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00:00Imagine our planet without its people.
00:07Imagine that every single human being has simply disappeared.
00:12This isn't the story of how that might happen.
00:16It's the story of what happens to the world we leave behind.
00:23Now, in life after people.
00:25Do strong defenses mean ultimate survival?
00:30Or do the seemingly weak stand a better chance?
00:34Great warships come under renewed attacks.
00:38Farm animals fend for themselves.
00:41And a secret nuclear warhead takes aim at new targets on the ocean floor.
00:48Join us on a journey from the Mile High City
00:51to the bottom of the sea
00:54and to a desolate and deserted site in New York City.
01:00Welcome to Earth, population zero.
01:04Nothing on Earth was built tougher than the machinery of war.
01:21fighter jets.
01:26Battleships.
01:29And fortified bunkers.
01:33But will these defenses offer any protection in a life after people?
01:36Or will they be just as vulnerable as the most defenseless structures and creatures on Earth?
01:43One day after people.
01:55One day after people.
01:59In the depths of the Pacific Ocean is a relic of the Cold War.
02:05A ticking time bomb.
02:07In 1968, the Soviet submarine K-129 sank under mysterious circumstances.
02:21It was carrying a mini-arsenal of nuclear weapons,
02:24including two nuclear torpedoes and three SSN-5 Serb missiles,
02:29each with a one-megaton warhead.
02:31In 1974, the CIA salvaged part of the submarine,
02:39but the rest of it, including the missiles, remains on the ocean floor.
02:45Almost three miles down.
02:51As well as each warhead's seven-pound plutonium trigger,
02:55the missiles are packed with lithium deuteride,
02:57a solid compound that supplies the hydrogen in a hydrogen bomb.
03:02The grey, salt-like substance will explode if it touches water.
03:11When the submarine sank,
03:12at least one of the warheads may have been damaged.
03:16One day after people,
03:18their tough metal skins are still keeping out the water,
03:21at least for now.
03:271,800 miles to the southeast,
03:31the battleship Missouri sits quietly in Pearl Harbor
03:34on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
03:39Permanently moored here as a museum ship since 1998,
03:42this was the last American battleship ever launched
03:45and the last to be decommissioned.
03:48It's five feet longer and 18 feet wider than the Titanic.
03:51launched in 1944,
03:58its decks witnessed the Japanese surrender in the Second World War.
04:05Its guns fired on their last targets in 1991
04:09during Operation Desert Storm.
04:17The Missouri is well-armed for fighting off enemy planes and ships,
04:21but down below deck in the corner of the mess hall
04:26is its key defence in a life after people.
04:36It's one of the control units
04:37for the Missouri's cathodic corrosion protection system.
04:43It prevents rust and corrosion
04:45by sending an electrical current to zinc rods
04:47attached to the steel of the hull.
04:49The electrically charged zinc draws corrosive reactions
04:53away from the steel,
04:54but this process is only effective
04:56when the metal is submerged.
04:59Above the water line,
05:00cleaning and painting are the only defences.
05:05Defences that were breaking down
05:06even during the time of people.
05:08Let me show you some examples
05:10of some of the rust on board the USS Missouri.
05:13A lot of the surface rust,
05:15what happened pretty rapidly
05:16once the paint systems failed,
05:17if you look at a lot of your brackets,
05:19your supporting members that hold your ladders,
05:22your piping systems,
05:24eventually they're going to give way
05:25and they'll crash
05:27or they'll fall on their foundations.
05:29Two days after people.
05:43Some of the world's most defenceless creatures
05:46face a world for which they are completely unprepared.
05:51There are nine million dairy cows in the United States alone
05:55and they're used to being milked two or three times a day.
06:04But now, the dairy is empty
06:07and the milking machines have been turned off.
06:15Milk cows are incredibly dependent upon humans.
06:18As soon as we disappeared
06:19and they were off their schedule,
06:21their regular milking schedule,
06:23they'd be confused.
06:25When is someone going to come and get me
06:27and bring me into the milking parlor?
06:29When is someone going to bring me more food?
06:32They'd be mooing, vocalizing,
06:35trying to let us know
06:36that they need some attention.
06:40While some will develop infections of the other,
06:43the pain and discomfort most suffer
06:45will only be temporary.
06:49Surprisingly, the vast majority of them
06:51would do what we call dry up.
06:53They would stop lactating.
06:54The milk that she retains in her udder
06:57would just absorb back into the body
06:59and her system would tell her,
07:02hey, time to stop producing milk.
07:05That would take about two weeks.
07:07But not all dairy cows are safe.
07:11Probably the animals that would be under the most stress
07:14and would have the biggest problem
07:16if humans disappeared
07:17would be the baby calves
07:19because they're incredibly vulnerable
07:22and dependent upon humans.
07:28Baby calves had to be hand-fed by humans twice a day
07:31because their mothers had been conditioned
07:33to mass-produce milk
07:34and paid little attention to their young.
07:36Now, many adult cows are just as dependent on people for food.
07:46If the cattle could not get feed,
07:48they would wander around,
07:49they would look bewildered,
07:50they'd push against the gates.
07:52If they couldn't get the gates open,
07:54which they probably wouldn't be able to,
07:56they'd eventually become weaker,
07:58they'd lie down,
07:59and eventually, without the feed,
08:01they would die.
08:11It's three days after people.
08:164,000 fighter jets, bombers, and other aircraft
08:19lie in formation in the Arizona desert.
08:22But this phantom fleet
08:27is covered in a ghostly white.
08:31And it's not pilots,
08:33but coyotes
08:35that prowl these grounds.
08:39This is the Aerospace Maintenance
08:41and Regeneration Center.
08:44In the time of humans,
08:46it was a graveyard and storage facility
08:48for mostly military aircraft.
08:52The planes here
08:53are better prepared
08:54for a life after people
08:56than anywhere else on Earth.
09:01The stark white latex coatings,
09:04known as spray lat,
09:05is what keeps them
09:05in near-pristine condition.
09:11They're all around the cockpit.
09:12They're on the fuel cells.
09:14In the fuel tanks,
09:15the backbone up here is,
09:16every screw is,
09:16they've got a seal in it.
09:17Inside the internal fuel systems,
09:20those are seals in there.
09:22The seals keep out dust and rainwater,
09:25while the white color reflects heat.
09:27The interiors of protected aircraft
09:29never rise more than 10 degrees
09:31above the outside temperature,
09:33no matter how harsh the sun.
09:43For these aircraft,
09:44the end won't come from the sun,
09:46but from the ground below.
10:02Four days after people.
10:07Near Pearl Harbor,
10:09the hands on the clock
10:10of the iconic Aloha Tower
10:11have come to a stop.
10:19Installed in 1926,
10:21the famous clock
10:22is driven by heavy weights,
10:23which have now reached
10:24the bottom of their cycle.
10:29Ordinarily,
10:30they are reset by electricity
10:31every two days,
10:33but power is now permanently out
10:35on the entire island.
10:40This also means the defeat
10:42of the USS Missouri's
10:43electrically-powered rust protection system.
10:50Seawater now begins
10:51to eat away at its hull.
10:56And from the skies above,
10:58the Missouri comes under
11:00a new kind of aerial assault.
11:14Six months after people.
11:18The birds of Hawaii
11:20are flocking
11:20to their new favorite island.
11:25Birds certainly have no trouble
11:27getting to a place like that.
11:29They would treat it
11:29like any other small island.
11:32The birds bring new life
11:34to the decks of the Missouri,
11:36dropping undigested seeds
11:38that lodge into the ship's
11:3953,000 square feet
11:41of wooden decks.
11:44The battleship Missouri,
11:45it has teak decks,
11:47and so that's an organic start.
11:49You would get a buildup
11:50of soil and leaf litter
11:51just as you would
11:52any other place on land.
11:54It's all a matter of time.
11:58As the Missouri becomes
11:59the newest Hawaiian island,
12:02out in the Pacific,
12:03the metal casing
12:04on the Russian nuclear warhead
12:06is on its way to failure.
12:20It's 15 years into a life after people.
12:23In Pearl Harbor,
12:30the USS Missouri
12:31has reached the end of her rope.
12:34The ship is held to the pier
12:36with nylon mooring lines.
12:38If you notice, sir,
12:38this line here has a chink in it.
12:41After 15 to 20 years,
12:42the mooring lines will part.
12:43The ship will break away
12:45from its mooring here
12:46in Pearl Harbor.
12:52As the lines snap,
12:53the mighty ship
12:54pulls away from the dock.
12:58Now adrift,
12:59what will be its fate?
13:1120 years after people.
13:16In the Arizona desert,
13:17the mummified aircraft
13:18waiting in an eternal
13:20holding pattern
13:20are showing signs of distress.
13:26Years of high winds
13:27have scattered these aircraft
13:29about like toys
13:30on a giant playground.
13:34In the time of humans,
13:36the planes had to be
13:37periodically realigned.
13:39Because these aircraft
13:40have a vertical stabilizer
13:42on it, the rudder,
13:43and makes the aircraft
13:45behave basically
13:46like a wind vane.
13:48We've had microbursts
13:50in the neighborhood
13:50of 120 miles an hour,
13:52which is enough
13:53to make most of these aircraft
13:55move around a little bit.
13:59The protective coatings
14:01on any planes
14:02that might be pulled back
14:03into service again
14:04also had to be maintained.
14:07Those that didn't receive
14:09this care suffered
14:10the consequences.
14:13This spray lat
14:15as we see it right now
14:16is really not serving
14:18its function anymore.
14:20Rainwater can get in
14:21under here
14:21and it can actually
14:22seep along the spray lat
14:24underneath the layer
14:26of protection.
14:28Now, after two decades
14:29without maintenance,
14:31every plane
14:31is taking a beating.
14:33The paint is wearing thin
14:35and rust is corroding
14:36the joints.
14:38The canopies are clouding
14:39from UV damage
14:40and fighter jet engines
14:42have become homes
14:42for birds.
14:47Wings on these aircraft
14:48are not likely
14:49to fall off.
14:50The wing structure
14:51is the strongest structure
14:52in the aircraft
14:53that supports the aircraft
14:54when it's in flight
14:55and when it's on the ground
14:56taking all the ground loads.
14:58So, in a life after people,
15:00you're likely to see
15:01the wings still attached
15:02to these aircraft
15:03long into the future.
15:04But these planes
15:06won't stay here
15:07long enough
15:08to lose their wings.
15:10What we're seeing here
15:11is an example
15:12of some of the erosion
15:13caused by rainwater runoff.
15:15This is something
15:17that's common
15:17to all the aircraft
15:18that are stored here
15:19and the chances
15:20are very good
15:21that this sort of erosion
15:22could have occurred
15:23in a single storm.
15:27As the desert rains
15:29sculpt out soil
15:30from below,
15:31desert winds
15:32sweep in dust
15:33from above.
15:34the Earth
15:35begins to swallow
15:36what was once
15:37a mighty fleet.
15:47It's 25 years
15:48into a life after people.
15:52Three Russian nuclear missiles
15:54still sit on the bottom
15:55of the Pacific.
15:59Each one-megaton warhead
16:01contains a substance
16:02that explodes
16:02on contact with water.
16:04The substance
16:05is sealed
16:06inside a tough metal casing
16:07coated with a heat
16:09or high-stress
16:10atmospheric re-entry shield.
16:16But with the pressure
16:17of the deep ocean,
16:18even a small crack
16:19in one of the casings
16:21can be fatal.
16:2525 years after people,
16:27the sea begins
16:28to leak
16:28into one of the bombs.
16:29of the bombs.
16:30The bombs
16:32is muted
16:36by the same ocean pressure
16:38that opened the crack,
16:40pressure the equivalent
16:41of being crushed
16:42by a 1.75 million pound weight.
16:48The bombs' plutonium
16:49would be scattered
16:50over a small area
16:51and any sea creatures
16:53that came into contact
16:54with it
16:54would die
16:55of radiation poisoning.
17:0730 years after people.
17:11On land,
17:12most of the world's dairy cows
17:14have died out.
17:16Even those that found enough food
17:18on the farm
17:18or were able to escape
17:19their pens
17:20couldn't find a way
17:21to reproduce.
17:25In order to keep
17:26producing milk,
17:27dairy cows needed
17:28to be pregnant
17:28at least once a year.
17:33In the time of humans,
17:34this was frequently achieved
17:35through artificial insemination.
17:38Many dairy cows
17:39spent their whole lives
17:40without ever laying eyes
17:41on a bull.
17:45There were exceptions
17:46and now these small pockets
17:49of surviving cows
17:50will begin a rapid
17:51evolutionary change
17:52that will take them
17:53back to the wild.
17:57Places like the plains
17:59of Colorado
17:59will make perfect
18:01grazing ground.
18:07In Colorado's
18:08capital city of Denver,
18:10the most distinctive building
18:11in the skyline
18:12is the 50-storey
18:13Wells Fargo Center.
18:16built in 1983,
18:20it was nicknamed
18:20the Cash Register Building
18:22after the unique
18:23curved shape
18:24of its glass-covered roof.
18:28The distinctive design
18:30of the structure
18:31actually posed
18:31a surprising problem.
18:33In the snowy climate
18:34of the Mile High City,
18:36engineers had to install
18:37heating coils
18:38in the roof
18:39to prevent snow
18:40from piling up
18:40and then sliding down
18:42the side of the building.
18:43With the coils
18:50no longer functioning,
18:51the building now wears
18:52a crown of icy snow
18:54that drips moisture
18:55into the floors below.
18:57Every now and then,
18:58the center of Denver
18:59is witness
18:59to an urban avalanche.
19:0145 years after people.
19:20Man's footprint on Earth
19:21is getting smaller
19:22by the day.
19:24It's a future
19:24that's already here,
19:26less than a mile
19:26off the coast
19:27of one of the biggest
19:28cities in the world.
19:29While Manhattan Island
19:33has a population
19:34of one and a half
19:35million people,
19:38nearby,
19:39North Brother Island
19:40has a population
19:41of zero.
19:46The first buildings
19:47were constructed here
19:48in the 1880s.
19:51The city-owned island
19:52served many purposes
19:54over the years,
19:56housing returning
19:57Second World War veterans,
19:58quarantining victims
20:03of infectious diseases,
20:05and later,
20:08treating drug addicts.
20:12These former residents
20:14have all left
20:14an unusual mark
20:16on the island's
20:16life after people.
20:19Behind me
20:21is a building
20:21that was built
20:22as an infectious disease
20:23hospital in 1943.
20:25It was actually used
20:28until 1964.
20:30By that point,
20:32the place
20:32where I'm standing
20:33was actually
20:34a broad,
20:35well-maintained boulevard
20:37that cut through
20:37the island.
20:38It was the island's
20:39main street.
20:40This hydrant
20:41is right in front
20:42of the hospital,
20:43and it actually stood
20:45right on the curve
20:46at the edge
20:46of the street.
20:47Underneath the plant life
20:49is where the pavement was.
20:51There's about an inch
20:51of soil here now.
20:52It took about 45 years
20:54to accumulate.
20:58Riverside Hospital
20:59on North Brother Island
21:00was commissioned
21:01in 1881.
21:05Demolished in the
21:06mid-20th century,
21:08a handful of its
21:08original buildings
21:09still remain.
21:12It was here,
21:14in 1907,
21:15that New York
21:15quarantined its most
21:16notorious carrier
21:18of an infectious disease.
21:22Typhoid Mary.
21:26Typhoid fever
21:27is a deadly disease,
21:29usually carried
21:30by unclean water.
21:32Massive outbreaks
21:32were becoming uncommon
21:33as sanitation improved,
21:35but Typhoid Mary
21:36was a special threat
21:38to New York.
21:40Mary Mallon
21:41was a cook,
21:42a so-called
21:43healthy carrier
21:44who spread the disease,
21:45but never became ill herself.
21:47She was officially blamed
21:51for infecting
21:5253 people,
21:53though many believed
21:54her responsible
21:54for up to
21:551,400 cases in all.
21:59She was confined
22:01to North Brother Island
22:02on two different occasions,
22:03the first in 1907.
22:05She eventually died
22:07on the island
22:07in 1938.
22:09Isolated from the city
22:16by water,
22:17North Brother Island
22:18was entirely dependent
22:19on boats
22:20to keep its population
22:21supplied with everything
22:22from food to fuel.
22:29This coal dock
22:30served North Brother Island
22:31until around 1960.
22:34The dock
22:35actually was the unloading point
22:37for barges
22:38that would bring coal here.
22:43Most of the planks
22:44are now missing,
22:45but there are giant
22:46iron bolts
22:47that are 10,
22:4812 inches deep,
22:49and it gives you
22:50some idea
22:51of how deep
22:52the timbers were.
22:54We're actually standing
22:55on a concrete platform
22:57that is suspended
22:59over the waterway
23:00and over the beach
23:00with wooden piers,
23:02wooden pilings.
23:05The concrete
23:06has actually sunk
23:08and cracked
23:08because the pilings
23:10have started
23:10to deteriorate.
23:17Life was seldom easy
23:19in this place,
23:20where critically ill people
23:21hoped for cures
23:22from diseases
23:23that terrified
23:24the outside world.
23:25The structures
23:29that sheltered them
23:30are now
23:31in critical condition
23:32themselves.
23:35In the oldest
23:36of the brick buildings,
23:38decades of freeze-thaw cycles
23:39are prying walls apart.
23:45Inside,
23:46the old coal boilers
23:47are rusting away
23:48from moisture,
23:49while the rest
23:52of the hospital
23:52succumbs to the unchecked
23:54growth of insidious
23:55plant life.
23:57We're here at the entrance
23:58to the hospital.
24:00This served as
24:01a drug rehab centre.
24:03Patients had to be
24:04brought here.
24:04This is an island.
24:07Many of the plants
24:08that are growing here
24:09also had to be brought here.
24:13Invasive vines
24:14like kudzu,
24:15honeysuckle,
24:15and Asiatic bittersweet
24:17have taken over the island,
24:19and in doing so,
24:20have given water birds
24:21a new home.
24:23The island represents
24:25critical nesting habitat.
24:28These types of birds
24:30don't just nest anywhere.
24:31They need a certain amount
24:32of protection,
24:34distance from predators.
24:36So North Brother Island
24:37is one of the few patches
24:38in New York State
24:40where these birds
24:41are able to nest.
24:47After diseases
24:48like TB and typhoid
24:50were well contained,
24:51the hospital became
24:52a sanitarium for people
24:53who needed a respite
24:54from their difficult lives.
24:59Before it was abandoned,
25:01open lawns
25:02and well-tended grounds
25:03surrounded the buildings.
25:06In 45 years of neglect,
25:09the entire hospital
25:10appears to have gone
25:11into hiding.
25:13Believe it or not,
25:14these were the tennis courts
25:15in North Brother Island,
25:16the Riverside Hospital.
25:18We're seeing 40 years' worth
25:19of plant succession,
25:20naturalizing the site,
25:22soil accumulation.
25:24Could just kick away
25:25some of the organic matter.
25:28We've got the asphalt,
25:30former surface.
25:34A layer of soil
25:35now covers the old tennis court
25:37where battle-hardened veterans
25:38once tried to forget
25:40the horrors of war.
25:42Now, nature has attacked
25:43the asphalt
25:44with its own weapons.
25:47This is a Norway maple.
25:49It's growing around the post
25:50that held the tennis net.
25:53The seed probably dropped
25:54in a crack around 1964.
25:56It's growing for about
25:5744 years.
25:59Could you imagine
26:00playing in a tennis court
26:01like this now?
26:01The island's web of vine
26:06has found its way
26:07inside the buildings as well.
26:12We're in one of
26:12Riverside Hospital's
26:14large general wards,
26:16originally built
26:17to house tuberculosis patients.
26:19It was never used
26:20for that purpose.
26:21The only thing alive here now
26:22is the porcelain berry.
26:25This has grown up
26:27from the ground
26:27up to this fourth floor,
26:30through this fourth floor window.
26:32Porcelain berry
26:33has been recorded
26:34to grow as much
26:34as a foot a day.
26:38That's almost
26:39fast enough to watch.
26:50During the 1950s
26:51and 60s,
26:52drug addicts
26:53were treated
26:53in the island's
26:54newest buildings.
26:56The artwork on the walls
26:58hints at their plight.
27:01It's 1964,
27:04and if you're
27:05a heroin addict
27:06going cold turkey,
27:08this is not
27:09a pleasant room
27:09to be in.
27:13The screen to my right
27:15is very thick
27:16and keeps the attics inside
27:19from getting out
27:20the windows.
27:22The door to this room
27:23has a very narrow
27:25eye slot
27:26and a very large
27:28deadbolt.
27:29Once you're here,
27:31you're not getting out
27:32until they say
27:33you can.
27:38One piece of graffiti
27:39says,
27:41help me,
27:41I'm being held here
27:42against my will.
27:44Many others
27:45detail names
27:46and boroughs,
27:47places,
27:48streets
27:48from all over New York.
27:5050 years after people,
27:51no one remembers
27:53their names.
27:57The breakdown
27:58of the building's
27:59defences
27:59is most evident here
28:01in the piles
28:01of plaster dust
28:02accumulated
28:03at the base
28:04of most of its walls.
28:06Plaster is the softest
28:07of the building materials here
28:08and so the first to go
28:10as the broken windows
28:11expose the interior
28:13to moisture.
28:13What's revealed
28:19underneath
28:20are the thick bricks
28:21used to isolate
28:21each room
28:22from the next.
28:24This building
28:24says to me
28:26that it was built
28:27for solitude,
28:28built for quiet.
28:30When the building
28:31was originally built,
28:33it was meant
28:34to be
28:34a tuberculosis
28:36sanatorium.
28:40Time
28:41has subverted
28:43the building's
28:43original purpose.
28:45What was originally
28:45a building
28:46meant for isolation
28:47and solitude
28:49is now a building
28:51that's a part
28:52of a cacophony
28:53of nature
28:53and that's what happens
28:55after people.
28:58The open air
29:00is not the only place
29:01on Earth
29:01where nature's tentacles
29:02are strangling
29:03what the humans
29:04have left behind.
29:07In shallow seas,
29:09once great warships
29:10are fighting a battle
29:11with ocean life.
29:13A battle
29:13they cannot win.
29:25It's 50 years
29:26after people.
29:30On the Hawaiian island
29:32of Oahu,
29:33the jungle
29:33has overtaken
29:34the roads
29:34leading into Pearl Harbor
29:36from nearby Honolulu.
29:37If you want to imagine
29:40what the roads
29:41of Honolulu
29:41would look like
29:42after people,
29:43all you have to do
29:43is come here
29:44to the old Pali Road.
29:45This one was closed
29:46in 1960
29:47and here
29:48is the vestige
29:50of the center line
29:50and the vegetation
29:51from the mountain
29:52has encroached
29:53all the way
29:54to that point
29:55and further on
29:57down the road,
29:58it encroaches
29:58from both sides
29:59until just a narrow
30:00winding path
30:01remains between them.
30:0265 years
30:11after people.
30:14Even the toughest
30:15built relics of war
30:17have started to decay.
30:18along the coast
30:21of France
30:22silent guns,
30:24barbed wire
30:24and iron beach
30:26obstacles
30:26are succumbing
30:27to rust.
30:30In the time
30:31of humans
30:31this could already
30:32be seen
30:33at the imposing
30:34artillery emplacements
30:35of Pont du Hoc
30:36which overlooks
30:37the Normandy beaches.
30:45These emplacements
30:46are part of
30:47the Atlantic wall
30:48built by the Germans
30:49during the Second World War
30:50to keep the Allies
30:51out of Northern Europe.
30:55On the 6th of June 1944
30:57Pont du Hoc
30:58was pummeled
30:58by American forces
30:59during the massive
31:01D-Day invasion.
31:06The emplacement
31:07at Pont du Hoc
31:07can be considered
31:09a military failure
31:10in terms of
31:11its ability
31:12to withstand
31:12the invasion
31:13from the sea.
31:14From a construction
31:15standpoint
31:15it is a success.
31:17The structures
31:17are extremely durable
31:18but they are starting
31:19to undergo
31:20some deterioration.
31:24Bunkers
31:24and gun emplacements
31:25all along
31:26the Normandy coast
31:27were built of concrete
31:28with steel reinforcing rods.
31:30Constructed during wartime
31:32with the threat
31:32of imminent invasion
31:33corners were inevitably cut.
31:39Seashells
31:39were often added
31:40added to the concrete mix
31:41and in some cases
31:42the concrete
31:43was not given
31:44enough time to cure
31:45before the bombs
31:46began to fall.
31:50These weaknesses
31:51left the bunkers
31:52vulnerable
31:52not just to bombs
31:54but to future corrosion.
31:57Concrete typically
31:58deteriorates
31:59for a number of reasons.
32:00It can be
32:00reactive aggregates
32:02reactive soil
32:03it can be
32:04freeze-thaw cycles
32:05and really
32:06none of those factors
32:07are present
32:07at Pont du Hoc.
32:08The main problem
32:10in those structures
32:11has to do
32:11with the steel
32:12reinforcing itself.
32:15Moisture
32:16and salt
32:16in the air
32:17has entered
32:17the bunkers
32:18through pours
32:18and cracks
32:19in the concrete.
32:21This causes
32:22the steel
32:23reinforcing bars
32:24to corrode.
32:25They expand
32:26and crack
32:27the surrounding concrete.
32:31There's a wonderful
32:32example of what happens
32:33when steel corrodes.
32:35Right up here
32:36you can see
32:36the concrete
32:37is cracked
32:38and the resulting
32:39deterioration
32:39of this steel
32:40reinforcing.
32:41You can see
32:41the expansive
32:42rust on the steel
32:43that causes
32:44the deterioration.
32:46That's very repairable
32:47but in a life
32:48after people
32:48that corrosion
32:49would continue
32:50causing failure
32:51of that structure.
32:55The Romans
32:56used concrete
32:57to build
32:57some of their
32:58monumental structures
32:59long before
33:00the invention
33:01of steel
33:01reinforcing rods.
33:03This seeming
33:04weakness
33:05actually gives
33:05them an advantage
33:06in a life
33:07after people.
33:11In a life
33:12after people
33:12concrete
33:13if it's
33:14unreinforced
33:15may actually
33:15survive longer.
33:17For instance
33:17the Pantheon
33:18in Rome
33:1920 foot thick
33:20lower walls
33:21but it's an
33:22unreinforced structure
33:23and it's survived
33:24for nearly
33:242,000 years
33:26whereas
33:27the structures
33:28at Pointe de Hoc
33:29have the
33:30reinforcing
33:30and the potential
33:31for steel
33:31corrosion
33:32that will
33:32probably progress
33:33in a life
33:34after people
33:34at a faster
33:35rate than
33:36a structure
33:36that's even
33:372,000 years
33:38old.
33:46It's 70 years
33:47after people.
33:51In Pearl Harbor
33:52the ship
33:53that was once
33:54the pride
33:54of the U.S. fleet
33:55is now under
33:56a cover of green.
33:58A blanket
33:59of shrubs
33:59and grasses
34:00consumes
34:01the decks
34:01of the U.S.S. Missouri.
34:03Vines creep up
34:04the topside structures
34:05and over
34:06the massive
34:0616-inch guns.
34:12Although
34:13its mooring line
34:14snapped long ago
34:15the Missouri
34:15hasn't drifted far
34:16from its crumbling dock.
34:18The mud
34:19of the shallow
34:19harbor bottom
34:20has kept
34:21the 45,000 ton
34:22Colossus
34:23close to shore.
34:27Surprisingly
34:28the Missouri
34:29is deteriorating
34:30faster
34:30above the water
34:31line
34:32than below.
34:35We know this
34:36because of diving
34:37explorations
34:38to the nearby
34:38ruin
34:39of the battleship
34:39USS Arizona
34:4170 years
34:42after it sank
34:43during the surprise
34:44attack on Pearl Harbor.
34:51After decades
34:52underwater
34:53the exposed parts
34:54of the Arizona
34:55have become
34:56heavily rusted.
34:59But below
35:00the waterline
35:01the hull
35:01has been preserved
35:02by an army
35:03of multicolored
35:04sponges
35:04featherworms
35:05and corals.
35:08Basically
35:09the incrustation
35:10is like a scab
35:10that covers the ship
35:11that actually protects
35:13the ship
35:13from corrosion
35:14slows the corrosion
35:15rates down
35:16so when the
35:17incrustation
35:17is present
35:18the corrosion
35:18rates are much lower.
35:20and while marine
35:23life forms
35:24a protective layer
35:25on the Arizona's
35:26steel hull
35:26the ship's
35:27wooden deck
35:28is covered
35:29with a layer
35:29of silt
35:30and sediment
35:30that offers
35:31its own protection.
35:33The wood boring
35:34organisms
35:35which would normally
35:36have deteriorated
35:37the deck
35:37have been kept out
35:38and so the teak decks
35:39are very well preserved.
35:41If you brush away
35:41the silt just a little bit
35:43they're smooth
35:43and hard
35:44and look like
35:45they did on
35:46December 7th 1941
35:47when the sailors
35:48were walking
35:49the decks.
35:52Seventy years
35:53after it sank
35:54it was estimated
35:55that the Arizona
35:56still held
35:57500,000 gallons
35:58of oil
35:59much of it
36:00trapped in the ship's
36:01fuel tanks
36:02and submerged compartments.
36:06Two gallons
36:07of oil
36:08leak from the ship
36:09every day
36:09drifting to the surface
36:11like a slowly
36:12bleeding wound.
36:18Will this
36:19be the fate
36:19of the USS Missouri
36:20or will it chart
36:22its own course
36:23of destruction
36:24in a life
36:25after people?
36:27And back in Denver
36:28the biggest avalanche
36:29is yet to come.
36:40It's now 200 years
36:42after people.
36:45Stripped of its defenses
36:46Denver's cash register
36:48building has repeatedly
36:49unleashed great avalanches
36:51onto the streets below.
36:56The next avalanche
36:58will not be of snow
36:59but steel.
37:03In the time of humans
37:05engineers at Colorado State University
37:07studied the many different ways
37:09skyscrapers can collapse.
37:11in this model
37:14the heavy steel plates
37:16represent the floors
37:17of the building.
37:20The comparatively weak
37:22thin wooden dowels
37:23represent the weakened state
37:25of a corroded frame.
37:27If an upper story collapses
37:29it can cause
37:30a violent cascade.
37:31When the top floor
37:41of the building
37:42releases from the columns
37:44its total weight
37:45is moving due to gravity
37:47but by the time
37:48it hits the floor
37:49just directly below it
37:50it has a force
37:54twice its own weight
37:55and that effect
37:56would just increase
37:57and increase
37:58as the floors go down.
38:00The building
38:01as tall
38:02as the Wells Fargo building
38:03in downtown Denver
38:04could have this
38:06cascading effect
38:07perhaps 200 years
38:09in time.
38:10outside Denver
38:25on the Colorado Prairie
38:27the descendants
38:28of domestic cattle
38:29have carved out
38:30a new way of life.
38:33The future cattle
38:34would be
38:35a very very different
38:37kind of animal
38:38than we see
38:38on the pastures
38:39in the hillsides
38:40right now.
38:41It would be
38:41smaller
38:42more fleet
38:44more agile
38:44able to escape
38:46from predators
38:47quite a bit
38:48more effectively
38:48but would take on
38:49a lot of characteristics
38:51like deer.
38:55Even more striking
38:56are the herds
38:57of bison
38:58on the prairie.
38:59Before man hunted
39:01them to near extinction
39:02there were as many
39:03as 60 million
39:04of these massive beasts
39:05roaming America.
39:07By the 21st century
39:08that population
39:09had dwindled
39:09to 350,000.
39:15Supremely fit
39:16for this terrain
39:16200 years
39:18without people
39:18has allowed
39:19their numbers
39:19to explode.
39:22Once again
39:23the buffalo
39:24can roam.
39:31250 years
39:33after people.
39:33in Pearl Harbor
39:37the decks
39:37of the battleship
39:38USS Missouri
39:39still rise
39:40above the waterline
39:41but water
39:44is penetrating
39:45the hull.
39:47If you look
39:47on the waterline
39:48you'll see
39:49a series of rivet heads
39:50and the rivets
39:51are the weakest link
39:52in the ship.
39:53As they rust
39:54they'll fail
39:55and water will start
39:56entering inside
39:57of the tanks
39:58and it'll start
39:59flooding the ship.
39:59As it takes on water
40:03the ship sinks
40:05deeper
40:05into the mud.
40:09The ship's deck
40:10will remain
40:1010 feet above water
40:12allowing the elements
40:13to continue
40:13to wear away
40:14her superstructure.
40:16How long
40:17will the Missouri's hull
40:18remain intact?
40:19Tests conducted
40:26on the USS Arizona
40:27in 2008
40:28and 2009
40:29determined
40:30that its hull
40:31will take another
40:32300 years
40:33to fully deteriorate.
40:37Built nearly
40:3830 years later
40:39the Missouri
40:40is a far more
40:41advanced warship.
40:44With an outer hull
40:4517 inches thick
40:46in places
40:47engineers estimate
40:48the ship
40:49could hold
40:49together
40:49for an astonishing
40:5020,000 years.
40:56Becoming a new home
40:57for generations
40:58of tropical fish.
41:02A wrecked warship
41:03serving as an
41:04artificial reef
41:05is not a new concept.
41:09In 2006
41:10the US Navy
41:11intentionally sank
41:13the retired aircraft
41:14carrier the USS
41:15Ariskany
41:16off the coast
41:16of Florida.
41:18It took
41:19less than
41:1945 minutes
41:20to slip
41:20beneath the waves
41:21and at roughly
41:22900 feet long
41:24it became
41:24one of the largest
41:25artificial reefs
41:26in the world.
41:28Within a matter of months
41:29it was teeming
41:30with ocean creatures
41:31including 38 species
41:33of fish.
41:39The Ariskany
41:40became known
41:41as the Great
41:42Carrier Reef.
41:43around the world
41:49the armed
41:50and the defenceless
41:51soldier on.
41:53Some have shown
41:54surprising resilience
41:55others have suffered
41:57from hidden weaknesses
41:58that have brought them
42:00to their knees.
42:01On the bottom of the sea
42:02along coastal bluffs
42:04and on desert flats
42:06the battle
42:07quietly continues
42:09in a life
42:10after people.
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