Australia - Eye of the Storm - Monsoon

[Music] [Music] [Music] you thunderclouds sweep over tropical north western australia a land of just two seasons the wet and the dry they Herald the wet and a resurgence of life the wet is part of a weather giant a creation of the mountains rain forests deserts and oceans of Asia and Australia the search to fathom its mysteries matters nothing to the animals of this rich wilderness what matters to them is that it exists for to them the monsoon means life the start of the dry and the Sun rises over a Billabong in northwestern Australia each year the monsoon rains dictate the rhythm of life in this wilderness among soon that swings with the Sun between tropical Australia and Asia the monsoon is now in Asia while it's there for six months dry winds will blow from Australia's deserts and strip this land of water on the plane where the Billabong lies a pair of Jabiru storks have their nest the nest has no protection against Sun or drying wind but salvation comes in an ingenious shape a shower of Billabong water and the nest will not dry out or overheat the first hatchling died and its mother is eating it a rather macabre action that she probably takes to recycle valuable nutrients in its tiny body her second chick is just beginning touch this chick will have the luxury of its parents undivided attention [Music] the rains of the monsoon shaped the floodplains woodlands and rugged escarpment of the Kimberley and the top end of Australia but the monsoon also pushes much further far south to where the desert sands meet the bright sea [Music] a golds goanna eats out a living along the shore scavenging morsels thrown up by the sea competing with ants for whatever lies dead and shriveled by Sun and wind yet here on these dry shores fresh water hides beneath the sands but these kangaroos are able to unearth it they reach it by digging wells sometimes a metre deep if there were no monsoon showers there'd be no underground water for the ruse to drink offshore a unique and powerful current the Lewin is now flowing and wrapping the west coast in a blanket of warm equatorial water during the dry season the current streams from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean pouring out of a giant pool of sun-warmed water around Indonesia one of the biggest climate engines in the world this engine releases some of its heat energy through the Lewin Current and it's warm flow triggers a surge of life [Music] about a week from the first full moon after the current begins its flow the corals of Western Australia starts spawning the arrival of the warm tropical water is the signal for which they've been waiting you packets of coral aids and drifts of sperm float through the waters to mingle and move south on the new one bringing new life you billions of sea worms also set their reproductive clock to the lewin current rhythmic annual flow adults cast eggs and sperm adrift as self-propelled sexual segments which merge above the reef [Music] pulsing to a silent beat bridalveil jellyfish right south on this conveyor belt of warm equatorial water tentacles meters long clasp microscopic prey to a hungry heart [Music] from the smallest to the largest fish hasten to the luhan's feast intercepted on their seasonal migration from Esther II to open sea a school of Australian anchovy swim in tight defensive formation [Music] giant whale sharks surrounded by shoals of small acolytes glide effortlessly southwards on the current engulfing tiny fish and plankton [Music] the whale sharks that visit Australia's west coast may have travelled a highway of ocean currents all the way from the Philippines the Lewin is part of the monsoon that swings with the Sun between tropical Australia and Asia southeast winds are the dry breath of southern deserts and as they flow northwards out of Australia these constant winds push the monsoon into Asia the dry season is well advanced and for three months no rain has come to top up this Billabong these crocodiles can no longer immerse themselves and risk heat stress in dehydration even sunburn but falling water levels make it easy to fish and the jabiru parents L if dozens a day to their fast-growing lively chick the chick is perpetually hungry and thirsty it's now the cool part of the tropical year but that's all relative it's still close to 30 centigrade southeast winds gradually make the northern plains seem as parched and dusty as the deserts which spawn them [Music] and life is becoming a daily trial the grasses that sustain agile Wallabies have withered and died they are forced to resort to bulbs and roots a spinifex pigeon and his mate find plentiful seed scattered among the grass clumps but they must have water to help digest the seed little by little water holds a shrinking in disappearing those that are left are becoming crowded nervously a thirsty dragon lizard ashes a quick drink as the Sun moves south of the equator in October the oldest of Australia's landscapes is relentlessly hot and oven that the Sun will fire up still further in coming months only hot air moves in this inferno but even in the fiery Pilbara there are animals there just out of sight keeping still trying to avoid the savage Sun holed up in a cave a euro finds shade [Music] but a male ringtail dragon is on the horns of a dilemma to stay out in the Sun and get fried or to stay in the shade and leave his territory open to invasion he opts for a compromise a quick sortie to the lookout point toes raised to stop them burning on the hot rock and then a quick dash for shade on the exposed plains a red kangaroo tries to keep cool just a few centimeters down the soil doesn't burn as much and licking a fallen is rather like sweating as her saliva evaporates in the heat it cools her the planes are covered in tinder-dry grass [Music] [Music] from Australia's red heart to the west coast hot air is rising as it does so it leaves a void which something must fill and the something is moisture-laden air sucked down from the equator an air flow that will eventually bring monsoon rain far from Australia the mighty peaks of the Himalayas are the monsoons northern frontier and here the monsoon is coming to an end as the seasons change in the northern hemisphere as the Sun moves away south cold dry air begins to mass over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau it falls off the mountains and streams southwards a chill wind that sends prayers painted on cloth flags to the sky and that pushes the monsoon south just as Australia's desert winds pushed it north nearly six months ago the seasonal change that will carry the monsoon to Australia signals a general downhill retreat Tibetan snow descend with the cold flocking in large numbers to feed at lower altitude [Music] from every peak and crag cold air pours downwards southwards as a winds gather strength and momentum [Music] people to increasingly feel the cold breath of the Himalayas and pack up and leave for warmer ground yak herders spend the monsoon summer months high in the mountains as the cold bites more deeply they descend before snow covers the upper passes in a deep wintry blanket [Music] [Music] in Nepal's Katmandu Valley Hindus celebrate the awakening of the god Vishnu this holy festival marks the beginning of the post monsoon harvest under the mighty Peaks [Music] recently an astonishing link was found between these great mountains and distant tropical Australia monsoon rains there are stronger when Himalayan winter snows are heavy as a journey south the monsoon is revitalized and strengthened by moisture that streams off the equatorial rainforests of Southeast Asia indeed much of the rain taken up by the monsoon originates here where the climate is virtually a year-round constant hot wet and suffocatingly humid orangutangs lead mostly solitary lives in the rainforests of Sumatra the stable climactic conditions of these forests mean there's always something to eat breeding is not dictated by one annual period of food plenty [Music] female orangutangs give birth at any time of year and a single slow growing youngster receives a huge amount of maternal time and energy animals that live with an annual cycle of wet and dry don't have this luxury in the tropics Moisture constantly circulates between land sea and air what goes up as evaporation eventually comes down again as rain and some of the moisture sweated upwards by this lush steam bath fuels the monsoon by November seasonal Indian ocean currents have blocked the westward flow of water and it's now trapped in the giant Indonesian warm pool heating steadily under the tropical Sun moisture streams upward from the surface turning to cloud which is pushed south by the cold air flow from the Tibetan Plateau these waiters were masked faraway in Asia waiting for the winds to carry themselves on a five-day flight to Australia their arrival is the first visible sign of change the dry will soon be over but their journey isn't this was just a staging post they must now fly to summer feeding grounds down on the southern tip of Australia [Music] the winds that brought the birds carry a tantalizing promise of rain they also bring moist air and humidity soars making this a furnace and a steam bath waiting for the monsoon is hell the animals of the Northwest are now serving time in a harsh prison governed by a pitiless Sun the Billabong is setting like concrete the crocodile has nowhere to hide a water-dwelling file snake is within days of gasping its last if the rains don't come soon mud will be it's to the crocodiles life - hangs by a thread his heart beats twice a minute he breathes just once an hour his head is buried in a desperate attempt to keep it cool heat radiates off the baking escarpment moist air is being pulled south from Equatorial seas hot updrafts lifted turning it into cloud the first localized storms are about to break creeks flow as if they'd never run dry the rainbow pitter changes suddenly from shy recluse too noisy bird of action mails swiftly set up territories find mates and throw up bulky waterproof nests it'll soon be raining in earnest a pair of orange footed scrub fowl have lept into action adjusting their huge nest mound a sort of compost heap which stews and heats up when warmth water and microbes get together a surrogate parent perfect for incubating buried eggs invertebrates survived the dry months deep underground the rains have brought them up to feed at a moist surface snails and worms fall straight into the clutches of Pitters now out collecting chick food these first rains are loaded with nitrogen fixed in a chemical reaction between air water and lightning and dumped on the landscape like tons of the best garden fertilizer the nitrogen rich new growth is the year's best grazing wallabies rapidly regain lost weight the monsoon isn't just six months of solid rain it comes and goes in waves or troughs at first it's gentle with localized storms later more persistent rain will fall and out at sea the first trough is growing the first rains were enough to rescue the crocodile he's afloat again back in business and into the fray facing up to those who'd steal is Billabong territory if they could a smaller male would back off one of equal size won't the territory holder must hang on to his piece of real estate to be able to attract females and breed competition between males is about the right to procreate and that's worth fighting for the trough that was forming has come ashore bringing strong northwesterly winds with it the previous rains have soaked the soil and cicadas have emerged to call for mates under the relative shelter of branches if you're at or new frog mouth who can't hide under a branch you have a right to look miserable it's rained without a break for days rivers flow strongly again for the first time in six months for about five weeks now erratic storms and showers take the place of monsoon troughs and the animals take advantage of the brief lull between the years big monsoon rain events this stretch of stream is the home range of a mertens water monitor a big lizard equally at home on land as in water that switches diet between dry and way fresh fish are now on the menu [Music] it's tailors different from other monitor lizards flattened paddle like the propeller that drives it metre long body these rainbow fish swim too fast for the water monitor it targets slow-moving purple spotted gudgeon hiding under ledges [Music] local showers and storms maintain the water levels of streams in Billabong's the saltwater crocodile has secured his territory he's attracted a female and is trying to impress her with his size and strength their courtship is peppered with bubbles rumbles and splashes [Applause] he's at least twice her length and four times heavier but still he pushes her around delicately and with care she'll respond fearlessly aggressively if he doesn't match up his mix display lures the females and repels rivals the jabiru chick has fledged and with its parents is hunting long tongue a type of garfish quickly dispatched and swallowed other River animals present a real puzzle a baby northern long neck turtle comes protected by hardshell [Applause] this store hasn't learned that you can just swallow them whole and let digestive juices do the rest as the waters spread spangled grunters turn nomads journeying to colonize new watercourses the grunters need to rush the shallows dangerous bottlenecks wear whisker terns pants [Music] freshwater crabs tie Liang [Music] become between the monsoon troughs is about two Emmys as if sensing a drop in air pressure the whisker turns fly to take cover in the mangroves the mightiest second monsoon trough arrives with a spectacular flourish [Music] [Music] [Music] this much deeper trough hits northwestern Australia in late February its rains will be the most torrential of the year falling almost constantly for weeks drenched magpie geese wait for the water level to rise and the wild rice to flower and seed then they can nest and raise their young a tough skinned crocodile is impervious to heavy rain but his familiar territorial boundaries are starting to disappear as the water rises agile Wallabies now start edging off the plains to higher ground it's as if they had a sixth sense of what is about to happen by mid March every last square meter of sandstone escarpment is saturated it can hold no more and water erupts [Music] [Music] [Music] rivers have risen high over their banks and add their rapid flow to the inundated surroundings a flycatcher made a sad choice of a nest site it was originally high on a bank the chicken eggs have little chance a Plains monitor exiled from its burrow by rising water a reptile not designed to swim like its paddle tailed cousin the top of the tree standing meters deep in water is a life raft each tree is crowned with a homeless grasshoppers by the score a waterlogged dusky rat the whiskered turns at roost in the mangroves will feast on the luckless grasshoppers they've had to switch diet ever since the fish spread out they've become too difficult to catch the monsoon trough moved south leaving an impressive mark the dusky rat has had to abandon his perch and look for another the rains may have gone but the waters hadn't stopped rising you the wet season is hard on these native animals death weights in the deep flowing water below and in the leafy outposts however this particular water pythons has already stuffed himself with castaways his only problem is keeping warm in order to digest all the free meals which include animals used to water but not this much all manner of castaways cling desperately to anything that rears above the water some can survive without a daily meal but the plainer gales cannot Australia's smallest carnival is incredibly aggressive willing to devour prey its own size the plains monitor can fast for several weeks and survive which is just as well it may not be able to return to the barrows drugged by these claws for six weeks plenty of time for its bite to heal mineral-rich silt from the escarpment washes down over the plains an injection of nutrients to invigorate them when the waters finally received in some places the river is 20 kilometers wide crocodiles and fish now spread out in a mass migration but for others it's a time to get out of the water onto dry land if they can if it rains more than usual life on the river bank can lose its appeal [Music] having dumped much of its rain the monsoon continues South drawn down to the void over the deserts left by rising hot air its journey's end this is where the monsoon sheds its last dying showers but as it expires the monsoon cools the air kills the hot updrafts and finally puts out the fire that drew it here several months later the desert is a place transformed [Music] honey Lou T's arrived from the south to drink the huge nectar clock from flowers like Sturtz desert pea [Music] millions of grasshoppers have hatched [Music] this generation will leave their legacy as eggs buried in the sand ready to hatch when a new monsoon arrives next year you [Music] the monsoon is now gathering strength for its journey back to the Himalayas though thousands of kilometers apart the fiery Australian deserts and these great icy peaks share the same monsoon system the link between Himalayan snows and Australian monsoon rain ties these two great continents together equatorial rainforests constantly feed heat and moisture into the monsoon as does the vast Indonesian warm pool that surrounds these islands this much of the system is known but a new element has just entered the equation Indian Ocean warm and cold Eddie's first seen from space hundreds of kilometers in extent their role is still a mystery the animals of Australia's tropical Northwest have of course no understanding of such things nor of our quest to penetrate the monsoons deeper mysteries only the fact of its existence concerns them [Music] the rhythm of their lives moves to its regular beat and the waters it brings are a matter of life itself [Music]

Channel: CuriousVideos

Views: 80,303

Keywords: ABC, Australia, Eye, of, the, Storm, 4of4, Monsoon

Id: -ua27_IslNk

Length: 50min 0sec (3000 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 30 2011