1 00:00:01,967 --> 00:00:03,066 NARRATOR: They're watching you. 2 00:00:03,066 --> 00:00:06,867 More than 6,000 satellites circle the Earth. 3 00:00:06,867 --> 00:00:11,400 Every day, they uncover new, mysterious phenomena 4 00:00:11,467 --> 00:00:13,767 that defy explanation. 5 00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:20,367 Strange symbols in the land of the Vikings. 6 00:00:20,467 --> 00:00:23,567 It's a massive game changer in human prehistory. 7 00:00:24,700 --> 00:00:26,567 NARRATOR: The river of blood. 8 00:00:26,567 --> 00:00:28,000 It looks like somebody took a knife 9 00:00:28,100 --> 00:00:29,700 and sliced open the Earth. 10 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,367 NARRATOR: And Canada's secret Cold War code. 11 00:00:34,367 --> 00:00:37,567 Nothing like it had ever been made before. 12 00:00:37,667 --> 00:00:41,000 NARRATOR: Baffling phenomena, mysteries from space. 13 00:00:41,100 --> 00:00:43,500 What on Earth are they? 14 00:00:43,567 --> 00:00:47,600 [theme music playing] 15 00:01:01,266 --> 00:01:03,066 Spring 2020. 16 00:01:04,500 --> 00:01:07,166 Aerial archaeologists take to the skies over 17 00:01:07,266 --> 00:01:09,900 the fjords and mountains of northern Norway. 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,800 As an onboard laser scans the frozen landscape, 19 00:01:14,867 --> 00:01:18,000 it uncovers a mystery hidden beneath the snow. 20 00:01:20,700 --> 00:01:23,667 RUBEN: This is not something you'd ordinarily see. 21 00:01:23,667 --> 00:01:26,900 It almost looks like machine gun fire on the land. 22 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000 To see a series of dots 23 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:30,867 To see a series of dots 24 00:01:30,967 --> 00:01:33,000 in this landscape is very strange. 25 00:01:33,100 --> 00:01:36,100 It's very hard to know what they mean 26 00:01:36,166 --> 00:01:37,567 and why they're there. 27 00:01:38,767 --> 00:01:40,967 NARRATOR: The weird marks are located in 28 00:01:40,967 --> 00:01:42,667 the county of Finnmark, 29 00:01:42,667 --> 00:01:45,367 the northernmost point in continental Europe. 30 00:01:48,100 --> 00:01:50,467 Closer analysis reveals they appear to 31 00:01:50,567 --> 00:01:53,967 be a line of pits or holes. 32 00:01:53,967 --> 00:01:57,000 This part of Norway up in the Arctic Circle has 33 00:01:57,066 --> 00:02:00,000 got to be one of the most remote areas on Earth. 34 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:01,000 got to be one of the most remote areas on Earth. 35 00:02:01,066 --> 00:02:03,166 So what could have made these holes 36 00:02:03,166 --> 00:02:05,100 is really something of a mystery. 37 00:02:05,166 --> 00:02:07,367 NARRATOR: Archaeologist Karen Bellinger 38 00:02:07,367 --> 00:02:10,266 studies the image in more detail. 39 00:02:10,266 --> 00:02:13,467 Given the remote location, and knowing 40 00:02:13,567 --> 00:02:15,667 the people who lived in this area, 41 00:02:15,667 --> 00:02:18,100 the only explanation I can think of for these 42 00:02:18,166 --> 00:02:21,200 giant pits is that they were involved in hunting. 43 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:25,200 NARRATOR: Investigations on the ground 44 00:02:25,266 --> 00:02:27,967 confirm that the holes are pit traps. 45 00:02:29,767 --> 00:02:30,000 They are the legacy of an extraordinary group of people 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,100 They are the legacy of an extraordinary group of people 47 00:02:33,166 --> 00:02:35,867 who have thrived in this brutal landscape 48 00:02:35,967 --> 00:02:37,233 for thousands of years. 49 00:02:39,166 --> 00:02:43,266 BELLINGER: This image shows both their real ingenuity and grit, 50 00:02:43,266 --> 00:02:48,166 but also the absolute essential nature of being able 51 00:02:48,266 --> 00:02:49,467 to hunt effectively. 52 00:02:49,567 --> 00:02:51,567 It was a matter of life and death. 53 00:02:53,567 --> 00:02:56,500 NARRATOR: Humans first arrive in Scandinavia around 54 00:02:56,567 --> 00:02:59,900 12,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age. 55 00:03:02,100 --> 00:03:05,567 They face a daily battle for survival as they chase 56 00:03:05,567 --> 00:03:08,500 new lands revealed by the receding glaciers 57 00:03:08,567 --> 00:03:09,667 and ice sheets. 58 00:03:11,266 --> 00:03:14,100 RUBEN: This is a very harsh region to call home. 59 00:03:14,166 --> 00:03:16,000 You don't have a lot of opportunity 60 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:19,467 for agriculture in this really cold climate. 61 00:03:19,467 --> 00:03:21,600 HUNT: Your summer is very short, 62 00:03:21,667 --> 00:03:26,567 so you're really going to be limited to one source of food, 63 00:03:26,667 --> 00:03:28,200 and that's protein. 64 00:03:31,567 --> 00:03:33,967 NARRATOR: The nomadic tribes become experts 65 00:03:33,967 --> 00:03:36,467 in hunting megafauna, like mammoths. 66 00:03:37,867 --> 00:03:39,467 But the traps in the image were 67 00:03:39,467 --> 00:03:42,867 built to capture a very different prey. 68 00:03:42,967 --> 00:03:44,166 Let's put it this way -- 69 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:48,300 if you're gonna spend the time and effort to dig 50 holes 70 00:03:48,367 --> 00:03:50,000 using primitive tools, 71 00:03:50,066 --> 00:03:52,567 you want more than one animal. 72 00:03:52,667 --> 00:03:54,467 You want to capture a lot of animals. 73 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,000 I'm left with one conclusion -- these are reindeer 74 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:00,066 I'm left with one conclusion -- these are reindeer 75 00:04:00,066 --> 00:04:01,567 hunting pits. 76 00:04:06,867 --> 00:04:08,367 NARRATOR: Some of the reindeer pits in 77 00:04:08,467 --> 00:04:10,867 the image were built during the Stone Age. 78 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,166 This suggests they were once used 79 00:04:16,166 --> 00:04:20,266 by the oldest surviving Norwegian tribe, the Sami. 80 00:04:21,567 --> 00:04:24,867 BELLINGER: The Sami are an incredibly resourceful people. 81 00:04:24,867 --> 00:04:28,900 They've managed to survive, even to thrive, in this really 82 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,000 harsh environment 83 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:30,166 harsh environment 84 00:04:30,266 --> 00:04:33,367 where they've developed an entire economy and lifestyle 85 00:04:33,367 --> 00:04:36,100 around hunting reindeer herds. 86 00:04:40,166 --> 00:04:43,100 NARRATOR: There are around 80,000 Sami people 87 00:04:43,166 --> 00:04:44,400 living in Scandinavia. 88 00:04:46,767 --> 00:04:50,100 They manage herds of up to 5,000 reindeer 89 00:04:50,166 --> 00:04:53,400 as they migrate between winter and summer pastures. 90 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000 HUNT: The Sami people are the best 91 00:04:58,100 --> 00:05:00,000 reindeer herders in all of the world. 92 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,567 reindeer herders in all of the world. 93 00:05:02,567 --> 00:05:04,800 RUBEN: The Sami have lived alongside reindeer 94 00:05:04,867 --> 00:05:06,467 for thousands of years. 95 00:05:06,567 --> 00:05:09,300 The ability to hunt animals like this that could sustain 96 00:05:09,367 --> 00:05:11,266 so many people for so long 97 00:05:11,367 --> 00:05:13,500 was crucial to the survival of the Sami. 98 00:05:15,467 --> 00:05:20,200 NARRATOR: The 21st century Sami people rely on snowmobiles 99 00:05:20,266 --> 00:05:23,567 and stun guns to corral and kill their animals. 100 00:05:25,166 --> 00:05:28,700 But their ancestors faced very different challenges. 101 00:05:30,700 --> 00:05:33,600 HORTON: Reindeers are extremely difficult to hunt. 102 00:05:35,266 --> 00:05:39,867 They are very fast, and certainly in the Stone Age, 103 00:05:39,867 --> 00:05:42,266 we're talking obviously stone tools 104 00:05:42,266 --> 00:05:45,867 to stalk and then attack a weakened animal that had moved 105 00:05:45,967 --> 00:05:47,266 apart from the herd. 106 00:05:49,967 --> 00:05:52,567 NARRATOR: To trap and slaughter multiple animals, 107 00:05:52,667 --> 00:05:55,567 the prehistoric Sami people construct holes lined 108 00:05:55,667 --> 00:05:58,967 with wood and camouflaged with birch and moss. 109 00:06:00,667 --> 00:06:04,900 The pits are deep enough that an animal can't jump out 110 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,667 or climb out, and if their legs aren't broken on impact, 111 00:06:09,667 --> 00:06:13,467 there are sharp stakes inside that would impale the animals. 112 00:06:16,166 --> 00:06:19,000 NARRATOR: The tribes make their traps along known reindeer 113 00:06:19,066 --> 00:06:20,300 migration routes, 114 00:06:20,367 --> 00:06:23,000 increasing the likelihood of successful hunts. 115 00:06:24,567 --> 00:06:26,900 When you look at the location of the holes in the image, 116 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,000 they're located in what you might call strategic spots. 117 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:30,266 they're located in what you might call strategic spots. 118 00:06:31,667 --> 00:06:34,166 If you have enough based out in an arc, 119 00:06:34,266 --> 00:06:36,000 some of them are bound to fall in the pits 120 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,100 NARRATOR: For the Sami, 121 00:06:39,166 --> 00:06:42,767 each reindeer is a walking superstore of supplies. 122 00:06:44,266 --> 00:06:46,667 Everything from the bones to the blood is 123 00:06:46,667 --> 00:06:49,300 used to sustain them through the arctic winter. 124 00:06:52,667 --> 00:06:56,567 They've used every possible bit of that animal inside 125 00:06:56,667 --> 00:06:57,767 and out -- for clothing, 126 00:06:57,767 --> 00:07:00,000 for shelter, for tools, you name it. 127 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:00,767 for shelter, for tools, you name it. 128 00:07:02,266 --> 00:07:04,467 HORTON: For the Sami, the reindeers 129 00:07:04,467 --> 00:07:05,867 were absolutely critical. 130 00:07:05,867 --> 00:07:07,700 So without these pits, they probably 131 00:07:07,767 --> 00:07:10,600 couldn't have survived in this hostile environment. 132 00:07:12,467 --> 00:07:15,200 NARRATOR: Analysts speculate that hunting herds rather than 133 00:07:15,266 --> 00:07:17,467 single animals doesn't just provide 134 00:07:17,467 --> 00:07:20,166 Stone Age tribes with the food and supplies 135 00:07:20,166 --> 00:07:21,367 they need to survive. 136 00:07:23,066 --> 00:07:25,000 It also frees up resources 137 00:07:25,100 --> 00:07:27,300 to make other technological advances, 138 00:07:28,700 --> 00:07:30,000 accelerating human evolution. 139 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:30,800 accelerating human evolution. 140 00:07:33,667 --> 00:07:37,000 JANULIS: Large-scale trapping done cooperatively to save food 141 00:07:37,100 --> 00:07:40,767 for winter gives you time to do things other than hunt. 142 00:07:40,867 --> 00:07:44,100 It's a massive game changer in human prehistory. 143 00:07:46,667 --> 00:07:48,967 NARRATOR: It appears the pits remain in use 144 00:07:48,967 --> 00:07:51,166 until the 16th century CE, 145 00:07:52,667 --> 00:07:55,467 when advances in reindeer herding mean the Sami 146 00:07:55,467 --> 00:07:58,200 no longer need to rely on seasonal hunting. 147 00:07:59,700 --> 00:08:00,000 Over the following centuries, 148 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,100 Over the following centuries, 149 00:08:01,166 --> 00:08:04,667 they are reclaimed by this frozen landscape, 150 00:08:04,667 --> 00:08:07,767 only to be revealed once more from the skies. 151 00:08:10,266 --> 00:08:14,266 These holes are an incredible example of the ingenuity of 152 00:08:14,266 --> 00:08:16,066 human beings in their battle to survive 153 00:08:16,066 --> 00:08:17,467 in a harsh wilderness. 154 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,467 NARRATOR: Coming up, Spain's weird blood river. 155 00:08:28,467 --> 00:08:30,000 This is a permanent condition of the river -- why? 156 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,266 This is a permanent condition of the river -- why? 157 00:08:33,667 --> 00:08:36,300 NARRATOR: And a flying saucer. 158 00:08:36,367 --> 00:08:38,100 MUNOZ: This was pushing the boundaries of 159 00:08:38,166 --> 00:08:39,367 physics itself. 160 00:08:47,367 --> 00:08:50,100 NARRATOR: March 2021. 161 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:53,367 An orbiting camera passes over 162 00:08:53,367 --> 00:08:56,767 southwestern Spain and captures this image. 163 00:08:58,266 --> 00:09:00,767 RUBEN: The image looks fairly standard, 164 00:09:00,767 --> 00:09:02,867 other than the fact that the river 165 00:09:02,867 --> 00:09:06,000 running through it is completely blood red. 166 00:09:07,467 --> 00:09:09,600 A. MORGAN: This is kind of disturbing to look at. 167 00:09:09,667 --> 00:09:11,166 It looks like somebody took a knife 168 00:09:11,166 --> 00:09:12,467 and sliced open the Earth. 169 00:09:14,700 --> 00:09:16,467 NARRATOR: Elsewhere on Earth, satellites 170 00:09:16,467 --> 00:09:18,667 have uncovered similar red rivers, 171 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,700 the results of toxic spills or industrial accidents. 172 00:09:26,567 --> 00:09:29,367 But this waterway is different. 173 00:09:29,467 --> 00:09:32,066 Normally, a river that runs red does 174 00:09:32,066 --> 00:09:35,000 so for a limited amount of time. 175 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:37,567 But old satellite images show that 176 00:09:37,667 --> 00:09:40,266 this river has run red for decades. 177 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,389 This is not a one time accident. 178 00:09:43,389 --> 00:09:43,467 This is not a one time accident. 179 00:09:43,467 --> 00:09:47,200 This is a permanent condition of the river -- why? 180 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,900 NARRATOR: Analysts consult historic records of the region. 181 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,867 They reveal something intriguing. 182 00:09:58,066 --> 00:10:00,367 The records show that this area was home 183 00:10:00,467 --> 00:10:03,000 to one of the earliest mines on the Earth. 184 00:10:04,266 --> 00:10:07,100 AUERBACH: What we're seeing here is not 185 00:10:07,166 --> 00:10:09,166 pollution as we would understand it. 186 00:10:10,767 --> 00:10:13,389 This river is flowing red with rust. 187 00:10:13,389 --> 00:10:14,667 This river is flowing red with rust. 188 00:10:17,700 --> 00:10:19,700 NARRATOR: The river in the image sits 189 00:10:19,767 --> 00:10:21,300 on the Iberian Pyrite Belt, 190 00:10:23,367 --> 00:10:28,000 a 150-mile-long strip of land rich in mineral reserves. 191 00:10:29,700 --> 00:10:31,200 One of them is a metal that 192 00:10:31,266 --> 00:10:33,600 will help define the course of history. 193 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,867 A. MORGAN: The earliest miners in this area were interested 194 00:10:37,867 --> 00:10:40,467 in it because of its rich deposits of copper, 195 00:10:40,567 --> 00:10:43,200 and you can use copper to make bronze. 196 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,200 The Bronze Age is this critical age of metals, and this 197 00:10:48,266 --> 00:10:53,100 was only possible by finding new sources of copper in 198 00:10:53,166 --> 00:10:54,433 the landscape. 199 00:10:56,500 --> 00:10:59,367 NARRATOR: The first people to mine copper from the river are 200 00:10:59,467 --> 00:11:03,467 the Iberians, in around 3,000 BCE. 201 00:11:06,667 --> 00:11:09,100 Stone tools and weapons are replaced with 202 00:11:09,166 --> 00:11:12,367 ones forged from metal, revolutionizing 203 00:11:12,367 --> 00:11:13,389 agriculture and warfare. 204 00:11:13,389 --> 00:11:14,166 agriculture and warfare. 205 00:11:15,967 --> 00:11:19,367 The advent of work in bronze brought greater efficiency 206 00:11:19,467 --> 00:11:21,367 across all classes 207 00:11:21,467 --> 00:11:24,867 of human tools, ranging from knives to spears 208 00:11:24,867 --> 00:11:27,266 to swords to cooking pots. 209 00:11:28,767 --> 00:11:31,800 AUERBACH: Bronze was the strongest metal 210 00:11:31,867 --> 00:11:33,500 that was known at the time, 211 00:11:33,567 --> 00:11:36,100 and since you needed copper to make bronze, 212 00:11:36,166 --> 00:11:39,400 kingdoms or empires that controlled quantities of 213 00:11:39,467 --> 00:11:41,166 copper were going to become 214 00:11:41,266 --> 00:11:43,389 wealthy and powerful as a result. 215 00:11:43,389 --> 00:11:43,400 wealthy and powerful as a result. 216 00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:47,900 NARRATOR: Around 2,000 years later, 217 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,567 another metal lures those seeking power and riches to 218 00:11:51,667 --> 00:11:52,867 the site in the image. 219 00:11:55,900 --> 00:11:59,400 Even after the Bronze Age ended, this still remained 220 00:11:59,467 --> 00:12:01,066 a valuable territory, 221 00:12:01,066 --> 00:12:02,900 particularly to the Phoenicians, who were 222 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:04,000 interested in an entirely 223 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:06,567 different resource to be found here -- silver. 224 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:11,700 NARRATOR: The Phoenicians are perhaps the greatest traders 225 00:12:11,767 --> 00:12:13,100 of antiquity. 226 00:12:14,266 --> 00:12:17,500 Silver mined from the red river plays a vital role 227 00:12:17,567 --> 00:12:20,867 in establishing an economic empire that thrives for 228 00:12:20,867 --> 00:12:22,000 hundreds of years. 229 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,800 The Venetians were incredible seafarers, 230 00:12:27,867 --> 00:12:29,600 and they plied their goods 231 00:12:29,667 --> 00:12:31,867 the length and breadth of the Mediterranean. 232 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,867 BELLINGER: There's a legend that says that the Phoenician trade 233 00:12:35,867 --> 00:12:39,000 in silver was so huge from this mine, 234 00:12:39,066 --> 00:12:41,100 that when their boats were full of silver, 235 00:12:41,166 --> 00:12:43,389 they would dispose of their old anchors 236 00:12:43,389 --> 00:12:43,467 they would dispose of their old anchors 237 00:12:43,567 --> 00:12:45,266 and craft new ones of silver. 238 00:12:47,500 --> 00:12:49,100 NARRATOR: Following the Phoenicians, 239 00:12:49,166 --> 00:12:50,700 the Romans extract more 240 00:12:50,767 --> 00:12:52,900 riches from the site seen from space, 241 00:12:54,567 --> 00:12:58,800 burrowing shafts 450 feet deep into the bedrock. 242 00:13:00,867 --> 00:13:04,900 This release is reddish metal particles into its waters, 243 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,066 but it doesn't fully explain their lava-like color. 244 00:13:10,767 --> 00:13:13,389 ORWOLL: The bedrock and all of that land surrounding the river 245 00:13:13,389 --> 00:13:14,000 ORWOLL: The bedrock and all of that land surrounding the river 246 00:13:14,066 --> 00:13:16,367 is rich in metal sulfides, and as they've been 247 00:13:16,367 --> 00:13:17,867 doing all of this mining, 248 00:13:17,867 --> 00:13:20,767 it's been getting churned up and then released 249 00:13:20,767 --> 00:13:21,867 into the river. 250 00:13:23,867 --> 00:13:26,767 NARRATOR: Metal sulfides contain the element sulfur. 251 00:13:28,867 --> 00:13:30,200 As they leach into the river, 252 00:13:30,266 --> 00:13:34,066 they oxidize, forming sulfuric acid, 253 00:13:34,066 --> 00:13:38,467 meaning the waters here have the same pH level as vinegar. 254 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,389 RUBEN: In a river this acidic, most life would not thrive, 255 00:13:43,389 --> 00:13:43,700 RUBEN: In a river this acidic, most life would not thrive, 256 00:13:43,767 --> 00:13:46,667 but there's a type of bacteria that eats sulfur 257 00:13:46,667 --> 00:13:48,400 that does very well here. 258 00:13:49,667 --> 00:13:54,000 AUERBACH: Those sulfides fed sulfide-eating bacteria, 259 00:13:54,066 --> 00:13:56,567 and one of the byproducts of that process 260 00:13:56,667 --> 00:13:58,567 is ferric iron, which, 261 00:13:58,567 --> 00:14:00,900 when encountering water, turns it red. 262 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,100 NARRATOR: In 1492, Christopher Columbus 263 00:14:06,166 --> 00:14:07,300 set sail from the mouth 264 00:14:07,367 --> 00:14:10,667 of the river on his voyage to the New World. 265 00:14:11,767 --> 00:14:13,389 Four centuries later, its waters turn an even more 266 00:14:13,389 --> 00:14:15,600 Four centuries later, its waters turn an even more 267 00:14:15,667 --> 00:14:17,100 vibrant red when 268 00:14:17,166 --> 00:14:20,900 the most powerful empire of the era acquires the rights to 269 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,367 operate a mine there. 270 00:14:24,066 --> 00:14:25,567 In the 19th century, this was 271 00:14:25,667 --> 00:14:27,867 the site of a huge British copper mine. 272 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,166 The British mined fast quantities of copper 273 00:14:32,166 --> 00:14:35,400 and utterly trashed the environment in the process. 274 00:14:37,467 --> 00:14:39,800 NARRATOR: Under British ownership, the river becomes 275 00:14:39,867 --> 00:14:42,400 the world's leading producer of copper. 276 00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:47,400 During their eight decades here, 277 00:14:47,467 --> 00:14:49,900 the mining operation creates vast amounts of 278 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,867 sulfurous fumes, 279 00:14:51,967 --> 00:14:54,266 triggering clouds of acid rain, 280 00:14:54,266 --> 00:14:57,567 which kill around half a million trees nearby. 281 00:15:00,066 --> 00:15:03,967 HORTON: They employed the most destructive machinery that was 282 00:15:03,967 --> 00:15:06,500 available at the time to create 283 00:15:06,567 --> 00:15:10,700 huge, opencast mines to take out the ore, 284 00:15:10,767 --> 00:15:13,389 which could then be smelted into copper. 285 00:15:13,389 --> 00:15:13,400 which could then be smelted into copper. 286 00:15:14,667 --> 00:15:17,467 The scale of this environmental destruction 287 00:15:17,567 --> 00:15:19,367 means that metals and sulfides 288 00:15:19,367 --> 00:15:22,867 continue to seep into the river to this day, 289 00:15:22,867 --> 00:15:26,867 creating a ribbon of red that stretches for dozens of miles, 290 00:15:29,066 --> 00:15:32,400 a 5,000-year-old testament to our plundering of 291 00:15:32,467 --> 00:15:35,367 the natural world, visible from space. 292 00:15:38,100 --> 00:15:41,667 AUERBACH: You hear the phrase bandied about talking about 293 00:15:41,667 --> 00:15:43,389 the damage that human activity does to the environment 294 00:15:43,389 --> 00:15:44,166 the damage that human activity does to the environment 295 00:15:44,166 --> 00:15:49,100 as causing the land to bleed -- well, in this image, 296 00:15:49,166 --> 00:15:51,567 in a very real way, it is. 297 00:15:58,667 --> 00:16:02,266 NARRATOR: Coming up, the super jet that never was. 298 00:16:02,266 --> 00:16:04,700 We may be looking at one of Canada's most 299 00:16:04,767 --> 00:16:06,667 monumental failures. 300 00:16:06,667 --> 00:16:10,200 NARRATOR: And journey to the end of the world. 301 00:16:10,266 --> 00:16:13,389 The mission was fraught with danger from the very beginning. 302 00:16:13,389 --> 00:16:14,266 The mission was fraught with danger from the very beginning. 303 00:16:21,300 --> 00:16:24,166 NARRATOR: June 3rd, 2021. 304 00:16:25,166 --> 00:16:29,266 A satellite scans the shores of Lake Ontario, Canada. 305 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,867 KOUROUNIS: There's something very unusual going on 306 00:16:32,967 --> 00:16:35,200 in this wooded part of Canada. 307 00:16:36,467 --> 00:16:39,300 WALTERS: What we can see is this kind of huge ring, which 308 00:16:39,367 --> 00:16:42,767 is marked or built into the ground right by the lake. 309 00:16:44,767 --> 00:16:47,166 NARRATOR: The 300-foot-diameter ring sits in 310 00:16:47,266 --> 00:16:47,509 isolation in a dense patch of woodland. 311 00:16:47,509 --> 00:16:49,567 isolation in a dense patch of woodland. 312 00:16:52,266 --> 00:16:54,500 KOUROUNIS: There's no real indication as to what 313 00:16:54,567 --> 00:16:57,200 or who created this. 314 00:16:57,266 --> 00:17:00,467 It's almost as if this structure 315 00:17:00,467 --> 00:17:03,467 was hidden away from sight. 316 00:17:06,066 --> 00:17:08,400 NARRATOR: Local records suggest that the giant 317 00:17:08,467 --> 00:17:11,467 circle does indeed have a secretive past, 318 00:17:12,867 --> 00:17:14,300 one which charts some of 319 00:17:14,367 --> 00:17:17,509 the most incredible events in 20th century aviation. 320 00:17:17,509 --> 00:17:18,066 the most incredible events in 20th century aviation. 321 00:17:19,266 --> 00:17:21,867 It's reckoned that this secluded area was once 322 00:17:21,867 --> 00:17:25,967 the top secret testing facility of a really infamous 323 00:17:25,967 --> 00:17:28,000 military project. 324 00:17:28,100 --> 00:17:30,467 We may be looking at the birthplace of one 325 00:17:30,467 --> 00:17:33,667 of Canada's greatest technological successes, 326 00:17:33,667 --> 00:17:37,400 and, perhaps, one of its most monumental failures. 327 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:43,300 NARRATOR: The military project has its origins in 328 00:17:43,367 --> 00:17:46,000 the fire-filled skies of World War II. 329 00:17:48,467 --> 00:17:52,600 As part of Allied attempts to outgun the Luftwaffe, 330 00:17:52,667 --> 00:17:54,767 Canada dramatically increases 331 00:17:54,767 --> 00:17:56,800 its aircraft production capabilities. 332 00:17:59,166 --> 00:18:02,700 Going on to manufacture around 16,000 planes 333 00:18:02,767 --> 00:18:04,467 over the course of the conflict. 334 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,600 AUERBACH: Canada manufactured some of 335 00:18:07,667 --> 00:18:09,567 the most iconic war planes, 336 00:18:09,667 --> 00:18:13,100 such as the Lancaster and the Hawker Hurricane. 337 00:18:13,166 --> 00:18:15,166 And as part of that process, 338 00:18:15,266 --> 00:18:17,509 they built up extraordinary expertise in 339 00:18:17,509 --> 00:18:18,667 they built up extraordinary expertise in 340 00:18:18,767 --> 00:18:20,767 airplane construction. 341 00:18:20,867 --> 00:18:24,266 MUNOZ: Now, after the war, Canada wanted to capitalize on 342 00:18:24,266 --> 00:18:27,066 that technology to give their country 343 00:18:27,066 --> 00:18:30,800 the upper hand in whatever a post World War II 344 00:18:30,867 --> 00:18:32,200 world would look like. 345 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,166 NARRATOR: In the post World War II years, 346 00:18:36,266 --> 00:18:39,867 one of the greatest dangers Canada faces is long-range 347 00:18:39,967 --> 00:18:42,667 Soviet bombers, whose flight paths 348 00:18:42,767 --> 00:18:44,767 take them over its Arctic territories. 349 00:18:47,266 --> 00:18:47,509 In response, the government tasks its new aviation industry 350 00:18:47,509 --> 00:18:51,300 In response, the government tasks its new aviation industry 351 00:18:51,367 --> 00:18:54,967 with designing a plane capable of neutralizing this threat. 352 00:18:56,700 --> 00:19:00,600 There were many complex specifications for the plane. 353 00:19:00,667 --> 00:19:04,066 It had to be able to operate both in the brutal conditions 354 00:19:04,066 --> 00:19:05,367 of the Arctic, 355 00:19:05,367 --> 00:19:09,200 but also be able to fly far enough and fast enough to get 356 00:19:09,266 --> 00:19:10,367 there in the first place. 357 00:19:11,467 --> 00:19:13,867 MORAN: What the government wanted was 358 00:19:13,967 --> 00:19:15,700 extremely sophisticated, 359 00:19:15,767 --> 00:19:17,509 and nothing like it had ever been made before. 360 00:19:17,509 --> 00:19:18,600 and nothing like it had ever been made before. 361 00:19:21,367 --> 00:19:25,500 NARRATOR: In 1954, the Canadian government partners with Avro 362 00:19:25,567 --> 00:19:27,266 to design its new plane, 363 00:19:27,266 --> 00:19:29,867 a company with a track record of constructing 364 00:19:29,967 --> 00:19:31,467 legendary aircraft. 365 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:34,567 WALTERS: For my money, 366 00:19:34,567 --> 00:19:38,400 one of Avro's major achievements was the C102 jetliner. 367 00:19:38,467 --> 00:19:41,367 It was Canada's first jet plane, and it was also 368 00:19:41,467 --> 00:19:43,567 responsible for Canada's first 369 00:19:43,667 --> 00:19:45,266 jet fighter, and that, of course, 370 00:19:45,367 --> 00:19:47,100 was the CF-100 Canuck. 371 00:19:49,567 --> 00:19:53,000 NARRATOR: As part of a program code-named Project Y, 372 00:19:53,066 --> 00:19:55,567 the company also builds the Avrocar, 373 00:19:58,767 --> 00:20:02,000 a kind of vertical takeoff flying saucer. 374 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,667 The kind of work that this group was doing was really 375 00:20:06,667 --> 00:20:08,700 pushing the envelope in terms of 376 00:20:08,767 --> 00:20:12,166 design, how aerospace engineering could potentially 377 00:20:12,266 --> 00:20:15,100 work on future platforms, and even 378 00:20:15,166 --> 00:20:16,867 the boundaries of physics itself. 379 00:20:18,867 --> 00:20:21,467 NARRATOR: To tackle the Soviet nuclear threat, 380 00:20:21,467 --> 00:20:23,467 Avro engineers design a plane 381 00:20:23,467 --> 00:20:26,166 that redefines fighter jet capabilities, 382 00:20:28,166 --> 00:20:32,000 one that gives rise to the strange circle seen from space. 383 00:20:33,367 --> 00:20:37,367 The resulting fighter was truly revolutionary. 384 00:20:37,467 --> 00:20:41,767 They called it the Avro Arrow Interceptor, 385 00:20:41,767 --> 00:20:44,066 and the plane was an absolute marvel. 386 00:20:46,100 --> 00:20:47,509 NARRATOR: Production of the Arrow begins in 1955, to 387 00:20:47,509 --> 00:20:49,867 NARRATOR: Production of the Arrow begins in 1955, to 388 00:20:49,967 --> 00:20:52,166 the west of the site in the image. 389 00:20:53,367 --> 00:20:56,367 AUERBACH: They replaced the traditional manual control 390 00:20:56,467 --> 00:20:59,000 system with a new computer-controlled system, 391 00:20:59,066 --> 00:21:02,767 what they now call fly-by-wire, and this was the first time 392 00:21:02,867 --> 00:21:06,200 that that type of control system had been used outside of 393 00:21:06,266 --> 00:21:08,266 experimental aircraft. 394 00:21:08,367 --> 00:21:11,066 MUNOZ: What the Canadians had done here was really kind of put 395 00:21:11,066 --> 00:21:15,100 a marker down of what could be achievable in fighter aircraft 396 00:21:15,166 --> 00:21:16,400 for the future. 397 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,567 NARRATOR: To put the Arrow's supersonic turbojet engines to 398 00:21:21,567 --> 00:21:23,266 the test, 399 00:21:23,266 --> 00:21:26,600 engineers turn to the circular structure in the woods. 400 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,100 MORAN: The engines were put in wheel carts that 401 00:21:32,166 --> 00:21:34,867 were then tethered to a bolt in the middle. 402 00:21:34,867 --> 00:21:37,400 Then they would ignite the engines, and they 403 00:21:37,467 --> 00:21:40,367 would just race around the track at top speed. 404 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,266 MUNOZ: And that way, engineers and scientists could clock 405 00:21:46,266 --> 00:21:47,509 the speed and determine 406 00:21:47,509 --> 00:21:48,567 the speed and determine 407 00:21:48,567 --> 00:21:50,100 the power of the engine in sort of 408 00:21:50,166 --> 00:21:51,500 a controlled environment. 409 00:21:53,567 --> 00:21:55,900 NARRATOR: Despite the success of these tests, 410 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,967 as the project rolls on, its costs spiral, 411 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,600 with the budget soaring almost tenfold. 412 00:22:04,567 --> 00:22:07,400 On February 20, 1959, 413 00:22:07,467 --> 00:22:09,467 the government cancels the program. 414 00:22:11,367 --> 00:22:14,467 KOUROUNIS: Despite being so technologically advanced, 415 00:22:14,467 --> 00:22:16,066 the government ordered that all 416 00:22:16,066 --> 00:22:17,509 the Arrows were to be completely dismantled, 417 00:22:17,509 --> 00:22:18,600 the Arrows were to be completely dismantled, 418 00:22:18,667 --> 00:22:21,500 basically washing their hands of the entire business. 419 00:22:21,567 --> 00:22:24,700 MUNOZ: It went from cutting-edge technology 420 00:22:24,767 --> 00:22:26,000 to the cutting room floor. 421 00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:31,467 NARRATOR: While the test site is reclaimed by nature, 422 00:22:31,567 --> 00:22:34,000 the plane's story doesn't end there. 423 00:22:36,567 --> 00:22:39,700 NASA subsequently recruits some of the Arrow's 424 00:22:39,767 --> 00:22:41,767 pioneering engineers, 425 00:22:41,767 --> 00:22:44,567 meaning its legacy lives on to this day. 426 00:22:46,667 --> 00:22:47,509 WALTERS: Many of them went on to play fundamental roles 427 00:22:47,509 --> 00:22:49,367 WALTERS: Many of them went on to play fundamental roles 428 00:22:49,467 --> 00:22:54,266 on really key projects, like Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. 429 00:22:55,567 --> 00:22:58,166 KOUROUNIS: It seems fitting to me how we can use satellites 430 00:22:58,266 --> 00:23:00,867 to look down at these echoes 431 00:23:00,967 --> 00:23:04,367 of an engineering project that planted the seeds 432 00:23:04,367 --> 00:23:06,767 that took man into space. 433 00:23:12,567 --> 00:23:13,867 NARRATOR: Coming up, 434 00:23:13,867 --> 00:23:16,867 Antarctica's extraterrestrial cipher. 435 00:23:16,967 --> 00:23:17,509 This could get us one step closer to 436 00:23:17,509 --> 00:23:19,567 This could get us one step closer to 437 00:23:19,567 --> 00:23:22,100 a viable colony on Mars. 438 00:23:22,166 --> 00:23:26,400 NARRATOR: And mystery creatures in the Pacific. 439 00:23:26,467 --> 00:23:29,600 These are navigating in ways we still can't explain. 440 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:38,867 NARRATOR: March 28, 2022. 441 00:23:40,266 --> 00:23:44,467 A satellite passes over Antarctica -- as it scans 442 00:23:44,467 --> 00:23:46,367 the north easterly edge of this 443 00:23:46,367 --> 00:23:49,767 5.5-million-square-mile land mass, 444 00:23:49,767 --> 00:23:52,367 it captures something weird. 445 00:23:52,467 --> 00:23:55,500 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: This is a strange image. 446 00:23:55,567 --> 00:24:00,500 We've got miles and miles of what should be pristine snow, 447 00:24:00,567 --> 00:24:02,611 but instead, we've got this scaly grid pattern. 448 00:24:02,611 --> 00:24:04,767 but instead, we've got this scaly grid pattern. 449 00:24:06,567 --> 00:24:09,066 It's like a giant chessboard 450 00:24:09,066 --> 00:24:11,300 with all of these individual squares. 451 00:24:11,367 --> 00:24:14,700 Some of them look like they're raised above others. 452 00:24:15,900 --> 00:24:19,300 NARRATOR: The weird grid pattern covers around a square mile 453 00:24:19,367 --> 00:24:21,100 of the frozen ground. 454 00:24:21,166 --> 00:24:23,500 WALTERS: Because these squares also uniform, 455 00:24:23,567 --> 00:24:26,800 you know, you have to consider if this is manmade. 456 00:24:26,867 --> 00:24:30,367 If it were manmade, I would have to think that in such 457 00:24:30,467 --> 00:24:31,867 a remote location, 458 00:24:31,867 --> 00:24:32,611 the military would be involved. 459 00:24:32,611 --> 00:24:34,000 the military would be involved. 460 00:24:35,867 --> 00:24:39,000 NARRATOR: Declassified records seem to support this theory. 461 00:24:40,700 --> 00:24:43,367 AUERBACH: Shortly after the end of the Second World War, 462 00:24:43,367 --> 00:24:49,700 this area becomes home to a secret US military expedition 463 00:24:49,767 --> 00:24:52,166 known as Operation Highjump. 464 00:24:54,266 --> 00:24:58,367 NARRATOR: Operation Highjump begins in late 1946, 465 00:24:59,567 --> 00:25:01,900 when the first of dozens of ships, 466 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:02,611 aircraft, and almost 5,000 troops arrive in Antarctica. 467 00:25:02,611 --> 00:25:06,400 aircraft, and almost 5,000 troops arrive in Antarctica. 468 00:25:08,166 --> 00:25:12,600 It is the largest expedition to the continent in history. 469 00:25:12,667 --> 00:25:16,967 The mission was fraught with danger from the very beginning. 470 00:25:16,967 --> 00:25:20,567 Even just landing a plane in the Antarctic 471 00:25:20,667 --> 00:25:24,266 to bring in vital supplies is an immense challenge. 472 00:25:25,967 --> 00:25:28,467 NARRATOR: The military's stated objectives include 473 00:25:28,567 --> 00:25:29,867 training personnel, 474 00:25:31,266 --> 00:25:32,467 testing equipment, 475 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:35,767 and aerial mapping of the continent. 476 00:25:37,567 --> 00:25:40,600 But some observers claim this is just a cover. 477 00:25:42,266 --> 00:25:45,266 AUERBACH: Very, very little information leaked out about it, 478 00:25:45,266 --> 00:25:50,667 but it was enough to prompt a raft of speculation about it. 479 00:25:51,767 --> 00:25:54,467 Amongst the rumors floating around was that it was 480 00:25:54,567 --> 00:25:59,867 part of an expedition to assault a secret Nazi base. 481 00:26:01,166 --> 00:26:02,611 NARRATOR: As part of the operation, 482 00:26:02,611 --> 00:26:02,967 NARRATOR: As part of the operation, 483 00:26:02,967 --> 00:26:06,100 the military establishes a headquarters on the ice, 484 00:26:06,166 --> 00:26:08,467 code-named Little America. 485 00:26:09,467 --> 00:26:12,500 WALTERS: If this is the remains of Little America, 486 00:26:12,567 --> 00:26:16,600 perhaps this grid is the foundation for where troop 487 00:26:16,667 --> 00:26:18,266 encampments could be placed. 488 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,967 NARRATOR: Local geological records reveal 489 00:26:21,967 --> 00:26:24,667 the shapes have a very different origin. 490 00:26:25,967 --> 00:26:28,000 It's kind of hard to believe looking at this, 491 00:26:28,100 --> 00:26:30,700 but it's actually a natural pattern. 492 00:26:31,967 --> 00:26:32,611 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: What we're looking at here is 493 00:26:32,611 --> 00:26:33,767 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: What we're looking at here is 494 00:26:33,867 --> 00:26:37,467 a rare geological phenomenon called patterned ground. 495 00:26:40,266 --> 00:26:42,266 NARRATOR: Patterned ground is the term 496 00:26:42,367 --> 00:26:43,500 given to strange shapes 497 00:26:43,567 --> 00:26:46,567 that only appear in certain regions of our planet. 498 00:26:48,867 --> 00:26:51,367 Patterned ground is a phenomenon that geologists 499 00:26:51,467 --> 00:26:53,166 still don't understand that well, 500 00:26:53,266 --> 00:26:56,100 but it tends to occur in parts of the world where temperature 501 00:26:56,166 --> 00:26:59,100 fluctuates above and below freezing. 502 00:27:01,900 --> 00:27:02,611 NARRATOR: In summer, temperatures in Antarctica 503 00:27:02,611 --> 00:27:04,567 NARRATOR: In summer, temperatures in Antarctica 504 00:27:04,667 --> 00:27:07,100 can reach around 65 degrees Fahrenheit, 505 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,767 but in winter, they can drop to below 506 00:27:10,767 --> 00:27:12,667 -120. 507 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,166 This can cause the ground to shrink, 508 00:27:16,266 --> 00:27:19,166 creating stresses and cracks on the surface. 509 00:27:21,367 --> 00:27:24,066 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: The ground cracks just like a dry lake bed. 510 00:27:24,066 --> 00:27:27,166 But then during the warmer months, as some of the surface 511 00:27:27,266 --> 00:27:30,500 snow melts, water can flow into these cracks. 512 00:27:31,767 --> 00:27:32,611 SZULGIT: When that water reaches permafrost level, 513 00:27:32,611 --> 00:27:34,567 SZULGIT: When that water reaches permafrost level, 514 00:27:34,567 --> 00:27:37,867 it re-freezes, and that creates this wedge of 515 00:27:37,867 --> 00:27:40,767 ice that just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, 516 00:27:40,767 --> 00:27:43,166 forcing these cracks to grow. 517 00:27:44,266 --> 00:27:47,867 NARRATOR: This freeze-thaw process is repeated each year, 518 00:27:49,266 --> 00:27:52,467 slowly creating polygonal shapes on the surface. 519 00:27:58,166 --> 00:28:01,266 WALTERS: Eventually, the ice wedge becomes so big 520 00:28:01,266 --> 00:28:02,611 that it actually pushes up the cracks 521 00:28:02,611 --> 00:28:03,166 that it actually pushes up the cracks 522 00:28:03,266 --> 00:28:06,300 and forms of rims we see in the pattern 523 00:28:06,367 --> 00:28:08,266 on the satellite image. 524 00:28:08,266 --> 00:28:10,867 SZULGIT: We're talking about a huge cracking of the Earth 525 00:28:10,867 --> 00:28:14,266 that's taking place over hundreds of years and totally 526 00:28:14,266 --> 00:28:15,867 reshaping this region. 527 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,667 NARRATOR: What intrigues scientists is that this strange 528 00:28:20,767 --> 00:28:23,867 phenomenon doesn't only reform parts of our planet, 529 00:28:26,467 --> 00:28:30,000 it's also reshaping other worlds in the solar system. 530 00:28:31,266 --> 00:28:32,611 NASA scientists have captured images just like 531 00:28:32,611 --> 00:28:34,100 NASA scientists have captured images just like 532 00:28:34,166 --> 00:28:37,200 this all across the polar regions of Mars. 533 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:40,767 NARRATOR: The images were taken above 534 00:28:40,767 --> 00:28:42,467 the northern lowlands of Mars, 535 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,600 an area identified as 536 00:28:45,667 --> 00:28:48,667 a target for possible future colonization. 537 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,000 They could indicate the presence of life-giving 538 00:28:54,100 --> 00:28:56,100 reserves of ice on the Red Planet. 539 00:28:58,166 --> 00:29:00,166 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: This patterned ground on Mars 540 00:29:00,266 --> 00:29:02,611 can give us big clues on how much water 541 00:29:02,611 --> 00:29:03,166 can give us big clues on how much water 542 00:29:03,266 --> 00:29:05,667 that might be under the surface. 543 00:29:05,767 --> 00:29:08,467 Decoding the secrets of this patterned ground 544 00:29:08,567 --> 00:29:12,900 could get us one step closer to a viable colony on Mars. 545 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,667 NARRATOR: An extraterrestrial code from the end of the world, 546 00:29:18,667 --> 00:29:20,300 revealed from space. 547 00:29:22,166 --> 00:29:24,667 Humanity has come so far in its understanding of 548 00:29:24,667 --> 00:29:26,867 the natural world, but every now and then 549 00:29:26,867 --> 00:29:30,700 nature still throws us something that leaves us stunned. 550 00:29:38,367 --> 00:29:39,467 NARRATOR: Coming up, 551 00:29:39,467 --> 00:29:42,600 the mystery of the kamikaze turtles. 552 00:29:42,667 --> 00:29:45,000 You would think it would kill them, so what's going on? 553 00:29:45,066 --> 00:29:48,000 NARRATOR: And the forest of horrors. 554 00:29:48,100 --> 00:29:50,567 What we're seeing is a window into 555 00:29:50,667 --> 00:29:53,967 one of the darkest times in human history. 556 00:30:02,767 --> 00:30:04,867 NARRATOR: Every year, animals in their 557 00:30:04,867 --> 00:30:06,400 countless millions embark on 558 00:30:06,467 --> 00:30:10,600 long migrations to reach new feeding and breeding grounds. 559 00:30:12,467 --> 00:30:15,400 It's only since satellite technology has evolved, 560 00:30:15,467 --> 00:30:16,667 and we've been able to actually 561 00:30:16,667 --> 00:30:19,667 tag these animals that we've started to learn much more 562 00:30:19,667 --> 00:30:21,467 about these incredible journeys. 563 00:30:25,867 --> 00:30:26,995 NARRATOR: Marine biologists are increasingly turning to GPS 564 00:30:26,995 --> 00:30:29,200 NARRATOR: Marine biologists are increasingly turning to GPS 565 00:30:29,266 --> 00:30:32,000 technology to track loggerhead turtles, 566 00:30:32,100 --> 00:30:36,000 hoping to shed some light on their extraordinary migrations 567 00:30:36,066 --> 00:30:37,266 across our oceans. 568 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,166 SPICER RICE: These journeys are extremely arduous, 569 00:30:42,166 --> 00:30:44,300 and the animals who are making them 570 00:30:44,367 --> 00:30:46,967 are navigating in ways that, many times, we still 571 00:30:46,967 --> 00:30:48,166 can't explain. 572 00:30:49,900 --> 00:30:54,400 NARRATOR: In 2019, researchers track a group of over 200 573 00:30:54,467 --> 00:30:56,300 loggerheads as they migrate 574 00:30:56,367 --> 00:30:56,995 eastward from Japan to feeding grounds across 575 00:30:56,995 --> 00:30:59,467 eastward from Japan to feeding grounds across 576 00:30:59,567 --> 00:31:00,600 the Pacific Ocean. 577 00:31:02,567 --> 00:31:04,400 But as they monitor their movements, 578 00:31:04,467 --> 00:31:06,200 something strange happens. 579 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,166 They tracked a lot of animals, and most of them did 580 00:31:10,266 --> 00:31:11,266 the normal thing, 581 00:31:11,367 --> 00:31:13,700 but a few kind of went off script. 582 00:31:13,767 --> 00:31:16,266 SPICER RICE: This journey took them from their birthplace 583 00:31:16,367 --> 00:31:19,000 in Japan to deep in the Pacific Ocean. 584 00:31:19,100 --> 00:31:22,667 That's normal, but then, they kept going 585 00:31:22,767 --> 00:31:24,767 all the way to Mexico. 586 00:31:26,300 --> 00:31:26,995 NARRATOR: What puzzles scientists is that 587 00:31:26,995 --> 00:31:28,667 NARRATOR: What puzzles scientists is that 588 00:31:28,667 --> 00:31:30,367 as the turtles head to Mexico, 589 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:34,266 they travel through the Eastern Pacific Barrier, 590 00:31:37,166 --> 00:31:41,000 a frigid stretch of water some 4,000 miles long 591 00:31:41,066 --> 00:31:43,066 and up to seven miles deep. 592 00:31:44,266 --> 00:31:46,567 KERLEY: These turtles need warmth, 593 00:31:46,567 --> 00:31:49,667 they're cold-blooded animals, so they need warm water to keep 594 00:31:49,667 --> 00:31:52,100 them moving across the Pacific. 595 00:31:53,367 --> 00:31:55,567 KAYS: The GPS tracking data is showing that some of 596 00:31:55,667 --> 00:31:56,995 these sea turtles are swimming through water that's so cold, 597 00:31:56,995 --> 00:31:58,567 these sea turtles are swimming through water that's so cold, 598 00:31:58,567 --> 00:31:59,667 you would think it would kill them. 599 00:31:59,767 --> 00:32:00,967 So what's going on? 600 00:32:03,367 --> 00:32:06,367 NARRATOR: Roland Kays studies the data in more detail. 601 00:32:07,867 --> 00:32:10,166 One of the possibilities is that the turtles didn't 602 00:32:10,266 --> 00:32:12,667 actually swim through this cold water themselves, 603 00:32:12,667 --> 00:32:15,867 they're riding in a boat, and that would be a bad thing, 604 00:32:15,867 --> 00:32:17,900 because that means that they would have been poached. 605 00:32:20,367 --> 00:32:22,300 NARRATOR: Over the past three decades, 606 00:32:22,367 --> 00:32:24,367 it's estimated that more than a million 607 00:32:24,467 --> 00:32:26,867 turtles have been snatched from the seas, 608 00:32:28,066 --> 00:32:30,567 part of a wildlife trafficking industry worth 609 00:32:30,667 --> 00:32:33,266 up to $23 billion dollars a year. 610 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,000 KAYS: They're snatched from the sea and eaten or sold 611 00:32:38,066 --> 00:32:41,066 on the black market, which given it's an endangered species, 612 00:32:41,066 --> 00:32:42,367 isn't sustainable. 613 00:32:44,567 --> 00:32:46,900 NARRATOR: Other analysts don't think poaching can 614 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,567 explain the strange pattern in the image. 615 00:32:51,100 --> 00:32:54,266 I don't see that this is ship movement, because if we were 616 00:32:54,367 --> 00:32:55,367 looking at ship movement, 617 00:32:55,467 --> 00:32:56,995 I would expect to see very straight lines 618 00:32:56,995 --> 00:32:58,000 I would expect to see very straight lines 619 00:32:58,100 --> 00:33:00,100 working their way across the ocean. 620 00:33:02,900 --> 00:33:05,667 NARRATOR: Further satellite data reveals that the animals 621 00:33:05,767 --> 00:33:09,166 instead benefited from a freak meteorological event 622 00:33:09,266 --> 00:33:10,667 when crossing the Pacific. 623 00:33:12,467 --> 00:33:15,467 SPICER RICE: These baffling turtle journeys are caused by 624 00:33:15,467 --> 00:33:17,000 a strange phenomenon 625 00:33:17,066 --> 00:33:20,166 that's creating these channels of warm waters through 626 00:33:20,266 --> 00:33:22,700 the ocean, almost like highways. 627 00:33:22,767 --> 00:33:24,767 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: Normally, the North American 628 00:33:24,767 --> 00:33:26,567 Pacific Coast stays cold, 629 00:33:26,667 --> 00:33:26,995 but this particular migration may have been aided 630 00:33:26,995 --> 00:33:29,266 but this particular migration may have been aided 631 00:33:29,367 --> 00:33:31,000 by an El Nino event. 632 00:33:33,266 --> 00:33:36,100 NARRATOR: An El Nino event is triggered when east 633 00:33:36,166 --> 00:33:38,867 to west trade winds over the Pacific weaken. 634 00:33:40,900 --> 00:33:42,967 This leads to the warmer currents, which 635 00:33:42,967 --> 00:33:45,166 normally travel westward across the ocean, 636 00:33:45,266 --> 00:33:47,266 flipping direction. 637 00:33:47,266 --> 00:33:50,767 When that happens, not only does it mess up the water 638 00:33:50,867 --> 00:33:52,667 temperatures of the Pacific Ocean, 639 00:33:52,667 --> 00:33:54,700 but it changes the weather patterns 640 00:33:54,767 --> 00:33:56,867 around the entire world. 641 00:34:00,467 --> 00:34:03,900 NARRATOR: First detected by sailors in the 1600s, 642 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,266 El Nino events can lead to catastrophic storms, 643 00:34:07,266 --> 00:34:10,500 droughts, and wildfires across the globe, 644 00:34:14,467 --> 00:34:16,367 but it also provides a temporary 645 00:34:16,367 --> 00:34:19,867 haven for the migrating loggerhead turtles. 646 00:34:19,967 --> 00:34:24,266 KAYS: This new corridor of warm water allowed them to keep 647 00:34:24,367 --> 00:34:26,995 going and find feeding grounds off the coast 648 00:34:26,995 --> 00:34:27,266 going and find feeding grounds off the coast 649 00:34:27,266 --> 00:34:29,166 of Mexico, while the other turtles 650 00:34:29,166 --> 00:34:30,367 that didn't find this had to 651 00:34:30,367 --> 00:34:33,467 truck all the way back across the Pacific to Japan. 652 00:34:36,367 --> 00:34:38,467 NARRATOR: The heating of our planet has also led 653 00:34:38,467 --> 00:34:41,467 to the formation of what's known as "the Blob," 654 00:34:43,300 --> 00:34:47,500 a 1,000-mile-wide patch of warmer water in the Pacific, 655 00:34:47,567 --> 00:34:50,100 that's a magnet for the cold-blooded turtles. 656 00:34:51,767 --> 00:34:54,000 CERVENY: The sea turtles are gonna say, "Ooh, this is 657 00:34:54,100 --> 00:34:56,995 "much better than what we had previously seen 658 00:34:56,995 --> 00:34:57,567 "much better than what we had previously seen 659 00:34:57,667 --> 00:34:59,700 in this area, and we're gonna move into it." 660 00:34:59,767 --> 00:35:03,166 So the Blob actually changed 661 00:35:03,266 --> 00:35:06,567 the migration routes of the sea turtles. 662 00:35:09,667 --> 00:35:11,567 NARRATOR: What's good news for the turtles 663 00:35:11,667 --> 00:35:14,100 is bad news for other marine life. 664 00:35:16,300 --> 00:35:19,667 The Blob's suffocating waters have killed tens of millions 665 00:35:19,767 --> 00:35:24,000 of birds and fish and fueled toxic algal blooms. 666 00:35:25,300 --> 00:35:26,995 The weird migration pattern revealed from space is, 667 00:35:26,995 --> 00:35:28,767 The weird migration pattern revealed from space is, 668 00:35:28,867 --> 00:35:32,667 it seems, a possible harbinger of doom. 669 00:35:32,767 --> 00:35:34,900 SPICER RICE: If these phenomena continue, 670 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,266 the consequences are gonna be much more 671 00:35:37,367 --> 00:35:40,166 complicated than just turtles changing 672 00:35:40,266 --> 00:35:41,700 their migration patterns. 673 00:35:41,767 --> 00:35:43,767 CERVENY: These changes are alarming. 674 00:35:43,867 --> 00:35:47,266 They have implications, not only to the sea life that's 675 00:35:47,266 --> 00:35:48,400 in the Pacific Ocean, 676 00:35:48,467 --> 00:35:51,066 but around the entire world. 677 00:35:54,266 --> 00:35:56,995 NARRATOR: Coming up, the strange structures that 678 00:35:56,995 --> 00:35:57,200 NARRATOR: Coming up, the strange structures that 679 00:35:57,266 --> 00:35:58,767 changed history. 680 00:35:58,867 --> 00:36:01,166 WALTERS: It helps to make sure that the atrocities 681 00:36:01,166 --> 00:36:04,300 committed in these very places are never forgotten. 682 00:36:11,467 --> 00:36:14,867 NARRATOR: October 14, 2021. 683 00:36:16,467 --> 00:36:20,100 A satellite scans the city of Krakow in Poland 684 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:24,467 and capture something out of place. 685 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:32,100 This image has a really ominous, creepy feel to it. 686 00:36:32,166 --> 00:36:33,200 There are a series of 687 00:36:33,266 --> 00:36:36,266 abandoned structures hidden in these woods. 688 00:36:39,166 --> 00:36:41,567 NARRATOR: The weird structures sit in what appears 689 00:36:41,667 --> 00:36:46,266 to be a giant 800,000-square-foot hole. 690 00:36:46,367 --> 00:36:48,700 It's obviously something quite destructive 691 00:36:48,767 --> 00:36:50,367 that's happened in this area. 692 00:36:52,667 --> 00:36:54,066 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: All around this woodland 693 00:36:54,066 --> 00:36:55,567 is a bustling city. 694 00:36:55,567 --> 00:36:59,667 So why has this area just been left to rot? 695 00:36:59,667 --> 00:37:01,266 It's really odd. 696 00:37:03,767 --> 00:37:06,667 NARRATOR: Historic records reveal there is a good reason 697 00:37:06,767 --> 00:37:07,798 why this strange patch of landscape remains untouched 698 00:37:07,798 --> 00:37:10,100 why this strange patch of landscape remains untouched 699 00:37:10,166 --> 00:37:11,400 by urban sprawl. 700 00:37:14,867 --> 00:37:17,900 NELSON: What we're seeing in this satellite image is kind of 701 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,867 a window back into one of the darkest times in 702 00:37:21,967 --> 00:37:22,900 human history. 703 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:28,567 [cannons blasting] 704 00:37:28,567 --> 00:37:33,000 NARRATOR: That history begins on September 1, 1939, 705 00:37:33,066 --> 00:37:35,467 when Hitler's forces sweep into Poland, 706 00:37:37,066 --> 00:37:37,798 plunging the world into a war, 707 00:37:37,798 --> 00:37:39,000 plunging the world into a war, 708 00:37:39,100 --> 00:37:42,100 which will claim around 70 million lives. 709 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:48,100 Poland was always on the front lines of Hitler's ambitions. 710 00:37:48,166 --> 00:37:51,200 It's the centerpiece of his Lebensraum policy, 711 00:37:51,266 --> 00:37:53,266 the policy of living space, 712 00:37:53,367 --> 00:37:56,567 the idea that expansion of German territory was 713 00:37:56,667 --> 00:37:59,367 necessary to the success of the German race. 714 00:38:02,066 --> 00:38:04,667 NARRATOR: To fuel his conquest of Western Europe, 715 00:38:04,667 --> 00:38:07,798 Hitler commandeers many of Poland's industrial facilities, 716 00:38:07,798 --> 00:38:08,567 Hitler commandeers many of Poland's industrial facilities, 717 00:38:08,667 --> 00:38:10,800 including the site in the image. 718 00:38:10,867 --> 00:38:12,367 Looking at the records, 719 00:38:12,467 --> 00:38:16,000 this is a Nazi quarry, the Liban Quarry. 720 00:38:18,367 --> 00:38:22,600 And landscape around this place is made up of limestone. 721 00:38:22,667 --> 00:38:26,300 Limestone is a rock that has many uses. 722 00:38:26,367 --> 00:38:29,266 One of those uses is quicklime. 723 00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:34,066 NARRATOR: Quicklime, 724 00:38:34,066 --> 00:38:37,567 made by heating limestone to remove carbon dioxide, 725 00:38:39,100 --> 00:38:41,567 is an important ingredient in steel making. 726 00:38:43,767 --> 00:38:46,967 That means the quarry in the image is vital to Hitler's 727 00:38:46,967 --> 00:38:50,300 war factories, factories that produce 728 00:38:50,367 --> 00:38:54,767 46,000 tanks, 110,000 aircraft, 729 00:38:54,767 --> 00:38:57,767 and over eight million rifles during the conflict. 730 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:03,300 If you're in a war, and you need to generate weapons, 731 00:39:03,367 --> 00:39:06,567 you're going to need a steady supply of the raw resources 732 00:39:06,667 --> 00:39:07,798 to make these weapons. 733 00:39:07,798 --> 00:39:07,867 to make these weapons. 734 00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:12,900 NARRATOR: In 1942, the Germans turn 735 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:16,667 the quarry into a forced labor camp. 736 00:39:16,667 --> 00:39:20,000 Eight hundred men are put to work, taken from 737 00:39:20,066 --> 00:39:23,500 the 25,000 people incarcerated at the nearby 738 00:39:23,567 --> 00:39:25,367 Plaszow concentration camp. 739 00:39:28,166 --> 00:39:30,700 WALTERS: The people working in this place were forced to work. 740 00:39:30,767 --> 00:39:32,400 They were people who had been captured by 741 00:39:32,467 --> 00:39:35,767 the Nazis and then condemned to a life of 742 00:39:35,767 --> 00:39:37,500 backbreaking cruelty. 743 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:41,400 NARRATOR: Over the course of the war, 744 00:39:41,467 --> 00:39:45,166 the Nazis force around 14 million people to work 745 00:39:45,266 --> 00:39:47,166 in labor camps like Liban. 746 00:39:49,500 --> 00:39:52,700 The working conditions and lack of food and medicine mean 747 00:39:52,767 --> 00:39:54,300 the life expectancy in most 748 00:39:54,367 --> 00:39:57,400 camps is six months. 749 00:39:57,467 --> 00:39:59,400 Being sent to forced labor camp was 750 00:39:59,467 --> 00:40:01,500 effectively a death sentence. 751 00:40:01,567 --> 00:40:04,266 There was no sense of preserving this labor. 752 00:40:04,367 --> 00:40:07,166 There was always plenty more to be brought in, and so 753 00:40:07,266 --> 00:40:07,798 they would have basically been forced to work 754 00:40:07,798 --> 00:40:09,467 they would have basically been forced to work 755 00:40:09,467 --> 00:40:10,800 until they dropped. 756 00:40:13,100 --> 00:40:15,867 NARRATOR: The Nazis also inflict deep psychological 757 00:40:15,867 --> 00:40:19,767 torture on those working at the site in the image. 758 00:40:19,867 --> 00:40:21,600 As they walk through the quarry, 759 00:40:21,667 --> 00:40:24,266 the prisoners must follow a path paved with 760 00:40:24,367 --> 00:40:26,567 the gravestones of local Jewish people. 761 00:40:28,900 --> 00:40:32,767 Poland, I think, takes the full force of 762 00:40:32,767 --> 00:40:37,367 Nazi hatred and their ideas of racial inferiority. 763 00:40:37,367 --> 00:40:37,798 We see all of the consequences of 764 00:40:37,798 --> 00:40:40,266 We see all of the consequences of 765 00:40:40,266 --> 00:40:43,367 that happening right here in the Liban Quarry. 766 00:40:45,700 --> 00:40:50,367 NARRATOR: The quarry remains in use until 1944, when encroaching 767 00:40:50,467 --> 00:40:54,100 Russian troops begin to push Nazi forces out of Poland. 768 00:40:55,700 --> 00:40:57,667 [glass shattering] 769 00:40:57,667 --> 00:41:00,066 After the war, it is abandoned. 770 00:41:02,767 --> 00:41:06,266 But the story of this hellish labor camp doesn't end there. 771 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:12,100 SPICER RICE: In 1993, the quarry actually takes on a new life, 772 00:41:12,166 --> 00:41:15,300 because Steven Spielberg selects this location as 773 00:41:15,367 --> 00:41:18,567 the place where he will reconstruct Plaszow labor camp 774 00:41:18,667 --> 00:41:20,700 to tell the story of "Schindler's List." 775 00:41:22,900 --> 00:41:25,567 NARRATOR: For the film, Spielberg's team 776 00:41:25,567 --> 00:41:28,000 reconstructs the barracks and watchtowers, 777 00:41:28,100 --> 00:41:30,300 which once housed and terrorized 778 00:41:30,367 --> 00:41:31,667 those working at the quarry. 779 00:41:35,266 --> 00:41:37,798 In the years since, it has become a lasting 780 00:41:37,798 --> 00:41:38,000 In the years since, it has become a lasting 781 00:41:38,066 --> 00:41:41,800 memorial to those who perished here all those years ago. 782 00:41:43,066 --> 00:41:45,967 It's a fitting final chapter in the life of this quarry. 783 00:41:45,967 --> 00:41:48,100 This film helps to bring to 784 00:41:48,166 --> 00:41:50,266 light the horrors of places like this 785 00:41:50,266 --> 00:41:51,500 [sobbing quietly] 786 00:41:51,567 --> 00:41:54,700 and helps to make sure that the atrocities committed in 787 00:41:54,767 --> 00:41:57,667 these very places are never forgotten.