Oceans are the largest ecosystem on earth, covering two thirds of our world’s surface and providing half the oxygen in our atmosphere. They are home to as much as 80 per cent of all life on earth, and nearly three billion people rely on them for their primary source of food. But our planet’s oceans would be little more than stagnant wastelands, and life on planet earth would cease to exist, were it not for one simple factor: a global network of powerful ocean currents. Every drop of seawater on earth rides these currents, taking 1,000 years to complete a single circuit. Without the constant mixing of currents, tides and waves, our oceans would stop supporting life - and a healthy ocean is vital to a healthy planet.
A new force threatens our perfect planet. In the past, five mass extinction events were caused by cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. It was not the lava or ash that wiped out life, but an invisible gas released by volcanoes: carbon dioxide. Almost every part of modern life depends on energy created by burning fossil fuels, and this produces CO2 in huge amounts. Humans are changing our planet so rapidly, it’s affecting earth’s life support systems: our weather, our oceans and the living world. The greatest change to be made is in how we create energy, and the planet is brimming with natural power that can help us do just that. It’s these forces of nature - the wind, the sun, waves and geothermal energy - that hold the key to our future. Through compelling animal-led stories and expert interviews, we discover how CO2 is destabilising our planet. We meet rescued orphaned elephants in Kenya, victims of ever worsening droughts, and join ocean patrols off the coast of Gabon fighting to save endangered sharks. In the Amazon, we witness wildlife teams saving animals in the shrinking forests, and in San Diego we enter a cryogenic zoo preserving the DNA of endangered species before they become extinct.
Narrated by David Attenborough, never-before-seen footage shows how our living in lockdown opened the door for nature to bounce back and thrive. Across the seas, skies, and lands, Earth found its rhythm when we came to a stop. The film is a fresh new approach to the global lockdown and the uplifting stories that have come out of it. People all over the world have had the chance to engage with nature like never before.
Fathom is a visual and aural wonder of a documentary that follows researchers working to finally decode the communication of humpback whales. Dr. Ellen Garland and Dr. Michelle Fournet embark on parallel journeys on opposite sides of the world, as they seek to better understand whale culture and communication. The film uniquely reveals a deep commitment and reverence to the scientific process and the universal human need to seek answers about the world around us. From hypothesis to groundbreaking experiences in the field, 'Fathom' showcases the passion, curiosity, collaboration, perseverance and work it takes for leading scientists to make scientific discoveries.
David Attenborough and the world-renowned scientist Johan Rockström examine Earth's biodiversity collapse. The film explains how humanity has pushed our planet beyond the boundaries that have kept it stable since the dawn of life, but also that this crisis can still be averted, thinking and acting with one unified purpose to ensure that Earth forever remains healthy and resilient.
The film captures de life of Valerie Taylor, a living legend and true pioneer in both underwater filmmaking and shark research. Valerie work has became the basis for much of what we know about sharks today. Through remarkable underwater archival footage, along with interviews with Valerie herself, 'Playing with Sharks' follows this daring ocean explorer's trajectory from champion spear fisher to passionate shark protector.
But our planet’s oceans would be little more than stagnant wastelands, and life on planet earth would cease to exist, were it not for one simple factor: a global network of powerful ocean currents. Every drop of seawater on earth rides these currents, taking 1,000 years to complete a single circuit. Without the constant mixing of currents, tides and waves, our oceans would stop supporting life - and a healthy ocean is vital to a healthy planet.