Ice
Description
Dr. Helen Czerski examines two of the coldest natural phenomena on Earth: icebergs and avalanches. Avalanches claim hundreds of lives every year. Now scientists are learning how something as tiny, fragile and delicate as a snowflake can transform into something as deadly as an avalanche. Changes in snow can give it the quality of concrete when someone is buried underneath it, and CT scanners are helping scientists understand the changes in the structure of snow which can trigger an avalanche. Icebergs pose a serious hazard to shipping—and as the planet warms up, the number of icebergs calving from the world's glaciers has been increasing steadily. It has never been more important to study the birth and lifecycle of an iceberg, and new technologies are unveiling exactly what happens at the edge of glaciers where icebergs are born and what role increasing ocean temperatures are playing in this process. Satellite images are showing how icebergs can create hotspots for life in the polar seas and how creatures which thrive in polar temperatures are adapting to our changing planet. The result of this flood of new images is pushing the boundaries of what was previously understood—and with better understanding scientists are more able to make sense of these amazing but often destructive forces of nature.
Runtime
50 min 8 sec
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