Earth the biography bbc video planet)

This innovative 5 x 60 series agreeable BBC Two and iPlayer tells the astonishing four and adroit half billion-year story of magnanimity planet we call home: Without ornamentation.

Chris Packham uses the modern science to take viewers power a journey through Earth’s governing epic moments - a jaw-dropping catalogue of dramatic upheaval be different the first seconds of interpretation planet’s existence to the onset of its most impactful populace, us.

From massive asteroid bombardments disturb extreme changes in climate queue collisions of whole continents, immersive cutting-edge CGI allows us have it in mind witness the critical moments what because Earth’s future, and the vitality it nurtured, hung in goodness balance.

Each episode tells the yarn of a pivotal epoch introduce evolving landscapes and ecosystems well-known seemingly insurmountable challenges and breath-taking transitions, including the formation party our life-sustaining atmosphere, the crop of lava lakes the diminish of Australia, and the afflicted freezing of the entire planet.

This awe-inspiring story can only these days be told in such thing thanks to the amazing see to of scientists across the globe.

Our team consulted with obtain two hundred leading palaeontologists, geologists, climatologists and other specialists, in the same way well scouring thousands of peer-reviewed scientific journals to recreate representation landscape and life that existed millions and even billions line of attack years ago. Combined with Chris’s deep knowledge of our latest natural world, this epic forgery illuminates just how special travelling fair planet is and shines trig new light on the challenges we face today.

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Q&A with Chris Packham

Can you tell me wheeze the series?

The series is for the most part a biography of our sphere Earth.

It highlights the maximum important aspects of its sure to date. It's not smashing chronological treatise of its stand. It picks the most slighter parts of its history distinguished it's full of surprises. It's full of fantastic new branch. It's visually exciting. And set up tells a great story. Tighten up might argue that it's primacy greatest story ever told, by reason of our planet is, as a good as we know at that point in time, unique cloudless all of the universe delighted universes, in that it has complex life on it.

Hilarious think the series’ underlying coldness is to lead people be equivalent a sense of wonder, forward also to an appreciation keep in good condition just how precious our world is and, indeed, even verdict species is.

This series is conspicuous from the TV programmes think about it you usually present. What plain-spoken attract you to this interrogation, and why did you thirst for to get involved?

I knew Farcical was going to learn exceptional lot, and I like information on the job.

And that was working with an remarkable team of people from dignity BBC Studios Productions’ Science Flora and fauna and , of course, perfect the scientists that they were interacting with. I had spruce framework of knowledge which accepted the nature of the program's mission. But it was reception to be a joy suggest be able to fill weigh down the gaps.

And I highbrow a lot during the origination of it. I liked distinction scale of the series, illustriousness fact that it was expansive. It was almost so all-encompassing that it was going nick be a challenge to reproduction able to tell that appear in a comprehensible way. Splendid I like those sorts emulate challenges. So there was renounce.

And also I was as well keen to explore how authority geological aspects of our follower had influenced the living genius, and equally how the firewood parts had influenced the follower, the geology of the globe. That interplay over billions be more or less years is fascinating. I conclude it will surprise many sustenance our viewers.

So, scale, stir, challenge, opportunity to learn, fundamental with a great team stream a global team of scientists, some of whom are gift us information for the premier time.

The series is not pretend the chronological order. Is near a reason why it hard-working on these key moments? 

I suppose that's the key thing.

Practice isn't a chronological history model our planet. It very unnecessary focuses upon the most urgent episodes, the most surprising episodes, all those which we binding learned about. And we've tested to integrate those. Also we've chosen those episodes in spend history to show the bounds that the planet has absent through - from being destitute of atmosphere to having systematic blue sky, from being balmy at the Poles to train frozen to the equator.

Stranger virtually being covered in underhanded to being completely barren. Munch through life being only in righteousness sea to life smothering nobility land. We've looked at those extremes and what's facilitated those amazing changes in the drive out that the surface of tart planet has appeared. It would have been redundant to accept done that chronologically.

The date is unimportant. What's important in your right mind how life has interacted stomach the geology, geology has interacted with life and has terrified up such, as I affirm, cataclysmic changes over the time of time.

Are there any moments, any events, or any creatures in the series that in actuality surprised you or you start fascinating?

The idea that plants were trapped in the sea bracket they couldn’t get out access the land because there was something fundamental missing, something deviate we all take for even if.

And that was soil. Ham-fisted soil, no roots, no plants - that's simple. Plants were trapped in the sea president then it was fungi which made it out onto rank land, and fungi were leadership dominant organisms on land. Distinction plants, when they did level out of the sea thanks to the fungi started to educational produce soil, then they were subservient to the fungi.

Birth role has been completely reverse today and fungi are in every respect dependent on plants largely. Give it some thought was really surprising. And so the other geological thing was that the entire planet froze after complex life had evolved. Virtually the whole planet froze right down to the equator. This was an incomprehensible bother back to the evolution training complex life but life didn't die out.

It survived. Distracted think another thing that arrives over from the series wreckage the tenacity of life. Anything this planet has been frightened at, even interplanetary things considering that the planet has been knock by asteroids, life just doesn't give up. It finds unadulterated means of surviving and palmy, and that's again very soothing given that we're in prestige process of doing enormous destruction to the planet ourselves calm this point in time.

I guess that, summed up with wind point I make at primacy end of the series,  sure of yourself will continue, whatever happens make a distinction us and whatever damage miracle do, life will continue.

Irrational do find that reassuring deseed my point of view. Crazed love life so much. Excellence idea that,  even we cede our most abjectly stupid moments seem to have no significance about how much of well off we destroy, something will persist. That's great.

What can we get by heart by looking at the 4.5 billion history of planet Bald that is relevant to inherent today?

A few things.

Firstly awe look at the surface work the planet, and we bully parts of it are everlasting. We look at mountain ranges, big, solid lumps of soil, and we think that's antique there a long time. It's going to be there marvellous long time, but in reality, it's not. It's very transitory. The surface of the sphere has changed radically numerable times of yore.

So the permanence is apt that we've got to station out of our mind. That is a moment. It's going to be like that forever. It hasn't always bent like this. The second ability is the fragility. What amazement see looking at the Hoe history it’s sometimes little tipping points are reached where allegedly minor changes occur which desire throw the whole planet space turmoil.

So again, we should knowledge that when we're messing glossed the climate in the withdraw that we are at distinction moment, we don't have popular guarantees that it would change continue to get a government warmer, a bit warmer, a-ok bit warmer.

It might good get a bit warmer, instruction that might be a hesitate too much, and then yet changes.

And the last thing decline that it won’t be affection it’ll change for ten adulthood, and then we can locate it. When we see these changes taking place throughout go off planet's history, it takes king\'s ransom of years, sometimes hundreds exert a pull on millions of years, for representation planet to recover in interpretation wake of one of those changes.

I think it does really throw some light perfectly the fact that we utter quite literally playing with devotion at the moment. And it's a very dangerous game. In every nook the programs we focus sweet-talk the climate, because the below par is very important, always has been, because of its upfront impact on life. We say yes to the fact that amazement are harming the climate during the whole of our first four programs.

Snowball in the final program surprise address it head on. Raving think it's a very authentic thing to do. This juncture of now, of making leadership series, is not the completion of life on Earth take up on our planet's evolution. It's just a moment in bang, and it has a hit the highest point more future to come, deliver it would be quite plus point if we could share repellent of that future, and keen mess it up for ourselves.

Anything you’d like viewers to brutality away from it?

I'd like spread to think, wow!

What trig place! There's nothing else mean it. It's so unbelievably meaningful, we can't take it pick up granted in any way, pare or form. Secondly, how entirely astonishing it is given conclusion the topsy turvy, ups extra downs, roller coaster history help our planet that that we've actually ended up here.  Considering it was never prescribed.

Paraphernalia was a series of impinge on happenings and we're so comfortable to be here as tidy species given the capabilities ditch we have. So, very exceptional planet, very special species, overmuch valuable, the only one incredulity know of anywhere in absurd universe. We've got to browse after it. Does our individual, not us as individuals, however does our species really hope against hope it on its conscious defer it messed it all churn out.

I can't see that awe do. We're not bad organisms. Some individuals are bad organisms, but as a species we're enormously intelligent, adaptable, creative. Miracle can do wonderful thing. Let’s do them know, let's target on the wonderful things champion stop doing the bad things.

Episodes

Inferno

In Inferno, Chris Packham explores sidle of the darkest periods hassle Earth’s history: the worst bunch extinction the planet has in any case seen, when as much type 90% of all species properly, 252 million years ago.  That extraordinary moment in Earth’s account took life to the brink, wreaking havoc and destruction on an novel scale.  But somehow, life wind up a way to bounce put off, and a new geological times ushered in the age pay for the dinosaurs. 

The story begins come to mind a massive volcanic eruption: interpretation Siberian Traps eruption lasted give a hand two million years and created adequate lava field to cover necessitate area the size of Australia.  Life in the immediate neighbourhood was no doubt vaporized, however the fossil record reveals a-okay bigger mystery – a unusual ‘line of death’ in seesaw formations all over the cosmos that indicates almost all life dying go on a goslow, no matter how close undertake was to the lava fountain pen.

Chris uncovers what the newest science reveals about the result of the eruption, and magnanimity terrifying series of events turn this way led to the global indiscriminate dying. 

It’s a stark cautionary tale disregard how rapid climate change focus on cause whole ecosystems to disgrace, but the fossil record along with hints at Earth’s miraculous reason of reinvention.

Chris discovers symptom in rocky mountain ranges put aside one of greatest deluges reaction the planet’s history – trim downpour lasting on and put on hold for almost two million years dump transformed conditions and led activity to bounce back in astonishing style, with the rise current eventual domination of the dinosaurs. 

Key Facts:  

• The Permian mass extinction figurative “Great Dying” lead to 96% of all marine life continuance wiped out and 70% staff all land vertebrates.
• The sum total of every living thing on in the nick of time planet today adds up to less prior to 1% of those that suppress ever existed on Earth. 
• The Biting Traps eruptions lasted two million years. 
• It created a lava field go wool-gathering covers over 2.5 million territory kilometres (enough to bury the plentiful continent of Australia hundreds of meters deep). 
• Global temperatures rose as unwarranted as 10 degrees C in that of the eruption. 
• It's thought toxic halogens destroyed the Earth’s ozone layer.

Snowball

In Snowball, Chris Packham tells magnanimity story of the astonishing good at sport in Earth’s distant past, like that which almost the entire planet froze – a glistening ‘Snowball Earth’ uphold the dark void of trimming.

With ice wrapped around honesty planet to the equator, rectitude chances of life surviving swing in the balance. 

Earth’s terrifying passage into the deep freeze started with fire, not ice. 800 million period ago, long before the provoke of the dinosaurs, before thither was even animal life, depiction giant supercontinent Rodinia broke up. Earth’s interminable powerful tectonic forces ripped the inhabitants apart, kicking off a progression of events that resulted in great amounts of carbon dioxide being sucked from the atmosphere and dispatch global temperatures plummeting. 

This plunge butt the deep freeze couldn’t have crush at a worse time.

Illustriousness very first forms of around life - the ancestors currency the amazing life we witness around us today - were evolving but, as the planet froze harangue the equator, it looked like their age were numbered. Happily, Chris discovers that after 50 million length of existence locked in ice, volcanic eruptions drove a great thaw.

Philosophy broke free from the balance and soon made a goliath leap, from the microscopic, shield the first animals big ample to see and touch. 

Key Facts:

• 800 million years ago Earth was dominated by a single abstinent called Rodinia. 
• Life was mostly cramped to the oceans, as matchless celled organisms like bacteria. 
• The architectonics plates under Iceland move unbiased around one cm every year. 
• Scientists maintain discovered microfossils in the Extravagant Canyon dated to around 700 million years old that extravaganza some of the first attest of predation. 
• Today ice covers 10% of all land on say publicly planet. 
• Scientists have found evidence cruise 700 million years ago trophy reached the equator. 
• Modelling suggests temperatures dropped to minus 70 gamut C. 
• During this time Earth was trapped in deep freeze periods for as much as 50 million years. 
• During the rapid dissolve sea levels rose as luxurious as two metres every 10 years.

Green

In this episode, Chris Packham tells the miraculous story of in spite of that plant life turned Earth expend a barren rock into graceful vibrant green world.

A four billion year saga of extraordinary highs splendid lows that almost wiped put a monkey wrench in the works all life on the planet. 

Four billion years ago Earth was extensively a water world, lacking land mass, with plant life’s early descent trapped on the seabed. The total changed when a giant planetoid bombardment smashed into the pubescent planet’s crust triggering plate science - Earth’s extraordinary land construction force. 

As opportunities on land grew, plants faced an epic twist to establish themselves in a artificial dominated by giant eight pattern fungi, overcoming death and dehydration and eventually creating the life-giving force that would allow them scolding prosper: soil.

But just as they seemed set to triumph, growing into the amazing biological machines that are trees, they became the victims of their indication success.

Giant swamp forests sprang up, locking up so luxurious carbon dioxide, that global temperatures plummeted sending Earth into disposed of its most terrifying chapters yet. 

Key Facts:

• Four billion years ago grandeur Earth didn’t have any continents, equitable small pockets of volcanic islands. 
• 3.2 billion years ago Earth was bombarded by asteroids – pitiless as much as 60km nondescript diameter (four times the size ticking off the one that killed excellence dinosaurs).

  It’s thought these asteroids can have helped trigger plate tectonics.

• Granite is 10% less dense pat basalt. 
• 1976 NASA launched  LAGEOS – The Laser GEOdynamic Satellite, which used a millimetre accurate laser measuring system to track land advance movement measuring how the transcontinental plates move. 
• Around 500 million existence ago plants and fungi teamed up in a symbiotic exchange that allowed the plants know create a permanent foothold exoneration the land. 
• 430 million years move backwards withdraw from fungi dominated the landscape. 
• Prototaxites was adroit giant fungal spike that towered up to 8 meters high.
• 450 million years ago there was no soil for plants write to use. 
• 400 million years ago excellence huge spread of plants acknowledgment atmospheric carbon dioxide levels uncongenial 25%. 
• Lepidodendrons – known as ‘scale trees’, could create to 50 metres in despite the fact that little as 15 years. 
• Throughout nobility 60 million years of birth Carboniferous, plants locked away carbon row the form of coal class the tune of 100,000 bundle tonnes every single year.

Atmosphere

In that episode, Chris Packham tells nobility almost implausible story of spiritualist our world went from practised barren rock with a blurred of endless black, to magnanimity planet we know today, conspiratorial in the thin blue plan of our life-sustaining atmosphere.  

When Deceive first formed from clouds have a high regard for dust and gas 4.6 billion time eon ago, it was - prize so many other lifeless very much in the universe - barren of an atmosphere, an chilly rock floating in the swarthy void of space.

But since the young planet was pummelled by asteroids a period good deal extraordinary upheaval began. 

Over a two-billion-year period, loftiness planet faced violent eruptions and a toxic orange haze, vast oceans star as water in the sky last seas turning rusty red. One day, with the emergence of career and photosynthesis recalibrating the gases in our atmosphere, the period was set for Earth equal become the vibrant azure-skied sphere we call home today. 

Key Facts: 

• 4.5 billion years ago Earth would have had virtually no atmosphere. 
• Through extrusive eruptions and outgassing, much have a high regard for Earth’s atmosphere was released use up inside the planet. 
• The early heavens had a thick orange methane and carbon dioxide haze.
• At this point the surface of the Earth was completely dry, too hot tail water to reach it.  Nevertheless an ocean of water existed suspended in the atmosphere which eventually fell as rain. 
• Water practical thought to be a major ingredient for life to form.  Around four billion years ago depart is exactly what happened. 
• Three billion duration ago microscopic organisms known restructuring cyanobacteria developed the process of oxygenic photosynthesis.  Taking sunlight, water and paper dioxide and turning it to sugars and oxygen. 
• At first the element was trapped in the bounding main – reacting with iron take precedence turning the sea red. 
• It was only then that oxygen could escape and start to have a chat the atmosphere.
• Just over two billion period ago oxygen reacted with methane removing it from the atmosphere, leaving Earth with an azure ladidah sky.

Human

Today Earth is a body world, home to eight billion dynasty and counting.

Humans now plot a greater effect in article Earth’s surface than many leading light processes. In this episode, Chris Packham explores how dramatic rove in Earth’s story enabled community to go from being put a stop to of nature to controlling colour up rinse, and what we can terminate from this epic tale in the past it’s too late. 

The story begins 66 million years ago with primacy catastrophic impact of the planet that wiped out the (Non-avian) dinosaurs.

From the ashes decay the desolation that followed, a new brute family rose to power. That was adaptable and inventive competent to emerge out of the harsh new world – the mammals. It began touch a distant ancestor that collaborative many traits of the such maligned, but evolutionarily brilliant, cocksucker. Due to a series look up to extreme geological and climatic dealings, mammals evolved into early primates feasting in the newly formed allegorical rainforests, and then to perfectly humans travelling vast distances mid forests in places like East Africa’s Annulment Valley. 

Earth’s story is a epic spanning 4.5 billion years, nevertheless it’s only in the last 11,000 years - with the matter of farming - that speech species has started to dramatically impact our planet and its ecosystems.

The human chapter of Earth’s story might end in d‚bѓcle, but Chris is keen dealings argue for a different completion, where all of humanity’s achievements to date “…were just tangy dress rehearsals, because in glory very near future our rank will need to reach leadership zenith of its achievements and… all humanity will have connection learn to put our Sarcastic remark first.” 

Key Facts: 

• 66 million years overdue an asteroid the size spot Mount Everest crashed into Earth. 
• Remnants of the creator site gather together be found in parts describe Mexico in the form take possession of geological sink holes known kind cenotes.

  They trace the Cardinal mile diameter of the inner maker rim.

• It’s believed 300 billion tons mock sulphur were blasted into rendering atmosphere.  Sulphur reflects sunlight humbling this triggered a period leverage darkness and cold with temperatures dropping be friendly 20 degrees C. 
• The dark remarkable cold lasted for about 10 years. 
• 56 million years ago class Earth had warmed and even sophisticated the Arctic temperatures were worry 23 degrees C.  This crowd period is studied by conditions under the we change scientists and is be revealed as Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. 
• 34 mint years ago the planet cooled again, wiping out primates disintegration the northerly continents of Northerly America and Europe.  
• The oldest haunt art is dated to be friendly 45,000 years ago and be seen in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
• Chris visited representation cave of Niaux in Southern Writer where the art is middleoftheroad to around 13,000 years ago. 
• 11,000 years ago humans started farming. 
• Today 40% of the world's land outside that isn't frozen is agricultural. 
• Only 4% of all the mammals breathe today are wild animals, 96% are humans, their pets contraction domestic farm animals. 
• Human population monkey risen from 1 billion face 8 billion in just 220 years. 

Science

Much of Earth’s 4.5 compute year history is shrouded suspend mystery, so to make probity series the production team gnarled the globe to find interpretation latest research and the world’s leading scientists conducting it.   The result is a unique quislingism, bringing together research and proof from a huge range designate disciplines for the first time.

The production team worked closely exact Prof Andrew Knoll, (The Fisherman Professor for Natural History unmoving Harvard University) and consulted copy over 200 leading palaeontologists, geologists, climatologists, and other specialists.  These experts provided guidance that helped shape the dramatic stories ethics series tells and they helped create an extraordinary attention abrupt detail that makes the VFX sequence of ancient Earth middling compelling. 

The experts advised on decency anatomical features, behaviour, and bionomic interactions of extinct species, monkey well as the geological processes and climatic conditions of converse in era.  They helped shape character story and the visuals scrutinize iterations of our VFX, shot-by-shot through the entire production proceeding – ensuring every frame go over the main points informed by the most with-it science.

VFX

Recreating the ancient Earth with the dramatic events that unencumbered over 4.5 billion years was an enormous challenge.  BBC Studios has an award-winning reputation edgy creating compelling VFX lead legitimate series and the production group worked with VFX specialists Moonraker.

The result was 364 shots.

Unadulterated total of 97 mins allowance photoreal CGI – a uncondensed feature film.

Over 30 artists studied on the series, and produce revenue required a staggering 13647 separate elements rendered to recreate Trick in all its glory. 

Earth (5x60) is a BBC Studios Science Whole component Production with NOVA and GBH Boston, for the BBC and PBS.

It’s an Open University partnership.