00:00Look at these vast coniferous forests and this greenish tundra, a real enchantment.
00:06You could easily think it's Canada, but you're wrong.
00:10We're talking about Antarctica, as it existed 34 million years ago.
00:15So, how did this place become the frozen desert we know today?
00:20It appears that a combination of the fall of carbon dioxide concentrations
00:24and major tectonic upheavals profoundly transformed this ancient ice-free paradise into a frozen continent.
00:31About 50 million years ago, CO2 levels reached impressive peaks,
00:37oscillating between 1,000 and 2,000 parts per million.
00:40However, as these concentrations decreased, global temperatures followed,
00:45thus opening the way for the formation of the vast ice caps that dominate Antarctica today.
00:51While CO2 levels were collapsing, tectonic activity also played a role.
00:56The gradual separation between South America and Antarctica gave birth to the passage of Drake,
01:02facilitating the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
01:05This powerful current acted as a barrier, preventing hot air and ocean currents from entering this region
01:12and helping to maintain a particularly cold climate.
01:15If you confuse Australia and Antarctica, it's not that absurd.
01:19These two continents once formed a single terrestrial mass.
01:22However, confusing Australia with Australia is much more problematic.
01:26And to cut a long story short to rumors and Internet jokes,
01:29no, there is no assistance service in Austria intended for those who thought they were going to Australia.
01:35Admire this splendid Australian pink beach.
01:38It is not only beautiful, it is literally precious.
01:42These intriguing pink sandstones are actually made of grenades.
01:47A precious stone commonly used in jewelry.
01:50After analyzing this sandstone, geologists discovered that the grenades it contained
01:55were older than the surrounding mountains.
01:58Does this seem paradoxical?
02:00In reality, everything is explained.
02:02Australia has not always been the isolated continent we know today.
02:06Tens of millions of years ago, Australia and Antarctica were one part of the supercontinent of Gondwana.
02:13Glacial erosion released grenades, which ended up on this beach.
02:18These sands formed at a time when southern Australia was flat and subjected to a cool climate,
02:24long before the mountains emerged.
02:26If most of the grenades are usually carried away,
02:29they have a rich history dating back to the glacial rocks of the transantarctic chain.
02:34In short, this pink sandstone comes from an old mountain chain buried under the ice of Antarctica.
02:40Not only does the ice of Antarctica contain precious stones like the grenade,
02:45but by looking closer, you could even discover entire buildings.
02:49It may seem insane, but this is precisely what a British explorer named Chris Brown did,
02:55who created an entire structure under the ice.
02:59During an expedition to the pole of inaccessibility, everything had started badly.
03:04Chris and his son had a plane breakdown.
03:07It was then that they spotted a Lenin bust emerging from the snow.
03:11This place turned out to be an old weather station.
03:15Despite the glacial temperatures, Chris and his son Micah enjoyed exploring this unique place.
03:21Chris set a bold goal, to conquer the seven poles of terrestrial inaccessibility.
03:27So far, he has already reached five.
03:30You probably already know that Antarctica is the largest desert on the planet,
03:34much larger than the Sahara or the Gobi.
03:37However, despite its extreme aridity, this continent is home to a cascade that is at least strange.
03:43Located in the dry valleys of McMurdo, this waterfall, five stories high,
03:48gives the impression of pouring hemoglobin.
03:51This fascinating phenomenon also bears the evocative name of the blood falls.
03:56Although this muddy waterfall may seem strange, even disturbing, its origin is easily explained.
04:02The water that feeds this phenomenon was originally a salty lake,
04:06but it was gradually isolated from the outside world by the formation of glaciers.
04:11Today, this millenary water rests about 400 meters below the surface
04:16and has reached a salinity three times higher than that of the ocean.
04:20Charged with iron, it receives neither oxygen nor light.
04:24When it infiltrates through a crack in the glacier and comes into contact with the air,
04:29the iron oxidizes, giving the water its dark red tint, similar to that of rust.
04:33It is often believed that no insect species lives in Antarctica.
04:37However, this is not entirely true, because a tiny fly known as Belgica antarctica has chosen its home.
04:45In addition, there are also some spiders.
04:48These spiders are not the ones you find nestled in the dark corners of your house.
04:52These are marine creatures that live in the icy darkness of the depths of the Antarctic Ocean.
04:58These amazing arthropods can reach a width of about 50 centimeters.
05:03As if their size was not already impressive, they also breathe thanks to small openings located in their legs.
05:10If you are asked what color you associate with Antarctica, you will probably think of white, just like me.
05:15However, this icy continent can sometimes evoke a slice of watermelon.
05:20This colored snow owes its appearance to a robust microalgae called Clamidomonas nivalis.
05:26During the summer months in Antarctica, when temperatures rise,
05:30these algae release spores with brilliant shades of red and green,
05:35giving the snow vivid and surprising colors.
05:39However, it is preferable not to approach it,
05:42because this snow, although fascinating, is also toxic and absolutely unsuitable for consumption.
05:48The search for fossils is always exciting.
05:51But when it is done in one of the most isolated places on the planet, the adventure becomes even more exciting.
05:57A team of multidisciplinary scientists recently made an exceptional discovery,
06:02bringing more than a ton of fossils of ancient marine life,
06:06dinosaurs and birds dating from the period of the upper Cretaceous, about 71 million years ago.
06:13Their journey began with a flight to South America,
06:16followed by a five-day crossing of the dreaded Drake Pass.
06:20Once in Antarctica, they set up their camp using helicopters and pneumatic boats.
06:26You may be wondering, why look for fossils in Antarctica, despite the omnipresent ice?
06:32In fact, some areas reveal rocky outcrops depending on the season.
06:37The team went to the island of James Ross, located on the Antarctic peninsula.
06:42During the months of February and March,
06:44it is a summer period when the rocks of this region, sometimes dating from the era of dinosaurs, are exposed.
06:51The expedition bore fruit with the discovery of more than a ton of remarkable fossils.
06:57The specimens were first transported to Chile,
07:00before arriving at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.
07:04Among these discoveries, fossils dating from about 71 million to 67 million years,
07:10including snails, plumes and various marine creatures,
07:14testify to the richness of this ancient heritage.
07:17Look at this intriguing marine green.
07:19One might imagine that he would live in Los Angeles and become the star of a horror movie,
07:24but he prefers the icy waters of the Australian Ocean, near Antarctica.
07:29These impressive greens can reach up to 20 cm long and 10 cm wide.
07:36However, their terrifying and misleading appearance,
07:39studies show that they play an essential role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems.
07:45As for their heads, do not be mistaken.
07:47It is only a retractable gorge, provided with teeth, that allows them to feed effectively.
07:53Antarctica is full of unusual and somewhat frightening creatures.
07:57Let us introduce you to the Promacocrinus fragarius.
08:00Unlike Patrick de Bob l'Esponge, it looks more like an abyssal creature worthy of a horror movie.
08:06Imagine, 20 sinuous arms.
08:09Some reach up to 20 cm, adorned with strange little bumps.
08:13Enough to give shivers, right?
08:15In 2014, researchers buried 34 seismographs under the snow of the huge ice platform of Ross,
08:22a real ice plate the size of Texas, floating on the Australian Ocean.
08:27These ingenious devices have captured an almost constant turbulence.
08:31Although these sounds, at a very low frequency, escape human hearing,
08:35scientists have managed to make them audible,
08:38and they even shared this strange online recording.
08:42A glaciologist from the University of Chicago explains that if this turbulence was perceptible by our ears,
08:48it would evoke a swarm of grasshoppers invading a garden in the middle of summer.
08:53However, these experts in glaciers were not looking for mysterious sounds,
08:57but were monitoring the barrier of Ross,
08:59because global warming melts the ice at a disturbing speed,
09:03even faster than a sorbet under the summer sun.
09:06Ice platforms play a crucial role, a bit like safety caps,
09:11preventing huge masses of ice from plunging into the ocean.
09:14But then, where does this incessant noise come from?
09:17It is probably caused by powerful winds sweeping the frozen dunes,
09:21thus generating natural vibrations.
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