The Super Comet: On a Strange Planet (2/2) | Full Documentary

[Music] it happened long before our time it would change the face of our planet forever [Music] a gigantic object from space smashed into the earth the planet was transformed into a fiery furnace [Music] it was left a wasteland all life was extinguished [Music] in one massive blow a whole era of Earth's history came to an end but the world recovered and began to bloom once again the age of humanity dawned man conquered the earth and subdue it but the cosmos has long been preparing its second strike [Applause] [Music] [Music] humanity stands at a crossroads in its history a comment from the edge of the solar system is on a collision course with the earth leading experts consider the outlaw absolutely nothing we can do to avoid the greatest natural catastrophe that civilization has ever experienced this is the moment of truth they gotta be with us on a mission to deflect the comet fails the whole world faces an uncertain future Fernando Martinez tries to get back to his wife and children in Mexico he doesn't know he's heading straight for the impact zone they've estimated the coordinates at the point of impact the Yucatan Peninsula the very same place where the comet crash to earth 65 million years ago it's the same scenario this time we are the victims people have no idea what will happen the comet is unstoppable and deadly anything that's unprotected is going to die within the first few minutes after this impact with that one blow the earth bursts into flames it is hotter than the Sun there are worldwide tsunamis and strange phenomena [Music] fire paws from the sky like rain [Music] we share only a handful survived the Holocaust [Music] mankind is thrown into a new Dark Age we'll all the human race survive [Music] life clock by life clock you mean that the earth itself if not an organized ecosystem can actually come back to life as it were after a cataclysmic event can a story a molecular biologist studies animal survival strategies the last time a comet hit the life clock did start not for everyone many species were wiped out the total biomass on the earth decreased tremendously some species were losers and that's what we focus on but some species were winners they were winners because they survived like turtles and crocodiles but the real win was after they survived there were no competitors [Music] where there are no enemies there's also no one who can help Fernando survived only a few hundred kilometers from the impact site but he's completely on his own [Music] pungent sulfuric gases filled the air the impact has made the earth extremely hot [Music] Earth has been draped in darkness for days the survivors gather around the many bonfires that can be seen from afar many are disoriented and traumatized [Music] she's wearing a white jacket haven't seen nobody know Henry Votto is looking for his wife they were separated on the night of the impact after the chaos there is an eerie calm there is still enough food to last for a few weeks but how long will the darkness loss [Music] BAM big rock hits the earth and it and it transforms a vast quantity of matter at the surface of the earth essentially into a vapor matthew huber studies the history of the earth especially the dynamics between the ocean and the atmosphere there's a mingling of the mass of the original impactor and plus all of the surface that it vaporized that gets pumped up high into the atmosphere through the troposphere into the stratosphere where that rock starts to condense out and and form a solid and it forms a massive layer of dust most of the dust will actually be high up in the atmosphere well above where you and I might be but it'll be very dark most of the sunlight will will not make it to the surface and it'll be as dark as a moonless night [Music] since leaving the observatory the scientists know a Boyle in Chinatown have battled their way across the volcanic terrain of Hawaii in the damp tropical climate of the rainforest not all the plants were burnt but the lack of sunlight is taking an ever-increasing toll [Music] the vegetation also suffered from the acid rain caused by the sulfuric compounds that the impact hurled into the atmosphere these plants aren't going to make it without sunlight pH value to 4.2 4.2 is approximately the pH value of buttermilk that in itself is not dangerous but that level of acidity in the atmosphere slowly releases heavy metals from the soil and can therefore lead to dangerous levels of toxins we shouldn't drink this much longer [Applause] shouldn't stay on this island much longer in the darkness the Fertile island has become a desert hostile to life sunlight is our planet's indispensable source of energy most plants cannot exist without light and after a few weeks of darkness they die this breaks the first link in the food chain all life hangs in the balance you all know what these are they're plain everyday potatoes and I just want to show you what happens to seeds or tubers like this when they germinate in the ground dr. VV vada specializes in the mass extinctions that have occurred throughout the Earth's history [Music] they thrive to break through the surface to reach the sunlight but what happens when the Sun is no longer shining even in darkness seeds will germinate in their search for light sprouts shoot up very quickly in the process they use up all their reserves of energy when they only find total darkness they will keep on growing as pale sprouts for some time after the impact the ground will be covered by white sprouts and from all kind of plants but in perpetual darkness the plants run out of energy and they die [Music] the baka people have adapted to the new conditions they gather all the food they can that survived the catastrophe they preserve the meat and store it for the future [Music] [Music] Fernando has been waiting for days for the ground to cool he still doesn't know exactly where the comet hit there are no reference points in the devastated landscape yet he still decides to press on the dogs his only companions are now vitally important you're gonna take me to my family and then you'll join the family [Music] let's get ready [Music] the improvised sleigh glides easily over the micro tektites glass pellets formed from showers of molten rock they cover the ground for several thousand square kilometers around the point of impact after long days of searching Noah and Shang finally find other survivors your ham let me take a look Noah I can help you Noah come back [Music] [Music] I'll come back for it yeah I hope so [Music] natural disasters can threaten our sense of control predictability safety and Trust David settlers specializes in the psychological effects of hurricanes earthquakes and tsunamis it's so important that we're able to predict what's going to happen to our lives that we have a daily routine we all have habits things that we we know happen day to day what time we wake up and what time we'll go to bed we know that we can count on a stable supply of food we know that we can trust that certain supplies will be there at the grocery store and natural disasters shake our world it's people who can think flexibly who can adapt to the new situation and the new challenges it's people who have a sense of optimism and are able to cope in a way that looks at a problem and says how can we solve this problem hoping to reach one of the neighboring islands Noah and Shung build around except for the one disappointing encounter they haven't met another living soul and they realize that in the long run they don't stand a chance on their own look at this it's beautiful yeah poisonous [Music] it is a mushroom of a kind they've never seen before this is the start of an era in which fungi will dominate the Earth's surface the darkness left by the catastrophe has created ideal conditions for all kinds of fungi prehistoric fossils tell the same story so here we see the KT boundary of New Zealand and their results from our study shows that below the boundary you find pollen and spores from hundred different plants the line known as the KT boundary marks the impact of a meteorite 65 million years ago it caused a sharp transition from the chalk edge to the tertiary period all over the world as soon as you get to the boundary layer I find only fungal spores for about four millimeters you can imagine a scenario with fallen logs dead animals and plants and on top of this fungus growing and the reason is that they are not photosynthetic they don't need sunlight to grow so for some time after the impact the fungi ruled earth plants need light to live funghi do not they thrive by breaking down dead organic material that makes them important in the process of returning nutrients to the soil making it fertile entire landscapes are covered with fungi their predominance is short-lived however it is superseded by another legacy of the disaster the long-lasting darkness makes the earth cool dramatically although it is only the first months of the northern autumn temperatures drop well below freezing it will be a long winter Henry and Michelle take refuge in an abandoned farmhouse the darkness and the freezing temperature make it impossible to do anything and lead to nervous tension why are you messing with this radio dad I'm starving and we're almost out of firewood listen I'm hungry too but we need to know what's going on out there our people close by and they help us out is there a train running or cars we know nothing at all nothing the others say it's woman Mediterranean mama definitely tried to go there if I can get this thing fixed then we're going to find mom I'm gonna go out and get us some more firewood okay come on and yeah Danny wants to go home to in Desert Rats Alberto sugan snow in her house for Hong Kong sugan snow in cotton India's air shaft so as a my Bachmann didi uh little bonnets listen fuzzy believe me sociologist valve Dombrowski is an expert in the field of disaster management the manager is Medina managed smear via many onyx or hitting akan their professors is nits Marriott banana Pawan yagan naruse middle Besson can then une fille light is of the annex Maivia Diana came from Knudsen candy iDEN and loiter for deep type of oven can assess the Ganser Picanto geezer shaft roped were shifted Z in your Albert's tile on whom would be a decently naturally or extremely sticky business pretend the value all total darkness has now lasted for two months the temperature is in freefall a small group of people seek refuge in an abandoned house in this endless night people are beginning to lose courage more and more people fall victim to paralyzing fear crowded together with other survivors Henry and Michelle battle against the merciless cold [Music] daddy wake up wake up now everything is gonna be okay right [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the first rays of sunlight bring hope of an end to the grueling winter Matthew Juba has developed a climate model for the months immediately following the disaster now you might think after a while it'll rain out it'll fall out and indeed that's what happens over the course of weeks and months the dust will settle but the news is not as good as you might think it is what ends up happening then is at the same time as the big rock slammed into the surface of the earth what it was slamming into was a whole bunch of carbonate rock and and seawater that injected into the atmosphere a whole bunch of sulfur and this aerosol or haze persists in the atmosphere long after the dust is settled and this haze will in time lead to a cooling drawing moisture from the atmosphere the polar ice caps grow ever larger the climate becomes drier and the continents freeze over Paris now lies in the midst of an icy desert with temperatures 40 degrees Celsius below normal the temperature remains bearable only close to the ocean in New York City it is just below freezing closer to the equator people are totally unprepared for the extreme cold many of the Barker becomes sick cases of malnutrition are appearing the bunker [Music] [Music] yo mama sees the cold white flakes of snow for the first time in his life his language has no word for them where where he find food now what was once his familiar homeland has turned into a strange and threatening world all life seems to have been extinguished at first sight the situation seems hopeless but nature is extremely resilient and over time it has developed many strategies for survival the examples are endless these are the freeze tolerant wood products of Canada they survive in our environment for eight or nine months frozen solidly under the ground as the Frog starts to freeze ice penetrates into the Frog through its veins and arteries your veins and arteries are like long tubes and what ice does is it grows down the long tubes and it pushes the blood into the center of the Frog at this time the heart is beating very fast the frogs are low not frightened their heart speeds up and their blood flow goes very fast but when ice eventually freezes the blood then the heart stops all surrounded by ice if you have electrodes and put it into the Frog brain no brain activity at all they are dead if they were in a hospital if they were on ER on television they would be dead flatlined but as soon as they thaw out the organs begin to start again the electricity comes back to the brain and they have normal brain patterns they don't forget what they have learned they there they're not damaged and a impact event far away from them that only extended winter a little bit of time they might not even literally not even notice when a frog begins to freeze it produces a large amount of glucose this prevents the ice crystals from destroying its cells when the frost is over the Frog thaws out and awakens to new life [Music] [Music] yesterday Fernando's food ran out now suddenly the dogs have vanished hey guys Hey [Music] hey guys [Music] fernanda's chances of survival on his own are minimal but despair drives him on sulfurous fumes make it difficult to breathe and despite the worldwide drop in temperature here close to the impact point it is still warm without water his days are numbered [Music] time is also running out for noah and shun we're never gonna make this work come on we're almost there the funny thing is not just normal activity I don't think it has anything to do with the impact who's that it's chat I thought you we're building a rap to get over to Maui Donna Lauria's overdue you don't want to be around when she starts to spit do you think you've got time to finish that hey come with me the scientists actually ruled out the possibility of volcanic activity resulting from the impact of the comet but active volcanoes such as mourner lower our powder cakes they can erupt at any time wanna lower now awakes from its sleep Europe remains in the grip of icy cold inland it is unbearable but the return of daylight brings hope to the hearts of the desperate one group decides to make for the south Henry and Michelle are among that group their only chance of survival lies in flight staying where they are means certain death [Music] they want to reach the Mediterranean there where it's warmer they hope things will be better but they face a long and dangerous journey on foot [Music] one of the things that's going to happen is that the insides of the continents are going to get extremely cold something like 30 40 up to 50 degrees below zero and we can also expect that the the oceans will not be that cold so if you want to survive the place to go is the coasts as far as I can tell the best place to be is right near a large body of water that's gonna retain its heat if you move away from the coasts the temperatures are going to be like nothing that you've ever experienced before well what do you think that you still want to keep working on your death trap but luckily we found a cave nearby hey everybody what's the snow and charm they're coming with us we leave tomorrow morning Noah and Shang can sense the distrust of the others space and resources on the yacht are limited as it is [Music] but they have no choice they must get off the island [Music] the basalt lava heated to over a thousand degrees Celsius leaves a trail of destruction as it creeps down morn Aloha and over the foothills Henry and Michelle have taken refuge in an abandoned railway station Henry still hopes to use his radio set to contact other survivors and maybe just maybe find his wife father and daughter have so far been able to avoid falling ill it is an ever-present danger medicine is practically non-existent a tiny infection when combined with a poor diet can be a death sentence [Music] Michelle misses her mother badly everywhere they go she looks for some trace of her the catastrophe has torn countless families apart notices and urgent appeals are posted everywhere but there's not a sign of her mother [Music] although her group is now not far from the sea it's by no means certain that they will make it too many of them are sick and weak their progress is very slow then she makes an exciting discovery [Music] we're going to fight the handcar proves their salvation the coast is suddenly within the easy reach [Music] a gigantic mountain of loose rocks towers up before Fernando there's no way around it plagued by hunger and thirst he struggles off [Music] this is the end of the road he has reached the Comets impact point it is a crater 200 kilometers across full of molten lava for more than a thousand kilometers all around nothing has survived [Music] a both Ayotte the atmosphere is tense Chad the helmsman has lost his way the food supply is dwindling and they haven't caught a fish for days [Music] star Shawn was lucky the shark too has been looking for a meal for a long time marine life is all but extinguished only a few creatures have survived and they are hungry the long period without photosynthesis has affected the delicate ecosystem of the ocean it will take a long time to regenerate [Music] Henry and Michelle's group has finally reached the coast but father and daughter are both in low spirits the search for Catherine has gone on for too long and has taken its toll dad what is it miss you why are we going just tell me Pepa noon today is San Jose ax maybe specialist I don't know we'll see we're going to find mom I know [Music] in the Pacific the yacht with its refugees floats in a calm everything is still too still don't even think that's all just history now that's why I'm saving it for the record the refugees suspect nothing but overhead a storm is brewing a consequence of the extreme climatic changes the earth has undergone winds are driven by really strong temperature gradients and we can expect fantastic wind speeds associated with this really strong temperature gradient now over the oceans where there's nothing to block these winds as they get stronger we can expect massive storms about as strong as we might find in a tornado except in the in the ocean regions and we might have winds as strong as several hundred miles per hour blowing cyclone suddenly blows up out of nowhere the boat hasn't the slightest chance against it Henry and Michelle's group have been trekking south for days now their joy at having escaped the ice gives way to the sobering realization that even though it's warmer here they still haven't met a single soul nor have they found a suitable place to settle [Music] Oh [Music] what should a person do in this kind of a situation where you're meeting a strange group for the first time in unfamiliar territory the anthropologist Stanley Ambrose has studied social cooperation after natural disasters where much of the population is lost during difficult times in Earth history human history such as during the last ice age especially the early part of the last ice age when times were really tough the best option for survival would have been to cooperate with your neighbors over long distances and giving gifts to your neighbors was probably one of the best ways of ensuring your access to those territories that you might need to go to when resources in your area failed so to make a long story short I think these very difficult environmental conditions was a strong natural selection pressure for cooperation [Music] [Music] there are a lot of crooks around here were you from Paris there's another group that arrived last week come with us [Music] can't sleep nurse please land we can't be far now [Music] which are cuddly we go oh wow it's all about you [Music] some of the survivors have settled in this oasis in the middle of a vast wasteland at the foot of the Pyrenees [Music] [Applause] [Music] the vadas are reunited at last for a moment all the stress seems far in the past [Music] and yet it seems like it was only yesterday that a mission failed and a super comet hit the earth [Music] changing everything forever and annihilating civilization does the human race have a chance to survive will the earth recover for the scientists the answer is clear the first event was in a largely tropical world Canada which is now cold and has deserts and has animals that survive freezing was a tropical paradise there was huge trees that were dinosaurs roaming around Canada and we have immense oil reserves to prove it this time what happens is after the event after of course the 800 degree day after the winter there's many more environments that have spawned animals that should survive better the life clock will start more quickly it will start on a more active basis that as more animals will survive and different kinds of animals will survive maybe even mammals will come out of their dens of hibernation stretch find food and be able to live literally the first year out of the box when Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980 an entire mountain top slid down devastating an area of five hundred square kilometres it looked like all life in the region had been extinguished forever but nature recovered quickly much more quickly than the scientists had expected not only did plant life regenerate but animals ever adaptable also returned if there is a lesson to be learned from such a disaster it is one of hope even the scientists cannot say just how life will go on but one thing is certain the life clock will go on ticking in the course of its evolution the human race has survived many catastrophes [Music] the Baka have found a new home by the sea where there is enough food and warmth to sustain them [Music] how will people come to grips with life after such a catastrophe how in the long term will they cope with the loss of their civilization [Music] they will undoubtedly build new settlements and adapt to their new conditions the children born after the catastrophe will think that the old world their parents tell them about is nothing more than a story from a planet far away technology will soon develop once again allowing people to open up the enclaves they are now confined to [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] our blue planet will recover from the Cataclysm as it has done so often in the course of its history many species will be lost forever but new forms of life will see the light of day [Music]

Channel: hazards and catastrophes

Views: 117,169

Rating: 4.6532617 out of 5

Keywords: science documentary, full documentary, full documentaries, documentary, earth documentary, catastrophe documentary, Super Comet Documentary, Comet, Comet Documentary, Earth Documentary, Planet Documentary, Planet Earth, Rocket, Rocket Documentary, Big Bang, Meteor shower, Impact Event, Asteroid Documentary, On a Strange Planet, explosion docuemntary, Planet Earth Documentary, Comet Impact, Big Bang Documentary, Solar System, Solar System Documentary, earth comet collision

Id: uMNhbzExHCQ

Length: 49min 48sec (2988 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 27 2017