Professor Chris Jackson, Dr Helen Czerski and Dr Tara Shine reveal the wonders of planet Earth with action packed demos and live experiments.
From Earth’s molten inner engine, to its vast oceans, to its delicately balanced atmosphere, they will unravel astonishing global systems and remarkable natural wonders that govern our climate and help life on Earth to thrive. They’ll also explore how human activity has become an overwhelming geological force throwing the planet’s finely tuned systems out of balance.
What can be done to help reverse these changes and live more sustainably as the human population continues to grow? This set of lectures embark on an epic journey to find out. An immersive user’s guide to a subject as big as the Earth itself.
Professor Chris Jackson travels back into deep geological time charting the earth’s climate as it swings from hot house to ice house and back again. With the help of spectacular volcanic eruptions and giant snowball demonstrations, he shows us how the planet’s oldest rocks and fossils provide evidence of radical climate changes throughout history.
Chris reveals that what drives these changes is how much carbon dioxide is in our planet’s atmosphere. For billions of years volcanic activity increased CO2 levels, and mountain building reduced them; but in the last century a new kind of geological force is tipping the balance: human activity. For the first time in the planet’s history, we are changing the Earth’s climate at a rapid rate with dangerous consequences unless we act quickly.
Dr Helen Czerski unpicks the Ocean’s heating and plumbing systems, showing how whale poo, underwater waterfalls and zooplankton are all vital parts of an engine that distributes heat and nutrients around our planet.
She’ll voyage from the cities of the ocean to its deserts, and from the deepest depths to the ocean surface, through the alien inner structure of the ocean that is home for so much of Earth’s life. This planetary life support system plays a critical role in generating weather, providing food and connecting trade routes. The ocean is an under-appreciated resource. Helen tells us what we need to know to be good citizens of an ocean planet.
Dr Tara Shine takes a deep breath and marvels at something we all take for granted: oxygen. She demonstrates how Earth produces a never-ending supply of this gas - the raw material for all complex life - and investigates what else is in the air that we breathe.
One critical component is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that’s causing a dangerous rise in atmospheric warming. Tara will look at the carbon footprint of a loaf of bread and how hydrogen might be the answer for heating and transport. From developing exciting new technologies, to protecting wetlands and forests, the solutions are everywhere. Our ideas and ingenuity can create a better, cleaner and more sustainable future.
| Series Producer | Henry Fraser |
| Director | David Coleman |
| Executive Producer | David Dugan |
| Editor | Todd Dalton |
| Production Executive | Zoe Glover |
| Production Manager | Felicity Chapple |
| Assistant Producer | Marissa Chazan |
| Production Coordinator | Ben Church |
| Researcher | Sian Evans |
| Production Team | Calypso April , Tyrone Paul |
| Additional Editing | Oliver Voak |