:31:57,336
so, when these scientists
examined the human remains
534
00:31:57,448 --> 00:31:59,718
that were found
after this tragedy
535
00:31:59,827 --> 00:32:04,377
they established that this individual
grew up on the east coast of Australia.
536
00:32:04,482 --> 00:32:07,342
And what the sailor
was wearing when found
537
00:32:07,448 --> 00:32:09,968
holds another vital clue.
538
00:32:10,068 --> 00:32:13,548
Samples of the fabric from
the uniform were tested.
539
00:32:13,655 --> 00:32:17,785
Blue boiler suits were worn
by those working in the engine room.
540
00:32:17,896 --> 00:32:20,966
And, in 2019,
investigators finally believe
541
00:32:21,068 --> 00:32:24,658
they have found
who this one belonged to.
542
00:32:25,551 --> 00:32:29,171
A man named Norman Foster.
543
00:32:29,275 --> 00:32:30,855
Could the search
for the identity
544
00:32:30,965 --> 00:32:34,545
of the mysterious sailor,
at last, be over?
545
00:32:34,655 --> 00:32:37,655
They tested a relative
and it wasn't Norman.
546
00:32:37,758 --> 00:32:40,828
So, the question is,
who could it be?
547
00:32:40,931 --> 00:32:44,211
Deeply disappointed
but determined to uncover the truth,
548
00:32:44,310 --> 00:32:47,760
investigators are
continuing their quest.
549
00:32:47,862 --> 00:32:52,452
And they have narrowed the
search down to about 50 sailors.
550
00:32:52,551 --> 00:32:55,661
There's hope that the newest
developments in DNA testing
551
00:32:55,758 --> 00:32:59,688
will allow them to trace the unknown
sailor through the male side of the family
552
00:32:59,793 --> 00:33:02,103
improving chances of a match.
553
00:33:04,448 --> 00:33:07,518
All they need to find
is that vital relative
554
00:33:07,620 --> 00:33:11,000
for this piece of the puzzle
to finally be solved.
555
00:33:20,275 --> 00:33:23,855
Lightening is one of the
strongest forces of nature.
556
00:33:23,965 --> 00:33:27,515
Little can be done to predict
where it will strike.
557
00:33:27,620 --> 00:33:30,550
But, when it does,
it can be catastrophic.
558
00:33:30,655 --> 00:33:33,755
In 2014 a day at the beach
turns to disaster
559
00:33:33,862 --> 00:33:37,722
when an immensely bright bolt
of lightening strikes the water.
560
00:33:38,586 --> 00:33:41,406
Killing one and injuring 13.
561
00:33:42,655 --> 00:33:46,275
Did it somehow have a deadly
attraction to the ocean?
562
00:33:46,379 --> 00:33:47,859
And, if so, how?
563
00:33:47,965 --> 00:33:51,405
And, could an accidental
scientific discovery
564
00:33:51,517 --> 00:33:54,927
finally explain
what happened on that day?
565
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,520
July 27, 2014,
566
00:33:59,620 --> 00:34:02,170
and Venice beach
is full of people,
567
00:34:02,275 --> 00:34:05,275
when something
inexplicable happens.
568
00:34:05,379 --> 00:34:06,859
There was a tremendous glare
569
00:34:06,965 --> 00:34:09,755
as if someone
had suddenly turned on
570
00:34:09,862 --> 00:34:12,072
all the lights
in a very dark room.
571
00:34:12,172 --> 00:34:14,282
Followed by a tremendous boom.
572
00:34:17,310 --> 00:34:20,900
An unusually bright
lightning bolt has hit the water
573
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,240
killing a 20 year old man
and injuring many more.
574
00:34:24,344 --> 00:34:26,764
This giant bolt up in the sky,
575
00:34:26,862 --> 00:34:28,552
I've never seen anything like
that, and I'm from the mid-west,
576
00:34:28,655 --> 00:34:30,335
so, we see lots of lightening.
577
00:34:30,448 --> 00:34:32,928
The loudest clap of
thunder I've ever heard in my life.
578
00:34:33,034 --> 00:34:35,554
Thought it was like
a bomb, almost.
579
00:34:35,655 --> 00:34:40,475
Then, in 2019, another
explosive strike in South Boston
580
00:34:40,586 --> 00:34:42,656
is caught on camera.
581
00:34:42,758 --> 00:34:46,618
The lightening incinerates the
boat in a fraction of a second.
582
00:34:48,586 --> 00:34:51,826
Is there some deadly
connection in these tragedies
583
00:34:51,931 --> 00:34:56,691
between the lightening and the
waters below to create such mayhem?
584
00:35:08,827 --> 00:35:12,207
In 2014, a man dies
and 13 are injured
585
00:35:12,310 --> 00:35:17,140
a giant lightning bolt hits
the water off Venice beach.
586
00:35:17,241 --> 00:35:20,311
Five years later
on the opposite coast
587
00:35:20,413 --> 00:35:25,243
a single explosive bolt destroys
a boat floating in Boston Harbor.
588
00:35:27,172 --> 00:35:31,312
Lightning strike at sea is
every sailors worst nightmare,
589
00:35:31,413 --> 00:35:33,863
and boats offer no protection.
590
00:35:35,586 --> 00:35:38,966
You can actually see
the clouds light up like Christmas trees.
591
00:35:39,068 --> 00:35:42,968
You're stuck on your boat,
the waves are hitting you.
592
00:35:43,068 --> 00:35:44,898
The rain's coming down.
593
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,140
It's the lightening
that's cracking
594
00:35:47,965 --> 00:35:50,065
You have nowhere to run.
595
00:35:52,931 --> 00:35:56,761
I've witnessed, first
hand, lightening over water.
596
00:35:56,862 --> 00:35:59,032
In Suriname, north of Brazil,
597
00:35:59,137 --> 00:36:02,307
it releases its might
in the middle of filming.
598
00:36:08,344 --> 00:36:11,104
A member of my crew
taking a strike.
599
00:36:11,206 --> 00:36:12,716
Our sound recordist
has been hit.
600
00:36:12,827 --> 00:36:15,207
Was actually struck on the
head by that bolt of lightning.
601
00:36:15,310 --> 00:36:17,690
Luckily he survives.
602
00:36:17,793 --> 00:36:20,313
Elsewhere, when
lightening and water mix
603
00:36:20,413 --> 00:36:23,003
it can be a different story.
604
00:36:23,103 --> 00:36:28,453
To try and understand what can make lightning
strikes on the US coast so devastating
605
00:36:28,551 --> 00:36:31,451
we turn to clues from the past.
606
00:36:31,551 --> 00:36:34,791
The 1970's,
an American Vela satellite
607
00:36:34,896 --> 00:36:36,926
are patrolling the planet
from space
608
00:36:37,034 --> 00:36:40,004
looking for signs
of rogue nuclear tests.
609
00:36:42,068 --> 00:36:45,718
They had x-ray senses, the
later ones had optical senses.
610
00:36:45,827 --> 00:36:48,657
Although they were designed
to detect nuclear tests,
611
00:36:48,758 --> 00:36:52,518
they were able
to see things as well.
612
00:36:52,620 --> 00:36:57,590
And, in 1977, they start picking
up unusual blazes of light.
613
00:36:57,689 --> 00:37:00,099
These are so powerful, they're
releasing as much energy
614
00:37:00,206 --> 00:37:02,716
as a small nuclear weapon.
615
00:37:03,965 --> 00:37:05,715
What could these explosions be?
616
00:37:05,827 --> 00:37:07,857
Could they be unregulated
nuclear tests?
617
00:37:09,206 --> 00:37:11,446
Further investigation
shows that these flashes
618
00:37:11,551 --> 00:37:14,071
are releasing a completely
different signature
619
00:37:14,172 --> 00:37:16,242
to that of a nuclear explosion.
620
00:37:17,482 --> 00:37:19,722
Something never seen before.
621
00:37:21,206 --> 00:37:24,686
Lightening reaches
temperatures of 30,000 degrees.
622
00:37:24,793 --> 00:37:27,793
Five times hotter
than the surface of the sun.
623
00:37:27,896 --> 00:37:30,276
But, these
are even more powerful.
624
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,760
The flashes are named
Superbolts.
625
00:37:37,793 --> 00:37:42,243
They were named the superbolts because
they were much, much more intense.
626
00:37:42,344 --> 00:37:46,104
Something which is ten times
the power of an ordinary bolt.
627
00:37:46,206 --> 00:37:49,786
Sometimes a hundred,
potentially even a thousand times.
628
00:37:52,655 --> 00:37:57,205
The satellite data
then gives another revelation.
629
00:37:57,310 --> 00:38:00,450
You can draw a map just by
plotting the lightening on the planet.
630
00:38:00,551 --> 00:38:03,551
It, basically, sticks
very nicely to the continent,
631
00:38:03,655 --> 00:38:05,135
and, as soon as
you move over the oceans
632
00:38:05,241 --> 00:38:07,861
you've a dramatic decrease
in the amount of lighting.
633
00:38:07,965 --> 00:38:10,405
But, when it comes to superbolts
634
00:38:10,517 --> 00:38:13,547
it's the ocean
they hit most often.
635
00:38:17,448 --> 00:38:22,478
Is it because out at sea the thunder
storms can developed more energy?
636
00:38:22,586 --> 00:38:24,516
It's a mystery to me.
637
00:38:26,620 --> 00:38:30,210
Finding out what's going
on when lightning strikes over water
638
00:38:30,310 --> 00:38:35,550
is crucial for the safety of those
out at sea and in the shallows.
639
00:38:35,655 --> 00:38:39,545
Since the 1970's thousands more
superbolts have been recorded
640
00:38:39,655 --> 00:38:41,825
across the planets oceans.
641
00:38:41,931 --> 00:38:43,661
The better the data
gets, the more we see that this
642
00:38:43,758 --> 00:38:44,928
really is a clear signal
643
00:38:45,034 --> 00:38:47,244
that there's
more intense lightening
644
00:38:47,344 --> 00:38:50,694
whether you're looking optically, or,
whether you're looking with radio waves.
645
00:38:50,793 --> 00:38:55,283
So what causes these
massively powerful oceanic superbolts
646
00:38:55,379 --> 00:38:59,409
up to a thousand times brighter
than anything seen on land?
647
00:39:00,517 --> 00:39:02,617
Can the answer
help our understanding
648
00:39:02,724 --> 00:39:05,594
of those shocking incidents
on the US coast?
649
00:39:09,137 --> 00:39:12,377
In 2020, at
Tel Aviv University in Israel,
650
00:39:12,482 --> 00:39:18,792
a scientific breakthrough, finally, sheds
new light on this mysterious phenomenon.
651
00:39:18,896 --> 00:39:23,546
Initially we were interested in how lightening
may impact the chemistry of sea water.
652
00:39:23,655 --> 00:39:27,515
During the experiment, when they
changed from tap water to sea water
653
00:39:27,620 --> 00:39:30,930
they notice the flash becomes
dramatically brighter.
654
00:39:31,034 --> 00:39:34,104
Everything was the same, only
difference was the type of water.
655
00:39:34,206 --> 00:39:36,026
Something about the water
656
00:39:36,137 --> 00:39:38,757
was actually impacting the
lightening above the water.
657
00:39:38,862 --> 00:39:42,212
Why should the water actually
impact how bright it was?
658
00:39:43,862 --> 00:39:46,482
They then take
samples from a fresh water lake,
659
00:39:46,586 --> 00:39:48,716
Lake Tiberias.
660
00:39:48,827 --> 00:39:50,337
And, from the Dead Sea,
661
00:39:50,448 --> 00:39:55,658
whose water is ten times
saltier than normal sea water.
662
00:39:55,758 --> 00:39:59,308
Amazingly they discover the
discharges over Dead Sea water
663
00:39:59,413 --> 00:40:02,863
are nearly 40 times brighter
than over lake water.
664
00:40:02,965 --> 00:40:06,405
When you have salt in water,
the salt breaks up into its ions.
665
00:40:06,517 --> 00:40:10,717
And, this results in a change
in the conductivity of the water.
666
00:40:10,827 --> 00:40:13,027
As the water becomes
more conductive,
667
00:40:13,137 --> 00:40:14,717
the electricity
from the lightening
668
00:40:14,827 --> 00:40:18,207
can drain off much quicker
into the water.
669
00:40:18,310 --> 00:40:20,170
And this is what
heats up the air faster,
670
00:40:20,275 --> 00:40:23,025
and will give us
the brighter lightening.
671
00:40:23,137 --> 00:40:25,587
Colin and his team
have proved for the first time
672
00:40:25,689 --> 00:40:29,449
the importance of salinity in
the brightness of superbolts.
673
00:40:29,551 --> 00:40:32,031
Science has been looking
in the wrong direction.
674
00:40:32,137 --> 00:40:35,617
So, it's not what's in the
clouds that may hold the answer.
675
00:40:35,724 --> 00:40:38,314
it's what lies in the water.
676
00:40:40,344 --> 00:40:43,214
But, there's a big difference
between a lab
677
00:40:43,310 --> 00:40:47,240
and the vast watery expanses
of our planet.
678
00:40:47,344 --> 00:40:49,344
There is a very interesting step
679
00:40:49,448 --> 00:40:53,208
to add an extra layer of
complexity into the problem,
680
00:40:53,310 --> 00:40:56,970
but, that, by itself, can't explain
everything in the patterns we see.
681
00:40:59,310 --> 00:41:05,520
The scientists at Tel Aviv
are continuing their investigations.
682
00:41:05,620 --> 00:41:10,550
So, were the lightening strikes at
Venice Beach and Boston Harbor...
683
00:41:11,896 --> 00:41:13,066
superbolts?
684
00:41:13,172 --> 00:41:15,482
The more recent
distribution of superbolts
685
00:41:15,586 --> 00:41:19,136
show that they're not uniformly
distributed over the oceans.
686
00:41:20,758 --> 00:41:22,518
The latest research
has discovered
687
00:41:22,620 --> 00:41:25,210
that where superbolts
tend to hit the most
688
00:41:25,310 --> 00:41:27,410
is not along the US coastline,
689
00:41:27,517 --> 00:41:31,447
but in the north east Atlantic
and Mediterranean.
690
00:41:31,551 --> 00:41:34,341
We may never know for certain
whether the lightning strikes
691
00:41:34,448 --> 00:41:36,788
in Venice Beach
and Boston Harbor,
692
00:41:36,896 --> 00:41:40,756
although deadly and
destructive, were superbolts.
693
00:41:40,862 --> 00:41:44,102
And, why they hit
certain areas more than others
694
00:41:44,206 --> 00:41:46,516
is another enigma to crack.
695
00:41:46,620 --> 00:41:48,690
As soon as you discover
something, then, again
696
00:41:48,793 --> 00:41:51,793
it gives you another ten,
15 questions to answer.
697
00:41:54,241 --> 00:41:57,141
Science has revealed
an intense connection
698
00:41:57,241 --> 00:42:01,761
between the salty oceans and
the immense power of the skies,
699
00:42:01,862 --> 00:42:04,552
but, there is still
a lot left to understand
700
00:42:04,655 --> 00:42:07,965
about this highly
complex relationship.
58890
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