The History of Earth - How Our Planet Formed - Full Documentary HD

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The Earth, as far as we know, it's the

only home to life in the

universe. So, what makes our planet so

special?

To find answers, we must travel back in

time. See the first humans walk the

earth. Ride each colliding

continent. Face killer

dinosaurs. Dive into oceans full of

bizarre life

forms. Feel the bitter chill of global

ice ages and experience the fury of

cosmic missile

attacks. By traveling back in time, we

can piece together our planet's

incredible story and discover why all of

this and all of us are here.

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The journey starts almost 5 billion

years

ago. There's no sign of Earth just yet.

Only the sun, a newborn star surrounded

by

dust. The Earth hasn't formed yet.

But through time, gravity pulls the dust

into tiny rocks.

To our surprise, something as complex as

a planet is made from nothing more than

dust and

rocks. Over millions of years, gravity

pulls these rocks together to form the

Earth, one of at least 100 planets

circling the sun.

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But 4 and a half billion years ago,

Earth looks more like hell than home.

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Up close, the temperature is over 2,000°

F. There's no air, just carbon dioxide,

nitrogen, and water

vapor. It's so hot and toxic that if we

got any closer, we'd be incinerated and

suffocated in seconds.

This newborn planet is a boiling ball of

liquid

rock. An endless ocean of

lava. A young planet called Thea is

heading straight for

Earth. The size of Mars, it travels

nearly 10

m/s, 20 times faster than a bullet.

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The intruder's gravity distorts the

Earth's surface.

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The blast wave races around the

planet. It's as though both young

planets turn to liquid.

Trillions of tons of debris blast out

into

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space. But over the course of a thousand

years, gravity turns the rubble into a

ring of red hot dust and rock that

circles the

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Earth. From this ring, a balls over

2,000 m wide.

It's the birth of our

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moon, but it's much closer than the moon

today.

just 14,000 mi away instead of a quarter

of a million

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miles. The sun rises over a cooling

Earth and sets just 3 hours later.

The earth is spinning so fast that an

entire day lasts 6

hours. The days may pass quickly, but

the earth changes

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slowly. To understand the making of our

planet, we need to fast forward through

millions of years.

3.9 billion years ago, a hail of meteors

attacked the Earth.

It's debris left over from the solar

systems

formation. Inside the medas are crystals

that look like grains of

salt. And inside the crystals are minute

droplets of water.

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These deadly missiles could contain the

vital ingredient for life on Earth.

Only a small amount of water exists

inside each meteorite. But as they

bombard the Earth for over 20 million

years, pools of water

grow. The Earth's core remains molten,

but its surface has cooled enough to

form a crust.

The air is around

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170°. In the future, there's a chance we

could swallow this very

water. Every sip, every puddle, every

drop of water in every ocean is billions

of years old.

And it may have traveled millions of

miles to reach us, carried inside a

meteor. The Earth looks more familiar,

but it's still a dangerous

place. Winds are faster than the most

destructive hurricanes

today. It's a mega storm whipped up by

the planet's rapid rotation.

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The moon is so close to Earth that its

gravity is overwhelmed, creating huge

tides that race across the planet's

surface.

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But over time, the moon moves way. The

waves calm down and the planet spins

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slower. 700 million years after the

planet's birth, life-giving water covers

its

surface and scattered throughout are

tiny

islands. They seem to have appeared from

nowhere. So, how did they get

here? Molten rock bursts through the

Earth's crust and rises up through the

ocean. Over time, the lava cools,

forming a volcanic island.

In the future, these islands will join

together to form the first

continents. Earth now has water and

land. It's beginning to look like the

planet we call

home. But the atmosphere is still toxic

and the temperature is scorching.

Life here is

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impossible. Since the planet's

formation, meteors have been pummeling

Earth. But now, 3.8 billion years ago,

the assault enters a violent new phase.

Something's disturbed the orbits of

these

meteorites. In addition to water, the

meteors carry something else.

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As they dissolve, the meteorites release

minerals. Carbon and primitive proteins

made of amino acids are transported from

outer space to the bottom of the

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ocean. Thousands of feet below the

waves, it is dark and close to freezing.

But a dramatic illusion is taking

shape. Underwater chimneys spewing hot

liquid.

Seawater seeps down into the earth

through cracks in the crust, collecting

minerals and gases along the way. This

potent mixture is released back out into

the ocean, building these

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towers. Combined with the minerals and

chemicals from the meteorites, the water

becomes a chemical soup.

It's impossible to know how or when, but

somehow these chemicals come together to

create

life. The water is now full of

microscopic organisms. These

single-sellled bacteria are the earliest

forms of life on Earth.

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This is a defining moment in the making

of the

planet. Microscopic life is

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underway. For hundreds of millions of

years, nothing changes.

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The only life is single-sellled

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bacteria. To find more complex life, we

need to fast forward to 3.5 billion

years

ago and a shallow ocean.

These look like rocks or even plants

growing out of the

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seabed. Each mound is a colony of living

bacteria called a strummatalite.

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These bacteria turn sunlight into food,

a process called

photosynthesis. It uses the power of

sunlight to transform carbon dioxide and

water into glucose, a simple form of

sugar.

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And this magical

transformation releases a

byproduct, a gas called

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oxygen. Underwater, the strumatalytes

slowly fill the oceans with oxygen.

The oxygen then turns traces of iron

into rust which fall to the ocean floor

to form deposits of ironrich rock. It's

this mineral that will one day be used

to build bridges, ships, and

skyscrapers.

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Above the waves, the oxygen transforms

the

atmosphere. These strumatalytes are

creating the most important element for

life on

Earth. Without them, virtually every

living thing wouldn't

exist.

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Over the next 2 billion years, oxygen

levels continue to rise. And as the

planet spin slows, the days get

longer, lasting at least 16 hours.

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3 billion years after the planet's

birth, there's still no complex life, no

plants, no dinosaurs, no

humans. But the Earth has something

unlike any other planet in this solar

system. A force with the power to change

everything.

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1 and a half billion years ago, the

Earth is a beautiful blue ball dotted

with volcanic

islands. Over millions of years, a

mysterious force rearranges these

islands. Hidden beneath the ocean, the

Earth's crust breaks into vast plates.

But even deeper, the Earth's core is so

hot that it generates movement in the

rock beneath the

crust. These movements push and pull the

plates around the

globe, carrying the oceans and islands

with

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them. Millions of years race

by. Our planet is alive and

changing. Over 400 million years, a vast

new superc continent takes shape. It's

called Rodinia.

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In the shallow waters surrounding

Rodinia, strumatalytes work their magic

for more than 2 billion years, pumping

oxygen into the

atmosphere. The temperature is

85° and the days are 18 hours long.

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But this planet looks more like Mars

than

Earth. To find life, we must fast

forward through time.

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Washington State 750 million years

ago. A force deep inside the planet rips

the crust to

pieces. It's as though the world is

breaking

apart. And there's only one force

powerful enough to do

this.

Heat. It escapes from the Earth's molten

core, stretching and weakening the

crust.

Inch by inch, year by year, the great

superc continent is splitting in two.

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The intense geological activity spawns a

mass of

volcanoes. They pump carbon dioxide into

the atmosphere.

The carbon dioxide mixes with water and

creates acid rain.

When the continent tore apart, many

rocks were

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exposed. These rocks absorbed the acid

rain, including its carbon dioxide. Vast

quantities of CO2 are absorbed out of

the atmosphere.

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Now, there's not enough carbon dioxide

in the air to trap the sun's heat around

the

planet. In just a few thousand years,

the temperature plummets to around -60°.

This frozen wasteland is southern

Australia 650 million years

ago. It's the start of what some

scientists call snowball

Earth. A period they believe to be the

longest, coldest ice age ever to grip

the planet.

A vast wall of ice looms thousands of

feet

high and it's

unstoppable. The more ice there is, the

more sunlight it reflects away from the

planet and the faster the ice

spreads. Nearby is a second ice sheet

just as

high. The two sheets spread away from

the poles toward each other to meet at

the equator.

Now, an ice sheet up to 10,000 ft thick

covers the entire

planet. Earth first began as a molten

ball of fire. Now it's a frozen ball of

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ice. Virtually all the sun's light and

warmth reflects back into

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space. And it seems as though nothing,

not even the sun, can rescue the planet

now.

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650 million years ago, ice intombs the

planet. For 15 million years, the Earth

is a vast frozen

snowball. But it can't last forever.

Something must release the Earth from

this frozen

prison. And when it does, who knows

whether life has survived beneath the

ice. The surface is frozen, but the core

is still hotter than the sun's

surface. Volcanoes have been erupting

since the world began to freeze. But up

until now, even their heat and power

made no impact on the

ice. Volcanoes pump out billions of tons

of carbon

dioxide. Before the big freeze, the

Earth's rocks absorbed most of the

CO2. But now, with the rocks smothered

in ice, there's nothing to absorb the

gas. So it fills the

atmosphere like a blanket. It traps the

sun's warmth around the planet, allowing

the temperatures to

rise. Now, after 15 million years, the

ice begins to melt.

It's thought that during snowball Earth,

the ice pushed the crust down, but now

as it melts, the crust bounces

up creating fissures and weak

spots and more

volcanoes. The volcanoes release more

carbon dioxide and push the temperature

up even

higher. The melt gathers

momentum and oxygen levels rise.

Through a series of chemical reactions,

the ice has created

oxygen. While the planet was frozen, the

sun's ultraviolet rays reacted with

water molecules in the ice to produce

hydrogen peroxide, a chemical rich in

oxygen.

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Now, as the ice melts, the hydrogen

peroxide breaks down and releases

massive amounts of oxygen.

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The earth is waking

up and it's a very different place.

600 million years ago, the atmosphere is

warmer, like a summer day.

And the days are about 22 hours

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long. Add all this water and it's the

perfect recipe for

life. Before Snowball Earth, primitive

bacteria emerged in the oceans.

But surely they couldn't have survived

an ice age 75 times longer than the

entire span of human

history. If something has survived, then

life may be found where it was last

seen, in the oceans.

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Now, 540 million years ago, in an ocean

full of oxygen, those primitive bacteria

have

evolved. A handful must have clung on

through the big

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freeze. There are plants scattered on

the

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seafloor and something else.

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What looks like an armored slug takes up

residence. It's called

Rewaxia. A new generation of complex

multi-selled

organisms. The Earth enters one of the

most dynamic periods in its history, the

Cambrian

Explosion. Increased oxygen levels allow

creatures to grow larger and develop

bony skeletons.

There are

worms,

sponges, and these

trilobyes. Distant relatives of insects,

lobsters, even scorpions.

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Life in the oceans

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blossoms from microscopic bacteria to

monsters.

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This is

Anomalaris. Nearly 2 ft

long. It has large

eyes, razor sharp teeth, and grasping

limbs.

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All it has to do is take its

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pick. The trilobyte can't ride itself.

Its soft belly is exposed.

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Also found in the sea is picaya. Only an

inch and a half long. They may be the

first organism with a

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spine. Over millions of years, this

simple structure will evolve into the

spine that keeps us standing.

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expecting to find life in ruins. The

oceans are in fact full of

life. Where trilobyes

scavenge, monsters

prowl, and where creatures begin to take

on familiar

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forms. Beneath the waves, there are

already tens of thousands of plant and

animal species.

The advance of life seems

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unstoppable. 460 million years ago, the

plates had been moving again.

A new continent now

exists,

Gonduana. It's 90° and oxygen levels are

close to what they are

today. The land should be covered with

plants and crawling with

creatures, but there's not much here

besides a few patches of algae.

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There's only one

explanation, the

sun. It blasts the surface with deadly

radiation.

So, the complex life in the ocean

doesn't stand a chance on

land. But 30 m up, where the rays enter

the Earth's atmosphere, something is

happening. When oxygen meets the sun's

radiation, it turns into another kind of

gas called ozone.

This gas forms a blanket around the

planet and absorbs the lethal

radiation. Over 120 million years, the

ozone layer gets thicker and prevents

more and more radiation from reaching

the Earth's

surface. Without this layer, life on

land simply wouldn't

exist. Now, shielded from radiation,

life takes off.

Small mossy lumps are the first land

plants. They pump out even more

oxygen. Levels soar.

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375 million years ago, a new species

lives in the

water

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swimming. It's a strange fish called

Tectalic.

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It uses its neck to raise itself up.

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And its fins function as

legs, allowing it to move out of the

water.

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This is one of the most important

moments in the making of our

planet. Over 15 million years, creatures

like these

evolve. They grow stronger limbs and

spend more time out of the water where

plant life is exploding.

Until 360 million years ago, their

relatives, called tetropods, make the

land their

home. From tetropods, four-legged

vertebrates evolve into dinosaurs,

birds, mammals, and

eventually humans.

There are mosses and ferns everywhere,

some at least 100 ft

tall. A seed is carried by the

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wind. Until now, plants reproduced using

spores, single cell particles that need

plenty of water to grow.

But this seed is miles from

water. This embryionic plant has its own

food and water

supply. Unlike a spore, this seed can

survive far from water for months, even

years.

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The humble seed spreads life across the

plant, and each tree and plant pumps out

even more oxygen.

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It's an environment very much like

today.

The planet has come a long way. From a

lump of burning rock and dust to a blue

and green world bursting with life.

There are now fish,

plants, and

this the

dragonfly. It's called

Megura. This insect is the size of an

eagle.

What were once legs have evolved into

wings, extending the dragonflyy's

hunting territory over a vast

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area. There are also millipedes and

spiders down there.

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These creatures, called arthropods, were

among the first to set foot on land

hundreds of millions of years ago. They

look almost identical to the bugs that

invade our homes today. Except for one

big difference. Like the megaura,

they're monsters.

It's a world full of giants where

millipedes are 6 ft long and scorpions

are the size of

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wolves. This is because the oxygen level

is much higher than it is today, which

allows their respiratory systems to be

more efficient, fueling their bodies to

grow larger.

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So far, animals have been laying their

eggs in the

water. But a lizard-like creature called

the Hyonamus prefers

land. Its eggs contain all the water and

nutrients that the developing fetus

needs. The babies grow in their own

self-contained pond.

The egg is a major evolutionary

breakthrough, allowing animals to leave

the water behind and conquer

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land. This baby Hilanos leads the

advance.

as a new creature, the

reptile. Inevitably, with life comes

death.

Dead plant matter builds up and decays

into dense, soggy

layers. Over hundreds of millions of

years, rocks cover these layers, and

heat from the Earth's core and pressure

from the overlying rocks transform these

layers into seams of

coal. Each lump of coal burned today is

made of plants that died 300 million

years ago.

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amidst the decay. Hidden from sight,

life is

stirring. Soon, seeds will germinate,

plants will grow, and this wasteland

will live

again. Life seems to have conquered the

planet.

But will it

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last? A herd of creatures graze the

Siberian

plains and they are big.

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Evolution takes a huge leap forward.

Small lizards are now giant

reptiles. These scooteraurs are distant

relatives of turtles.

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If these planteaters look tough, the

carnivores must be seriously

mean. Like this

Gorgonopsit, a perfectly engineered

prehistoric killing machine.

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The Gorgalopsit's saber teeth wound the

scooter.

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The predator watches as its prey grows

weak from blood

loss. But before it can make its final

move, something strange

happens. The ground gets hot.

Enormous pressure builds beneath the

surface and lava spews into the air.

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But the lava isn't from one single

volcano. The entire landscape is

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erupting. It's a flood basalt eruption.

A massive plume of mantle rises up from

deep inside the earth and pushes molten

rock out through fissures in the earth's

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crust. The lush paradise is now a

lifeless hell. The scooter and the

gorgonopsits are dead.

They're the first casualties in the

greatest mass extinction the world has

ever seen, the Perian

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extinction. On the other side of the

continent Gondana, nothing's changed

yet.

It appears to be snowing, but the

temperature is about

70°. It's actually ash, fallout from the

eruptions some 10,000 mi away.

The ash burns and suffocates the

animals, killing them around the

world. Sulfur dioxide from the eruptions

fills the

atmosphere. As it rains, the gas turns

to sulfuric acid and burns everything it

falls

on. What was a local

disaster has now turned

global. The Siberian eruptions increase

the Earth's carbon dioxide levels. The

atmosphere gets

hotter, water

evaporates, and vegetation dies.

Around the world, life on land is being

wiped

out and life in the oceans has also been

compromised. The waters turn

pink. Plants, trilobyes, and predators

disappear.

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The new hotter atmosphere heated the

oceans and stripped them of

oxygen. Now this pink algae is one of

the few life forms that can survive in

the stagnant

water. The Siberian eruptions transform

the entire planet. Nothing, not even the

deepest ocean floor is beyond their

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reach. Bubbles of methane gas escape

from beneath the

seabed. Methane is a greenhouse gas, at

least 20 times deadlier than carbon

dioxide.

Until now, the gas has been frozen. But

as the sea temperature rises, it begins

to

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melt. Released into the atmosphere, this

powerful gas pushes up temperatures even

further.

It's now almost

105°, 11° hotter than before the

Siberian

eruptions. Creatures that survive the

initial destruction now face a new and

deadly

environment. Few will live.

It's been 500,000 years since the

eruptions first began. And all this

time, the lava's been pouring

out. By now, it covers an area the size

of the United States with a layer of

molten rock nearly 4 miles

deep. 95% of the species are gone.

A few survive by eating anything they

can find and living in burrows

underground. But everything else is

dead. 250 million years ago, the Earth

reverts back to an almost lifeless

planet.

But that's about to change

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again. It's been 50 million years since

virtually all life on Earth was wiped

out and the planet has been transformed.

It's now 200 million years ago and just

one superc continent pangia stretches

from pole to

pole. After the trauma of the mass

extinction, the planet

heals, temperatures

stabilize, the acid rain neutralizes,

and vegetation

returns. With 95% of all life on Earth

wiped out, the field opens for a new

species to

emerge, one that will dominate the

planet like no other.

The

dinosaurs. These are called

Amosaurs. Like all

dinosaur the Perian

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extinction. At 15 ft tall, their size

makes them slow and vulnerable.

Nearby is the

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Dilophosaur. It's

small and fast.

The Amosaurus is too big a meal for one

Dilophosaurus, but not for two.

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The dinosaurs have repopulated the

earth, but no species can tame this

restless, volatile planet.

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The Earth's crust is thinning. It's

releasing lava and shaking with

earthquakes as if being stretched by

some unseen

force. It's also happening near what

will become North America's eastern

seabboard.

The Earth's plates are on the move

again. 190 million years ago, the great

superc continent of Pangia tears

apart. A vast slab of land breaks away,

creating a chasm.

It fills with a new ocean called the

Teethus over what will one day be the

Middle

East. Currents push nutrients up into

the coastal

waters and the nutrients attract fish in

the millions.

But again, with so much life also comes

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death. Dead fish and plankton carpet the

ocean

floor. Over the next 10 million years,

layers of rock will bury and heat the

dead

creatures. Ancient fish and plankton

will become oil.

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Every gallon of gas in our

cars, every piece of plastic on the

planet, the paint on our walls, the

carpet under our feet, even the soap we

wash with, almost all originate ated in

this

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way. 180 million years ago, the North

American plate is still moving away from

the European and Asian plate.

It's shifting about 1 inch each year,

the same speed at which our fingernails

grow. But fast forward 35 million years

and a new ocean forms as well as new

continents. The United States breaks

away from Africa.

The world as we know it takes

shape. The chasm between the two

continents fills, creating the Atlantic

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Ocean. And in the middle lies a volcano.

Like before, currents deep beneath the

Earth's crust move the plates again.

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The entire seafloor tears in two and is

pushed up into a ridge of mountains and

volcanoes. It grows higher than the

Himalayas and longer than the

Rockies. The water here is

hot as molten lava forces its way out

from deep inside the earth.

As the lava cools, it creates a new

range of volcanic mountains and a new

ocean

floor. Pangia breaks apart and our world

rearranges again.

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It's this geological activity that makes

the Earth restless, creative, and

unique. And every time the planet

reinvents itself, its inhabitants adapt

and evolve.

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Like the

ichthyossaurs, their reptile ancestors

lived on land. But as the planet

changed, so did these animals. They grew

fits and moved into the newly formed

Atlantic Ocean.

This one is 20 ft long and can travel at

a quick 25 m an

hour. It's the ocean's fastest creature

and most efficient predator. It rules

the oceans for 50 million years.

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But now there's a new contender.

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The

pllyiosaur. Longer than a bus and as

heavy as a truck, its jaws are eight

times more powerful than a great white

sharks. with teeth 12 in

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long. The Earth and its inhabitants have

changed beyond

recognition. This was once solid

ground. Now it's the Atlantic Ocean.

The very spot where Amosaurs grazed and

Dilophoshaurs stalk their

prey. The dinosaurs world may be

different, but they're as dominant as

ever. They appear

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invincible. They're one of the planet's

most successful species.

They've survived volcanic

eruptions, earthquakes, and entire

continents splitting

apart. The dinosaurs have thrived for

165 million

years. A number of mammals have also

survived like this shrewlike animal.

They're prey to the dinosaurs, so they

live in trees or underground and venture

out only at

night. Mammals pose no threat to the

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dinosaurs. Nothing on Earth can

challenge their dominance.

Nothing on

Earth. A large piece of space rock heads

toward Earth.

This asteroid is at least 6 miles across

and traveling over 40,000 m an

hour. It's bigger than Mount

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Everest and heads straight for the Gulf

of Mexico.

It travels so fast that its impact would

be missed in a blink of an

eye. A split second changes the world

forever.

At impact, the asteroid's back edge

stands at 35,000 ft.

It strikes with such immense force that

it destroys everything it hits.

The asteroid itself instantly

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vaporizes, unleashing the energy of

millions of nuclear

weapons. Nowhere is safe with debris

flying everywhere.

Debris as big as entire city blocks

circle the earth.

The blast wave races out from the impact

zone like shrapnel from an exploding

bomb.

Minutes after impact, hundreds of miles

from where the asteroid struck, the

Earth is under attack.

Boulders rain

down. Earthquakes shake the

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ground. And tsunamis batter the coasts.

But the onslaught has only just

begun. The plume of molten rock and dust

spreads out and engulfs the

planet. The entire sky acts like a giant

lamp.

Heating the Earth's surface to over

500°, vegetation spontaneously

ignites. Even months after the impact,

smoke and ash still block out the sun's

rays. And with less sunlight, plants die

and the animals

starve. 65 million years ago, the impact

has blasted, stoned, and burnt the

dinosaurs.

Their665 millionyear reign is

over. But the dinosaur's demise brings

opportunity for another

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species. a

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mammal. By living underground, mammals

have avoided the heat and

fires. And by eating anything, they

thrive while more selective eaters

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die. They are the unlikely inheritors of

the dinosaurs crown.

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And as one story ends, another

begins. With the dinosaurs out of the

way, our ancestors may now have a chance

at life.

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The dinosaurs are long

dead. The planet is

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peaceful. In this new world, our mammal

ancestors are evolving.

[Music]

47 million years ago, this lake in what

will one day be Germany is the perfect

place to spot them.

[Music]

Unlike earlier mammals, its eyes and

brain are

[Music]

bigger. This is Darwinius Masel or

Edida.

She looks nothing like humans, but

fossil evidence today indicates that

these creatures might evolve into

monkeys, apes, and eventually

humans. Looking back through 47 million

years of evolution might reveal one of

our earliest known ancestors.

The lake sits on a volcanic

crater. It belches out noxious

gas that eventually

[Music]

kills. The lake preserves her in its

oxygen depleted depths.

One day, when the water is gone and

Edah's fossil is

[Music]

found, this primitive primate could help

piece together the beginning of our own

story, the story of human life.

We're closer to understanding how

everything we've seen from ocean

bacteria through walking fish and

subterranean rodents leads to

us and to understanding how our planet

was

[Music]

made 47 million years ago. The

atmosphere is much like today.

The temperature is

75° and the day lasts just under 24

hours. The Earth is now almost identical

to the planet we call

home. Almost.

[Music]

[Music]

the Earth's plates are on the move

again. India moves north toward Asia.

[Music]

The Indian and Asian plates are locked

in a titanic

[Music]

struggle and neither play was

winning. As they buckle, the ocean floor

contorts upward along a 1500m

line. A vast mountain range rises up

over 27,000 ft.

[Music]

These are the Himalayas.

[Music]

and the highest mountain of all, Mount

[Music]

Everest. Its summit reaches up into the

Earth's jetream, the same altitude where

planes fly.

[Music]

When the snow on the peaks melts, it

feeds rivers like the Ganges, Indis,

Yellow, and Yangy.

[Applause]

[Music]

The Himalayas are like a vast water

tower. One day, their rivers will supply

water for almost half the world's

population.

[Music]

[Music]

20 million years ago. This is our

planet with every continent and every

ocean as we know

[Music]

it. Except one thing is still

missing, the human

[Music]

race. And for humans to evolve,

something needs to

[Music]

[Music]

change. Along the African coast, a great

rift opens up.

[Music]

It stretches nearly 4,000

[Music]

miles with mountains growing along its

edge.

[Music]

This apeike creature may stay in these

trees forever, but its world is

changing. The growing mountains act like

a wall, prohibiting moisture from the

Indian Ocean from passing over the land.

It's getting hotter and

drier. The lush rainforest becomes an

arid

savannah. The new hotter climate changes

the creature's habitat, forcing them to

search further for

food. Soon they stop dragging their

knuckles like apes and begin to stand

and walk on two feet.

It's the most important step in the

human

story. This mountain range could be the

reason humans walk on two feet.

The random movement of two plates may

have kickstarted a chain of events that

leads to the first

[Music]

humans. A man and child. a scene very

much like today, but it's one and a half

million years

ago. They are an early species of human

called Homo

erectus. And these are the first

footprints like our

[Music]

own. Civilizations past and present.

Everyone that's ever lived. The greatest

inventions, the most brilliant ideas.

Human history in all its complexity and

splendor begins here and now.

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

The climate changes

again. 70,000 years ago, sea levels

fall and the gap between Africa and

Arabia shrinks to just 8

m. The Red Sea is now narrow and shallow

enough for a small group to cross out of

Africa.

They're another later species of human

called Homo

[Music]

[Music]

sapiens. Scientists believe that the

entire world beyond Africa was populated

from descendants of these 200

individuals. Over time, our ancestors

multiply and spread

out to

India onto

Asia and into Europe.

[Music]

But while humans head north, a giant

wall of ice travels

[Music]

south. Europe 40,000 years

ago. Homo sapiens arrive only to find a

world that's quickly

changing. It should be the height of

summer, but it's getting colder. The

plants are frostbitten and the rivers

are

frozen. Natural changes in the Earth's

orbit, CO2 levels, and the flow of warm

water around the planet conspired to

lower the Earth's temperature.

The Earth and its inhabitants enter an

ice

age. Glaciers as high as skyscrapers

creep over the northern hemisphere about

a foot every

day. Slow and powerful, they sculpt the

landscape, gouging out great

depressions. The planet will never look

the same again.

Now, around 20,000 years ago, they grind

to a

halt. Much of the northern hemisphere is

covered by ice sheets up to 1 and 1/2

miles

[Music]

thick. With trillions of gallons of

water locked up as ice, sea levels

[Music]

fall. A strip of land emerges from the

ocean between Siberia and Alaska.

[Music]

It's a bridge between two vast

continents. A gateway that takes humans

from Asia to a new world, the

Americas. They're the last great

continents to be colonized, the last

great human

migration, and the first Americans.

[Music]

Now, 14,000 years ago, the changes that

triggered the ice age

reverse. As the ice retreats, it reveals

a very different northern hemisphere.

The huge depressions that the glaciers

create fill with water to become North

America's Great

Lakes. 6,000 years ago, the ice retreats

back to the poles toward the Arctic and

Antarctic.

[Music]

After a 4 and 12 billionyear journey,

we're finally

home. This is our world, our time.

The planet's incredible story helps us

understand how and why everything around

us is here

[Music]

today. From the skies

above to water, the essential ingredient

for life.

[Music]

to the ground beneath our

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feet and finally

[Music]

life. A chain of catastrophes and

coincidences creating a spectacular

result.

Each triumph and disaster is a step

leading to

here to each and every one of us right

now. But the Earth's story isn't

over. This journey is only half the

story. A lot more is yet to come.

The Earth will live for at least another

4.5 billion

[Music]

years. More

wonders, more

terrors, and more strange creatures lie

ahead for our restless and creative

planet.

The next chapter of Earth's story is

still to be written.

[Music]