1 00:00:06,700 --> 00:00:07,740 Life. 2 00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:11,890 The closer you look... 3 00:00:13,260 --> 00:00:15,810 ..the more mysterious it seems. 4 00:00:18,810 --> 00:00:21,890 We can't see the invisible forces at work. 5 00:00:25,060 --> 00:00:26,850 But what if we could? 6 00:00:30,210 --> 00:00:32,420 It's time to look at our home... 7 00:00:34,530 --> 00:00:36,260 ..in a whole new way. 8 00:00:42,770 --> 00:00:46,660 Imagine carbon cycling through nature. 9 00:00:48,530 --> 00:00:51,420 It's one of the building blocks of life... 10 00:00:54,170 --> 00:00:56,450 ..and it's stored in our forests... 11 00:00:59,700 --> 00:01:01,060 ..oceans... 12 00:01:01,660 --> 00:01:03,380 ..and grasslands 13 00:01:03,810 --> 00:01:06,210 on an incredible scale. 14 00:01:08,890 --> 00:01:11,660 But we've released too much of it into the atmosphere, 15 00:01:12,130 --> 00:01:14,340 risking our future. 16 00:01:16,260 --> 00:01:21,770 We can halt emissions and draw the carbon back down. 17 00:01:23,340 --> 00:01:25,530 And our best ally for that 18 00:01:25,890 --> 00:01:27,620 is nature. 19 00:01:30,060 --> 00:01:31,770 Restoring it to abundance 20 00:01:31,810 --> 00:01:34,620 is the biggest challenge of our time. 21 00:01:36,420 --> 00:01:38,020 But we can do it. 22 00:01:39,380 --> 00:01:42,450 If the future of nature looked brighter, 23 00:01:42,850 --> 00:01:45,810 so could the future for us all. 24 00:01:47,090 --> 00:01:48,380 ♪ (vocalising) ♪ 25 00:01:53,810 --> 00:01:54,810 (clock ticking) 26 00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:11,490 Our ocean. 27 00:02:12,130 --> 00:02:15,060 It's the greatest ecosystem on the planet. 28 00:02:16,980 --> 00:02:18,090 (on radio) Standing by. 29 00:02:18,130 --> 00:02:20,770 There might be a group going left to right. 30 00:02:20,810 --> 00:02:23,260 They just dove. Roger that. Thanks. 31 00:02:23,700 --> 00:02:27,890 Understanding how it works has never been so important. 32 00:02:32,020 --> 00:02:34,340 Over on the other side. Right by that black boat? 33 00:02:34,380 --> 00:02:36,740 Yeah, I can see dorsals. Yeah. 34 00:02:36,770 --> 00:02:38,380 Because it's changing 35 00:02:38,450 --> 00:02:40,770 under the pressure of climate change. 36 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:46,890 It's getting hotter and hotter, without a doubt. 37 00:02:47,770 --> 00:02:51,810 And life within the ocean affects the whole planet. 38 00:03:04,530 --> 00:03:07,530 Humpback whales are ocean nomads. 39 00:03:09,660 --> 00:03:11,980 It's estimated they can migrate 40 00:03:12,020 --> 00:03:15,210 over half a million miles in a lifetime. 41 00:03:18,770 --> 00:03:19,980 Each summer, 42 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:23,490 Atlantic populations come to feed in Stellwagen Bank 43 00:03:23,530 --> 00:03:25,300 National Marine Sanctuary, 44 00:03:25,770 --> 00:03:29,740 where marine biologist Dr Dave Wiley and his team 45 00:03:29,980 --> 00:03:30,980 are ready to meet them. 46 00:03:31,770 --> 00:03:33,060 There's a lot of activity, 47 00:03:33,090 --> 00:03:35,980 both commercial whale-watching boats and recreational boats. 48 00:03:36,020 --> 00:03:38,450 So we have to work around them, 49 00:03:38,490 --> 00:03:40,940 but we're looking for a group of two or three. 50 00:03:42,850 --> 00:03:46,090 Dave's team wants to know how climate change 51 00:03:46,130 --> 00:03:48,620 is affecting the humpbacks' feeding behaviour. 52 00:03:50,170 --> 00:03:54,450 To find out, they need to get much nearer to the whales. 53 00:03:55,980 --> 00:03:57,740 You can't try to rush any of it. 54 00:03:57,770 --> 00:04:00,890 That's why it takes sometimes, you know, long periods of time 55 00:04:00,940 --> 00:04:02,770 before we actually get close enough. 56 00:04:05,090 --> 00:04:06,530 It's a waiting game. 57 00:04:09,340 --> 00:04:11,490 There's gonna be a lot of this during this trip. 58 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:15,340 After looking for whales and working on whales, 59 00:04:15,380 --> 00:04:19,020 eating is probably the next most common thing I do. 60 00:04:19,340 --> 00:04:20,890 Such a good sandwich. 61 00:04:21,620 --> 00:04:24,020 We're out here for like eight to ten hours at a time. 62 00:04:24,130 --> 00:04:25,850 Of course, everybody gets hungry. 63 00:04:25,890 --> 00:04:27,740 But we've noticed as soon as you start to snack, 64 00:04:27,770 --> 00:04:29,380 that's when the whales pop up. 65 00:04:30,570 --> 00:04:32,340 Oh! Look at that! 66 00:04:34,260 --> 00:04:35,700 Whales coming up. 67 00:04:39,490 --> 00:04:42,890 The scientists want to attach sensors to the whales 68 00:04:42,940 --> 00:04:44,980 to collect important data. 69 00:04:46,130 --> 00:04:49,700 It's not an easy task to put tags on every animal in a group, 70 00:04:49,740 --> 00:04:52,700 but we've done it before and we're gonna try to do it again. 71 00:04:52,740 --> 00:04:55,130 Looks like the group's coming up over there at our one o'clock. 72 00:05:07,420 --> 00:05:09,170 I have 403 here. 73 00:05:16,130 --> 00:05:18,380 The tags we're using are called DTAGs. 74 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:20,530 They're a really sophisticated tag 75 00:05:20,570 --> 00:05:21,890 that goes on with suction cups 76 00:05:21,940 --> 00:05:23,570 so it doesn't hurt the animals at all. 77 00:05:25,700 --> 00:05:27,130 So basically with these tags, 78 00:05:27,170 --> 00:05:29,340 we know what the animals are doing with their body 79 00:05:29,380 --> 00:05:31,980 and we know any sounds they make 80 00:05:32,020 --> 00:05:33,060 or anything they're hearing. 81 00:05:33,090 --> 00:05:35,210 And they're also equipped with GPS 82 00:05:35,260 --> 00:05:37,570 so when they come to the surface, they give us location. 83 00:05:37,620 --> 00:05:39,420 So it's really a full suite of data. 84 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:56,170 OK. Mike's ready to tag, everybody. 85 00:05:59,490 --> 00:06:00,770 Hold on. 86 00:06:07,490 --> 00:06:10,060 Here we go. (they cheer) 87 00:06:14,980 --> 00:06:16,660 That was good. That worked well. 88 00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:18,620 It all comes together, it's perfect. 89 00:06:21,980 --> 00:06:24,890 Some of the tags are fitted with cameras 90 00:06:25,020 --> 00:06:27,660 to see what the whales are doing. 91 00:06:28,940 --> 00:06:31,060 So we've got this great backlog of data 92 00:06:31,090 --> 00:06:34,090 that shows us what the ocean was like over the past 20 years, 93 00:06:34,130 --> 00:06:37,130 how it's changing right at this very minute. 94 00:06:37,170 --> 00:06:40,090 And then as this project continues into the future, 95 00:06:40,450 --> 00:06:42,940 we'll know how the animals are behaving 96 00:06:42,980 --> 00:06:45,210 in an ocean that's going to be really quite different 97 00:06:45,260 --> 00:06:47,530 than the one they've been used to for the last... 98 00:06:47,570 --> 00:06:50,450 ..hundreds and hundreds and thousands of years. 99 00:06:50,700 --> 00:06:55,380 And by deploying almost 300 tags since 2004, 100 00:06:56,340 --> 00:06:58,940 they've built a picture of their feeding behaviour. 101 00:06:59,170 --> 00:07:02,940 This gives the scientists an important reference, 102 00:07:02,980 --> 00:07:06,420 allowing them to see if anything unusual is happening. 103 00:07:08,980 --> 00:07:10,770 Since the study began, 104 00:07:10,810 --> 00:07:13,980 the whales' feeding habits stayed fairly consistent... 105 00:07:16,090 --> 00:07:17,850 ..until this year, 106 00:07:17,980 --> 00:07:21,450 when Dave and his team noticed something different going on. 107 00:07:23,700 --> 00:07:26,620 The main prey item for almost everything 108 00:07:26,660 --> 00:07:28,530 in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, 109 00:07:28,570 --> 00:07:30,300 and humpback whales in particular, 110 00:07:30,340 --> 00:07:32,570 are a little fish called sand lance. 111 00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:37,130 They're maybe six inches long, as big around as your thumb, 112 00:07:37,170 --> 00:07:40,130 and they're here in really big numbers. 113 00:07:41,380 --> 00:07:44,260 Sand lance normally stay at the surface, 114 00:07:44,380 --> 00:07:47,340 but this year they are keeping to the sea floor. 115 00:07:50,170 --> 00:07:53,210 Dave thinks that rising ocean temperatures 116 00:07:53,260 --> 00:07:55,890 are causing the fish to hibernate early. 117 00:07:56,170 --> 00:07:57,770 We haven't seen this before, 118 00:07:57,810 --> 00:08:01,890 so this is already a sign that the ocean is changing rapidly 119 00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:05,060 and in many ways drastically. 120 00:08:07,380 --> 00:08:09,850 What happens to whales matters, 121 00:08:10,570 --> 00:08:14,380 as they play an important role in the ocean. 122 00:08:17,570 --> 00:08:20,340 So these animals are going down and they're feeding on the bottom, 123 00:08:20,380 --> 00:08:22,170 but they defecate at the surface. 124 00:08:31,420 --> 00:08:33,940 They spread huge amounts of fertilizer 125 00:08:33,980 --> 00:08:35,300 all over the surface of the ocean, 126 00:08:35,340 --> 00:08:37,300 where the sunlight is also, 127 00:08:37,340 --> 00:08:40,450 so you get this combination of fertilizer and sunlight. 128 00:08:44,700 --> 00:08:47,170 This creates the perfect conditions 129 00:08:47,530 --> 00:08:50,300 for a microscopic organism to flourish. 130 00:08:52,890 --> 00:08:54,340 Phytoplankton. 131 00:08:55,740 --> 00:08:59,530 Just like plants, they photosynthesize, 132 00:08:59,570 --> 00:09:02,300 absorbing carbon dioxide. 133 00:09:06,890 --> 00:09:08,620 And when conditions are right, 134 00:09:09,170 --> 00:09:11,570 their numbers explode. 135 00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:19,570 Carbon is now locked inside these giant blooms 136 00:09:19,810 --> 00:09:21,810 instead of in the atmosphere. 137 00:09:24,620 --> 00:09:27,090 They can become so huge 138 00:09:27,740 --> 00:09:29,850 they're visible from space. 139 00:09:48,130 --> 00:09:50,940 The more whales you have, the healthier the ocean is. 140 00:09:51,090 --> 00:09:54,170 One of the really great things about humpback whales 141 00:09:54,210 --> 00:09:56,090 is how successful they've been 142 00:09:56,130 --> 00:09:58,700 in making a comeback from commercial whaling. 143 00:10:01,570 --> 00:10:06,020 Some populations have recovered by as much as 90%. 144 00:10:10,170 --> 00:10:13,340 If all the whales came back to fill the ocean, 145 00:10:13,980 --> 00:10:16,260 the future would be brighter. 146 00:10:19,810 --> 00:10:21,740 They're fertilizing the entire system 147 00:10:21,770 --> 00:10:25,530 so there's more life here that can hold lots more carbon 148 00:10:25,570 --> 00:10:27,570 and draw down carbon dioxide 149 00:10:27,620 --> 00:10:29,210 out of the atmosphere where we don't want it, 150 00:10:29,260 --> 00:10:32,740 and into this ecological world that we're looking at, 151 00:10:32,770 --> 00:10:35,020 which is exactly where we do want it. 152 00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:43,300 But there's more to phytoplankton 153 00:10:43,450 --> 00:10:47,380 and the role they play in the carbon drawdown story. 154 00:10:56,210 --> 00:10:58,170 I wish more people knew about phytoplankton 155 00:10:58,210 --> 00:11:01,170 cos they really are the unsung heroes of life on our planet. 156 00:11:02,570 --> 00:11:06,060 Dr Stephanie Henson is a phytoplankton expert 157 00:11:06,090 --> 00:11:09,020 at the National Oceanography Centre in England. 158 00:11:10,450 --> 00:11:12,130 Hiya. Here's a little sample. 159 00:11:12,170 --> 00:11:13,700 Thank you. 160 00:11:13,740 --> 00:11:15,620 So the bucket that we collected this morning of water 161 00:11:15,660 --> 00:11:17,340 probably contains more phytoplankton 162 00:11:17,380 --> 00:11:19,890 than the population of London or New York. 163 00:11:20,090 --> 00:11:22,770 There's plenty of phytoplankton and zooplankton in there. 164 00:11:22,810 --> 00:11:24,490 Oh, nice. That's really great. 165 00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:26,420 Oh, there's all sorts of stuff in there. 166 00:11:26,490 --> 00:11:28,170 Yeah. Really nice. Great. 167 00:11:29,090 --> 00:11:31,740 But of course, they're feeding the whole ocean, effectively. 168 00:11:31,810 --> 00:11:33,850 They're the base of the marine food chain, 169 00:11:33,890 --> 00:11:36,700 and everything else in the ocean depends on them. 170 00:11:40,340 --> 00:11:45,420 Phytoplankton are eaten by tiny creatures called zooplankton. 171 00:11:46,980 --> 00:11:51,850 And they in turn are eaten by larger predators. 172 00:11:58,020 --> 00:12:00,530 If there weren't phytoplankton in the oceans, 173 00:12:00,570 --> 00:12:03,060 the marine food chain as we know it today 174 00:12:03,090 --> 00:12:05,090 would completely collapse. 175 00:12:08,420 --> 00:12:10,530 As species eat each other, 176 00:12:10,770 --> 00:12:13,980 the carbon goes all the way to the top. 177 00:12:32,940 --> 00:12:34,340 It's part of a process 178 00:12:34,450 --> 00:12:37,340 that scientists call the biological pump. 179 00:12:41,940 --> 00:12:44,300 To understand its significance, 180 00:12:44,340 --> 00:12:49,170 we need to measure how much life there is in the ocean. 181 00:12:51,380 --> 00:12:53,740 And that takes innovative thinking. 182 00:13:02,850 --> 00:13:07,340 Marine ecologist Gael Mariani is crunching the numbers. 183 00:13:10,810 --> 00:13:13,530 I know this code might look pretty boring, 184 00:13:13,570 --> 00:13:17,530 but in fact it reveals something really fascinating about fish, 185 00:13:17,570 --> 00:13:19,770 something we didn't even know about 186 00:13:19,810 --> 00:13:22,130 three or four years ago in science. 187 00:13:22,170 --> 00:13:25,300 And this research reveals really new information 188 00:13:25,340 --> 00:13:27,090 about the role fish can play 189 00:13:27,130 --> 00:13:29,770 in transporting carbon into a safe place. 190 00:13:35,020 --> 00:13:40,380 So fish are able to store the carbon they eat in their own bodies. 191 00:13:42,210 --> 00:13:44,170 And you might say, hang on, 192 00:13:44,210 --> 00:13:47,980 it's not a lot compared to a large species like some whales. 193 00:13:51,380 --> 00:13:53,130 But it's biomass that matters. 194 00:13:53,620 --> 00:13:55,090 How many fish there are. 195 00:13:57,570 --> 00:14:00,940 By gathering data from the fisheries around the world, 196 00:14:01,170 --> 00:14:04,090 Gael's results give an astonishing picture 197 00:14:04,130 --> 00:14:08,940 of how ocean life helps us in the fight against climate change. 198 00:14:12,940 --> 00:14:15,090 So we've made some calculations, 199 00:14:15,130 --> 00:14:17,700 and we found out fish of commercial interest 200 00:14:17,740 --> 00:14:19,660 are able to draw down the equivalent 201 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:24,090 to the annual emission of 50 million American citizens. 202 00:14:26,090 --> 00:14:27,210 It's massive. 203 00:14:31,060 --> 00:14:34,060 Fish numbers are far lower than they could be. 204 00:14:37,340 --> 00:14:39,570 By taking them out of our ocean, 205 00:14:39,660 --> 00:14:43,060 we are reducing the power of the biological pump. 206 00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:48,340 We can also work out how much carbon we've lost 207 00:14:48,490 --> 00:14:49,770 through fishing globally, 208 00:14:49,850 --> 00:14:52,340 and the numbers are quite remarkable. 209 00:14:56,890 --> 00:14:59,740 We calculate industrial fisheries 210 00:14:59,770 --> 00:15:02,490 has reduced the carbon drawdown potential 211 00:15:02,530 --> 00:15:05,770 of fish of commercial interest by 50%. 212 00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:13,020 As well as their carbon value, 213 00:15:13,420 --> 00:15:15,700 fish have a market value... 214 00:15:18,740 --> 00:15:21,700 ..and 60 million people around the world 215 00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:24,170 depend on the fishing industry. 216 00:15:48,570 --> 00:15:51,620 So we really have to move toward a future 217 00:15:51,660 --> 00:15:55,620 where we change how we value fish. Like this place just behind me, 218 00:15:55,660 --> 00:15:58,850 who really cares about how they source their produce. 219 00:16:07,770 --> 00:16:10,420 Most of the life we know in the ocean 220 00:16:10,450 --> 00:16:12,530 inhabits the surface layers. 221 00:16:13,810 --> 00:16:15,620 It draws the carbon in. 222 00:16:19,740 --> 00:16:21,940 But the deeper the carbon goes, 223 00:16:22,740 --> 00:16:24,530 the better it is for the planet. 224 00:16:29,890 --> 00:16:32,530 The twilight zone is a vast part of the ocean. 225 00:16:32,570 --> 00:16:36,260 It extends around the globe, from pole to pole, 226 00:16:36,300 --> 00:16:38,090 anywhere that the water's deep enough. 227 00:16:38,850 --> 00:16:41,740 If you go into the ocean twilight zone, 228 00:16:41,770 --> 00:16:44,530 one of the most amazing things you'll see 229 00:16:44,570 --> 00:16:48,380 is the incredible what we call marine snowfall. 230 00:16:48,570 --> 00:16:51,940 These tiny particles - microscopic organisms, 231 00:16:52,060 --> 00:16:57,170 debris of animals and plankton that have died 232 00:16:57,260 --> 00:17:00,340 and are drifting down slowly through the ocean. 233 00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:02,300 And as it's falling, it's helping the ocean 234 00:17:02,340 --> 00:17:05,490 to draw that carbon away from the atmosphere. 235 00:17:08,850 --> 00:17:12,380 These deep, dark waters may seem lifeless. 236 00:17:14,660 --> 00:17:16,260 But there are creatures here 237 00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:19,380 that look like they're from an alien world. 238 00:17:34,620 --> 00:17:36,810 There are types of organisms 239 00:17:36,850 --> 00:17:39,940 that just look completely different than those species 240 00:17:39,980 --> 00:17:42,890 that we're used to seeing in the upper ocean. 241 00:17:51,020 --> 00:17:55,980 Many are luminescent, so they sparkle like fireflies. 242 00:18:02,890 --> 00:18:04,170 After many years 243 00:18:04,210 --> 00:18:07,090 of scientists slowly learning about the ocean twilight zone, 244 00:18:07,130 --> 00:18:10,490 we thought we had a pretty good idea how many fish might live there. 245 00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:13,980 But recent methods using sonar 246 00:18:14,020 --> 00:18:17,090 have suggested that we may have been way off, 247 00:18:17,130 --> 00:18:20,660 and there may be ten times more fish than we previously thought. 248 00:18:25,300 --> 00:18:29,170 Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 249 00:18:29,380 --> 00:18:31,740 are on a mission to recover an instrument 250 00:18:31,850 --> 00:18:36,450 that's been moored 1,800 feet down in the deep ocean. 251 00:18:36,490 --> 00:18:40,210 Winch left. Bottom depth is 2802. 252 00:18:42,570 --> 00:18:44,620 It's been gathering information 253 00:18:44,660 --> 00:18:45,980 for the past two years, 254 00:18:46,490 --> 00:18:49,570 so should be full of scientific revelation. 255 00:18:55,020 --> 00:18:56,530 So there's always a chance 256 00:18:56,570 --> 00:18:58,810 that something can go wrong during the recovery. 257 00:18:59,020 --> 00:19:03,340 The research is led by oceanographer Dr Andone Lavery. 258 00:19:03,450 --> 00:19:06,300 This is the mooring that's been out for two years. 259 00:19:06,340 --> 00:19:09,090 We are looking at the acoustic sonars 260 00:19:09,130 --> 00:19:12,060 that are on the top of the... of the mooring. 261 00:19:12,090 --> 00:19:14,060 There's a little bit of slime on it, 262 00:19:14,090 --> 00:19:16,940 but not a lot considering it's been down there for two years, 263 00:19:16,980 --> 00:19:18,940 so, uh, pretty exciting. 264 00:19:21,210 --> 00:19:22,940 This giant acoustic ball 265 00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:25,420 sends pulses of sound through the water 266 00:19:25,450 --> 00:19:28,570 to paint a picture of what's happening in the dark. 267 00:19:30,060 --> 00:19:33,060 We're interested in the fishes in the ocean twilight zone, 268 00:19:33,090 --> 00:19:35,490 and their migration from the deep waters 269 00:19:35,530 --> 00:19:37,890 down at about 600 or 700m of depth. 270 00:19:37,940 --> 00:19:41,420 And as they come up to the surface at night to feed, 271 00:19:41,450 --> 00:19:46,210 we're interested in how much carbon they basically consume 272 00:19:46,300 --> 00:19:49,890 and draw down when they migrate back down to the deep ocean 273 00:19:49,940 --> 00:19:51,700 during the daylight hours. 274 00:19:51,890 --> 00:19:56,130 We think that this is probably the largest migration on Earth, 275 00:19:56,170 --> 00:20:01,130 the largest movement of animals on this planet, 276 00:20:01,170 --> 00:20:02,490 which happens daily 277 00:20:02,620 --> 00:20:05,980 in this big wave around the ocean. 278 00:20:07,660 --> 00:20:11,660 We're only just discovering the secrets of the twilight zone... 279 00:20:12,380 --> 00:20:15,980 ..and its role in drawing carbon into the deep. 280 00:20:22,060 --> 00:20:25,020 I'm in a really slick area. You got it? Yeah. 281 00:20:25,850 --> 00:20:27,530 OK. 282 00:20:28,090 --> 00:20:29,420 Finally get the data. 283 00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:33,090 A simple USB stick holds the precious files. 284 00:20:33,130 --> 00:20:34,660 All the data is here. 285 00:20:35,170 --> 00:20:36,420 This is awesome. 286 00:20:36,770 --> 00:20:38,300 6,000 files. 287 00:20:39,810 --> 00:20:41,740 Could you put them up on the big screen? 288 00:20:42,020 --> 00:20:43,020 Yeah. 289 00:20:43,450 --> 00:20:45,740 The reason we use acoustics in the ocean 290 00:20:45,770 --> 00:20:47,980 to look at fishes instead of using cameras, 291 00:20:48,060 --> 00:20:51,740 is that you can see quite a long way with acoustics. 292 00:20:51,770 --> 00:20:55,530 With a camera, you can only see fishes that are very close by. 293 00:20:55,570 --> 00:20:58,700 And we use that sound and that really strong signal 294 00:20:58,770 --> 00:21:00,940 to count how many fish we're seeing, 295 00:21:00,980 --> 00:21:04,380 and to characterize what kinds of fishes they are. 296 00:21:09,130 --> 00:21:12,210 Studying this movement of life is a formidable task... 297 00:21:13,660 --> 00:21:16,020 ..but the team is making headway. 298 00:21:16,450 --> 00:21:18,940 What we've learned about the Twilight Zone 299 00:21:18,980 --> 00:21:22,260 suggests that it may help the ocean draw down 300 00:21:22,570 --> 00:21:26,060 billions of metric tonnes of carbon every year. 301 00:21:26,260 --> 00:21:29,020 As much as six times the carbon dioxide 302 00:21:29,090 --> 00:21:31,810 emitted by automobiles worldwide 303 00:21:31,850 --> 00:21:36,740 may be drawn down by the ocean with the Twilight Zone's help. 304 00:21:36,770 --> 00:21:38,850 But it's very hard to study, 305 00:21:38,890 --> 00:21:41,810 and there's a lot of things that we still don't know about it. 306 00:21:43,940 --> 00:21:48,050 The race is on to improve our understanding of the ocean. 307 00:21:49,490 --> 00:21:51,260 But it's huge. 308 00:21:51,850 --> 00:21:54,490 It covers 70% of our planet. 309 00:21:56,410 --> 00:22:01,660 There's only one way to get a truly global picture of how it works. 310 00:22:09,340 --> 00:22:12,220 The ocean is a challenging environment, 311 00:22:12,340 --> 00:22:14,450 which is one of the reasons why we don't know 312 00:22:14,490 --> 00:22:17,530 as much as we probably should about it. 313 00:22:20,490 --> 00:22:23,660 Dr Laura Lorenzoni is a NASA scientist. 314 00:22:24,900 --> 00:22:28,380 She's preparing for a historical rocket launch. 315 00:22:29,220 --> 00:22:31,530 A mission that aims to see the ocean 316 00:22:31,580 --> 00:22:34,300 in a way that's impossible from Earth. 317 00:22:35,220 --> 00:22:38,300 So important, the world will be watching. 318 00:22:38,340 --> 00:22:39,980 Right now, I'm getting ready 319 00:22:40,020 --> 00:22:42,300 because I'm gonna be part of that broadcast tonight 320 00:22:42,340 --> 00:22:44,620 for our mission that we're launching to space. 321 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:48,380 This mission that we're launching 322 00:22:48,410 --> 00:22:50,700 is really gonna help us understand that connection 323 00:22:50,730 --> 00:22:52,490 between the atmosphere and the ocean 324 00:22:52,530 --> 00:22:53,980 and that carbon drawdown. 325 00:22:55,940 --> 00:22:58,130 What do I do? Just stick it in my ear? 326 00:22:58,170 --> 00:22:59,700 As this is my first broadcast, 327 00:22:59,730 --> 00:23:02,530 I am obviously a little nervous. 328 00:23:03,050 --> 00:23:04,580 What time do we start? 329 00:23:04,770 --> 00:23:08,170 You are looking live at Space Launch Complex-40 330 00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:10,580 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 331 00:23:10,620 --> 00:23:12,450 It is such an honor to be here with all of you 332 00:23:12,490 --> 00:23:14,490 near and far and witness history in the making. 333 00:23:14,530 --> 00:23:17,530 NASA has studied Earth's atmosphere in the past. 334 00:23:17,660 --> 00:23:20,700 What is it that you hope to learn that you didn't already know? 335 00:23:21,220 --> 00:23:23,450 That is an excellent question. 336 00:23:23,490 --> 00:23:26,340 So this mission is really going to be critical 337 00:23:26,380 --> 00:23:29,900 to nail down some of the gaps of information that we have 338 00:23:29,940 --> 00:23:31,770 in terms of carbon cycling. 339 00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:33,980 We have a decent grasp on 340 00:23:34,020 --> 00:23:37,050 the physics of this carbon drawdown, 341 00:23:37,220 --> 00:23:40,980 but the one thing that we're not really 100% sure on 342 00:23:41,020 --> 00:23:45,090 is the biological part which is carried out by phytoplankton. 343 00:23:54,660 --> 00:23:57,660 This mission is going to be able to tell us 344 00:23:57,700 --> 00:23:59,660 what kind of plankton and what species, 345 00:23:59,700 --> 00:24:01,530 and some species are really important 346 00:24:01,580 --> 00:24:03,380 and can sequester a lot more carbon 347 00:24:03,410 --> 00:24:04,770 faster than other species. 348 00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:10,020 Many on the PACE spacecraft team 349 00:24:10,050 --> 00:24:12,260 now going outside to watch this launch. 350 00:24:12,380 --> 00:24:14,260 Getting down to the final seconds. 351 00:24:14,730 --> 00:24:15,900 15 seconds. 352 00:24:15,940 --> 00:24:18,130 This mission has been in the works 353 00:24:18,170 --> 00:24:19,900 for about two decades. 354 00:24:19,940 --> 00:24:21,220 It has gone through the hands 355 00:24:21,260 --> 00:24:23,770 of many hundreds of scientists and engineers, 356 00:24:23,810 --> 00:24:26,130 enabling us to see the ocean in brand-new ways 357 00:24:26,170 --> 00:24:27,220 that we hadn't before. 358 00:24:27,260 --> 00:24:28,660 Minus 10. 359 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:30,700 10, 9, 8, 360 00:24:30,730 --> 00:24:33,170 7, 6, 5, 361 00:24:33,220 --> 00:24:36,940 4, 3, 2, 1. 362 00:24:36,980 --> 00:24:38,660 Booster ignition, 363 00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:40,980 full power engines 364 00:24:41,050 --> 00:24:45,300 and liftoff of the Falcon 9 and PACE, 365 00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:49,730 helping keep pace with our ever-changing ocean and atmosphere. 366 00:24:52,380 --> 00:24:54,700 Stage one propulsion is now go. 367 00:25:00,490 --> 00:25:02,090 With every orbit, 368 00:25:02,130 --> 00:25:05,410 this satellite will scan 30 million square miles 369 00:25:05,450 --> 00:25:06,940 of the Earth's surface... 370 00:25:10,940 --> 00:25:13,850 ..identifying different types of phytoplankton... 371 00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:19,130 ..and where the most carbon-rich expanses of ocean exist. 372 00:25:20,940 --> 00:25:23,730 This mission is really going to move us forwards. 373 00:25:23,850 --> 00:25:28,700 Because of the new measurements that this mission is bringing, 374 00:25:28,770 --> 00:25:32,170 we have a lot of opportunities at our fingertips 375 00:25:32,220 --> 00:25:37,300 to try to mitigate some of the changes that our presence, 376 00:25:37,380 --> 00:25:40,530 our human presence, has induced on the planet. 377 00:25:42,450 --> 00:25:43,940 We're about 10 seconds 378 00:25:43,980 --> 00:25:45,530 from the engine cut off. 379 00:25:56,220 --> 00:25:58,410 We can establish which parts of our ocean 380 00:25:58,450 --> 00:26:01,730 are most important for carbon drawdown. 381 00:26:04,410 --> 00:26:08,530 But they are often the most sensitive to climate change. 382 00:26:19,530 --> 00:26:22,770 In the Southern Ocean, warming temperatures are affecting 383 00:26:22,810 --> 00:26:25,410 a very different kind of carbon system... 384 00:26:27,450 --> 00:26:32,700 ..one so important it's studied by scientists across the world. 385 00:26:38,530 --> 00:26:40,090 My name is Peter. 386 00:26:40,130 --> 00:26:43,730 I'm a research director at the Flanders Marine Institute. 387 00:26:43,810 --> 00:26:45,620 I'm an oceanographer. 388 00:26:49,170 --> 00:26:53,700 So the Southern Ocean is the most remote ocean of our planet. 389 00:26:53,730 --> 00:26:58,090 Now, you can think about the Southern Ocean as a big lung. 390 00:26:58,260 --> 00:27:00,850 It breathes in and breathes out carbon dioxide. 391 00:27:03,260 --> 00:27:08,450 Atmospheric pressure pushes carbon dioxide into the ocean surface, 392 00:27:09,050 --> 00:27:12,130 a process called "the physical pump". 393 00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:18,300 When it dissolves into the cold Antarctic waters, 394 00:27:18,380 --> 00:27:20,530 it sinks down deep... 395 00:27:22,090 --> 00:27:25,620 ..where it can be stored for thousands of years. 396 00:27:32,020 --> 00:27:34,020 We know today that the Southern Ocean 397 00:27:34,050 --> 00:27:36,530 is one of the most important carbon sinks on this planet, 398 00:27:36,620 --> 00:27:39,810 slowing down the rate of global warming this way, 399 00:27:39,940 --> 00:27:43,490 but what we do not really know is how this is changing, 400 00:27:43,530 --> 00:27:46,410 how this heat and this carbon uptake are changing over time, 401 00:27:46,660 --> 00:27:47,980 how variable they might be, 402 00:27:48,260 --> 00:27:50,530 and as climate change progresses, 403 00:27:50,580 --> 00:27:53,340 what we can expect in the near and far future. 404 00:27:54,810 --> 00:27:56,730 There are few places on Earth 405 00:27:56,770 --> 00:27:59,810 more difficult to study than the Southern Ocean. 406 00:28:05,700 --> 00:28:10,050 But Peter knows someone who's always up for a challenge. 407 00:28:16,810 --> 00:28:18,810 Yeah, yeah, OK. Let's go. 408 00:28:20,170 --> 00:28:22,980 Boris Herrmann is a professional yachtsman. 409 00:28:28,660 --> 00:28:29,980 Woohoo! 410 00:28:30,220 --> 00:28:32,490 Yeah, yeah. Pause. 411 00:28:32,620 --> 00:28:35,980 Yeah, I obviously love sailing and racing on the ocean. 412 00:28:36,020 --> 00:28:38,130 That is my passion since my childhood, 413 00:28:38,220 --> 00:28:39,980 and it became my job. 414 00:28:40,050 --> 00:28:42,170 I really feel at home on the ocean. 415 00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:45,220 OK, let's have a look outside. 416 00:28:47,810 --> 00:28:49,580 Sea state is OK. 417 00:28:51,170 --> 00:28:53,220 And full main! 418 00:28:58,580 --> 00:29:00,730 Scientists need precise data 419 00:29:00,980 --> 00:29:03,260 about the exact CO2 concentration 420 00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:05,300 in the ocean surface. 421 00:29:05,450 --> 00:29:07,580 This you cannot measure by satellites. 422 00:29:07,620 --> 00:29:10,050 You need to go with some sort of vessel. 423 00:29:10,090 --> 00:29:12,660 And there are no commercial ships here, 424 00:29:12,700 --> 00:29:14,130 no cruise ships, etc. 425 00:29:14,170 --> 00:29:16,660 Here in the Southern Ocean, us racing sailors, 426 00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:17,940 we are the only ones. 427 00:29:18,980 --> 00:29:22,130 Boris's boat gathers data as it sails. 428 00:29:23,050 --> 00:29:24,380 Here's the ocean lab. 429 00:29:24,410 --> 00:29:27,660 So, basically, there's a big pump here. I can... 430 00:29:27,700 --> 00:29:29,530 If I put my hand on it, it's warm, 431 00:29:29,580 --> 00:29:32,090 I can feel it pumping and I can hear 432 00:29:32,130 --> 00:29:33,940 the water flowing through these tubes. 433 00:29:33,980 --> 00:29:35,410 It comes from the keel, 434 00:29:35,450 --> 00:29:37,530 it goes through here and then goes back out into the sea. 435 00:29:37,580 --> 00:29:42,130 So it permanently tracks water temperature, water salinity 436 00:29:42,170 --> 00:29:45,900 and, most importantly, the CO2 concentration. 437 00:29:48,660 --> 00:29:50,260 With Boris's help, 438 00:29:50,530 --> 00:29:52,260 scientists will be able to assess 439 00:29:52,300 --> 00:29:54,660 how the Southern Ocean is changing. 440 00:29:58,130 --> 00:29:59,260 And what's really remarkable 441 00:29:59,300 --> 00:30:02,490 about the data that Boris has collected 442 00:30:02,530 --> 00:30:05,850 is that he has collected data in places where we haven't... 443 00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:09,170 ..we've never, ever collected carbon dioxide measurements before. 444 00:30:09,980 --> 00:30:12,050 I think the biggest gratitude for Boris 445 00:30:12,130 --> 00:30:15,730 might be that his data will be used for a very long time. 446 00:30:17,090 --> 00:30:19,340 So every measurement that is taken today 447 00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:22,260 will not only be used tomorrow or in the next years, 448 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:24,090 it will be actually used indefinitely. 449 00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:28,410 I'm very happy that we can use the attention 450 00:30:28,450 --> 00:30:30,300 we get around this sport 451 00:30:30,340 --> 00:30:33,090 to make people speak about climate solutions 452 00:30:33,220 --> 00:30:36,490 and hopefully inspire people around this topic 453 00:30:36,580 --> 00:30:39,300 and hopefully have a positive influence with this 454 00:30:39,340 --> 00:30:42,730 because we have no choice. It's a race we must win. 455 00:30:56,620 --> 00:30:58,450 We shouldn't take it for granted, 456 00:30:58,490 --> 00:31:01,300 because if we don't protect those natural carbon sinks, 457 00:31:01,340 --> 00:31:03,050 may they be on land or in the ocean, 458 00:31:03,130 --> 00:31:05,130 we will not have this service in the future 459 00:31:05,170 --> 00:31:07,020 and will be a much bigger problem. 460 00:31:07,450 --> 00:31:10,490 We want to keep a close eye on the climate system, 461 00:31:10,530 --> 00:31:12,580 how it behaves, how it changes, 462 00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:14,940 because there are so many things that we may not know, 463 00:31:14,980 --> 00:31:17,580 and so many changes that we might otherwise overlook, 464 00:31:17,730 --> 00:31:21,170 and so we want to understand our future we're heading to. 465 00:31:30,220 --> 00:31:32,530 Across the seas of the world, 466 00:31:32,810 --> 00:31:36,300 signs of what's in store are becoming more frequent. 467 00:31:43,490 --> 00:31:47,260 One of the great advantages of being here 468 00:31:47,300 --> 00:31:51,020 is that the Mediterranean is a laboratory for the world. 469 00:31:53,050 --> 00:31:54,700 Dr Giulio Boccaletti 470 00:31:54,770 --> 00:31:58,620 is the Scientific Director at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre 471 00:31:58,700 --> 00:32:00,090 on Climate Change. 472 00:32:00,770 --> 00:32:04,810 So the Mediterranean is undergoing remarkable changes. 473 00:32:04,850 --> 00:32:07,090 Its temperature has never been hotter. 474 00:32:07,130 --> 00:32:11,620 The last few years we've had extreme marine heat waves. 475 00:32:11,660 --> 00:32:15,410 And so what we see when we look at the Mediterranean 476 00:32:15,450 --> 00:32:19,020 is a glimpse of the future for the rest of the planet. 477 00:32:27,770 --> 00:32:31,730 If we don't figure out how to stop the climate 478 00:32:31,770 --> 00:32:32,980 from changing more, 479 00:32:33,020 --> 00:32:35,580 if we don't figure out a way of drawing down carbon, 480 00:32:35,700 --> 00:32:39,340 if we don't find a way of working with nature, 481 00:32:39,490 --> 00:32:42,900 I don't know exactly what the future will look like, 482 00:32:42,940 --> 00:32:46,130 but this is the place where we will find out first. 483 00:32:50,730 --> 00:32:53,620 The ocean draws down a quarter 484 00:32:53,660 --> 00:32:58,260 of the 11 billion tonnes of carbon that we emit each year. 485 00:33:04,410 --> 00:33:06,260 Extreme temperatures 486 00:33:06,300 --> 00:33:09,050 are compromising this critical system. 487 00:33:13,020 --> 00:33:15,380 Giulio's work models these effects 488 00:33:15,410 --> 00:33:19,810 to help us avoid the worst, and prepare for what is coming. 489 00:33:21,130 --> 00:33:26,900 I actually think that nature has been trying really hard to help us. 490 00:33:26,940 --> 00:33:29,730 Now, it can't do that by itself. 491 00:33:29,770 --> 00:33:32,410 It can't solve all of our problems by itself. 492 00:33:32,450 --> 00:33:34,340 We have to stop emitting, 493 00:33:34,620 --> 00:33:37,900 and we have to help nature do what it does. 494 00:33:49,340 --> 00:33:54,770 So the quest here is, can we transform that nature? 495 00:33:54,810 --> 00:33:57,900 Can we power it up so that, while we stop emitting, 496 00:33:57,940 --> 00:34:00,380 it then helps us draw back down 497 00:34:00,410 --> 00:34:03,620 the stuff that we put up in the atmosphere in the first place? 498 00:34:09,260 --> 00:34:13,090 Restoring life in our ocean is a huge task. 499 00:34:13,580 --> 00:34:15,770 It takes collaboration... 500 00:34:17,220 --> 00:34:19,050 ..determination... 501 00:34:19,380 --> 00:34:20,940 ..and innovation... 502 00:34:22,660 --> 00:34:26,260 ..and some brilliant projects are already under way. 503 00:34:33,660 --> 00:34:36,660 40% of us live along the coastline, 504 00:34:37,450 --> 00:34:38,770 for good reason. 505 00:34:45,730 --> 00:34:47,900 On this small island in Kenya, 506 00:34:48,170 --> 00:34:50,490 nature is still abundant. 507 00:34:58,700 --> 00:35:03,530 It's a favourite spot for local fisher Hassan Shee Yusuf. 508 00:35:12,490 --> 00:35:14,940 What makes the catch so good here 509 00:35:15,090 --> 00:35:17,580 is the surrounding mangrove forest... 510 00:35:19,700 --> 00:35:21,810 ..an ecosystem of tangled roots 511 00:35:21,850 --> 00:35:24,980 that only exists where the land meets the sea. 512 00:35:30,850 --> 00:35:32,700 Working alongside local fishers 513 00:35:32,730 --> 00:35:36,050 is marine biologist Mwanarusi Mwafrica. 514 00:35:36,090 --> 00:35:39,020 What I love much about the mangrove forest 515 00:35:39,050 --> 00:35:44,050 is because this is an ecosystem that actually provided me with a job. 516 00:35:44,090 --> 00:35:48,020 Like my daily bread, yeah! 517 00:35:49,490 --> 00:35:51,810 Mangrove roots are very essential 518 00:35:51,850 --> 00:35:55,770 because they provide a safe haven for juvenile fish 519 00:35:55,810 --> 00:35:58,410 from being carried away by strong waves. 520 00:35:58,490 --> 00:36:00,810 So the fact of having more trees, 521 00:36:00,850 --> 00:36:03,220 this means you're going to have more fish, 522 00:36:03,260 --> 00:36:05,410 more fish in the future. 523 00:36:15,410 --> 00:36:18,810 Mangrove forests grow along many tropical coastlines. 524 00:36:20,410 --> 00:36:23,380 And when it comes to harnessing carbon dioxide, 525 00:36:23,700 --> 00:36:26,090 they are a superpower. 526 00:36:28,730 --> 00:36:30,620 These are very magical trees 527 00:36:30,660 --> 00:36:35,810 because the services that they provide are quite diverse. 528 00:36:35,900 --> 00:36:39,900 Mangroves are very efficient at drawing down carbon. 529 00:36:40,020 --> 00:36:43,490 When we look at the capacity, it's almost seven to ten times 530 00:36:43,530 --> 00:36:46,090 compared to other terrestrial trees. 531 00:36:48,770 --> 00:36:52,260 The interaction between the trees, the tide and the mud 532 00:36:52,980 --> 00:36:55,410 creates a unique environment... 533 00:36:56,580 --> 00:37:00,530 ..that not only means mangroves can store more carbon per acre 534 00:37:00,580 --> 00:37:03,300 than any other type of forest on Earth... 535 00:37:05,490 --> 00:37:08,980 ..they keep it locked up for millennia. 536 00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:27,340 But many mangroves 537 00:37:27,380 --> 00:37:30,770 have been lost to deforestation and coastal development... 538 00:37:31,900 --> 00:37:34,130 ..including here in Kenya. 539 00:37:47,770 --> 00:37:51,260 But the community here is now turning things around... 540 00:37:53,130 --> 00:37:55,490 ..through a new business venture. 541 00:37:57,170 --> 00:38:01,260 So Vanga Blue Forest is part of a carbon-offsetting scheme. 542 00:38:01,490 --> 00:38:05,020 So what happens is that individuals, companies, 543 00:38:05,050 --> 00:38:09,530 businesses come to offset with the project, 544 00:38:09,580 --> 00:38:13,020 in the essence that they are promoting conservation efforts 545 00:38:13,050 --> 00:38:16,580 as much as they are offsetting their own carbon emissions. 546 00:38:20,900 --> 00:38:23,220 If we fund nature now, 547 00:38:24,020 --> 00:38:28,090 these ecosystems will continue to draw down carbon 548 00:38:28,850 --> 00:38:31,490 long after our emissions have ceased. 549 00:38:47,490 --> 00:38:49,090 Since the project started, 550 00:38:49,700 --> 00:38:53,770 over 4,000 mangrove seedlings have been planted. 551 00:38:57,730 --> 00:39:00,900 Carbon drawdowns of Vanga mangrove forest 552 00:39:00,940 --> 00:39:04,530 are at 6,000 tonnes a year. 553 00:39:08,300 --> 00:39:11,770 Carbon sales are also enriching the community. 554 00:39:14,300 --> 00:39:17,130 The local school now has a science lab, 555 00:39:18,300 --> 00:39:22,730 and better facilities have helped its first student get to university. 556 00:39:23,020 --> 00:39:27,900 What makes me to be very proud working at Vanga Blue Forest 557 00:39:28,020 --> 00:39:31,940 is the fact that I'm at the focal point of a change, 558 00:39:32,410 --> 00:39:36,700 the focal point of a movement that is growing globally, 559 00:39:36,730 --> 00:39:39,450 and that movement is changing the narrative 560 00:39:39,490 --> 00:39:41,620 of reversing climate change. 561 00:39:45,940 --> 00:39:48,260 Pioneering projects like this 562 00:39:48,490 --> 00:39:52,730 show how we can boost nature and carbon drawdown. 563 00:39:54,410 --> 00:39:57,340 But to really transform our ocean, 564 00:39:57,410 --> 00:39:59,410 we need to work at scale, 565 00:39:59,620 --> 00:40:02,900 which requires even more investment. 566 00:40:24,580 --> 00:40:27,370 I'm Julie Robinson and I'm the Belize Program Director 567 00:40:27,410 --> 00:40:28,940 for the Nature Conservancy. 568 00:40:29,770 --> 00:40:32,090 This story does not start in nature, 569 00:40:32,130 --> 00:40:34,130 it actually starts in a boardroom. 570 00:40:39,050 --> 00:40:42,810 Belize had a long history of being indebted. 571 00:40:43,130 --> 00:40:47,770 That actually became worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, 572 00:40:48,050 --> 00:40:50,450 and tourism came to a screeching halt. 573 00:40:50,490 --> 00:40:54,660 And so, essentially, we were in an economic crisis, 574 00:40:55,220 --> 00:40:59,410 and we also had a debt payment looming. 575 00:41:00,050 --> 00:41:02,860 But Julie and her team were working on a plan 576 00:41:02,900 --> 00:41:05,220 that was about to turn this crisis 577 00:41:05,260 --> 00:41:08,490 into an opportunity to invest in nature. 578 00:41:08,770 --> 00:41:12,260 But I've spent way too much time in boardrooms like this 579 00:41:12,300 --> 00:41:15,300 looking over Excel sheets and on computer. 580 00:41:15,340 --> 00:41:18,130 What I'd really like to do is take you out on the ocean 581 00:41:18,170 --> 00:41:21,370 and show you exactly what we're protecting. 582 00:41:33,580 --> 00:41:35,340 So right now we're in San Pedro, 583 00:41:35,370 --> 00:41:38,490 which is a really popular tourist destination. 584 00:41:38,730 --> 00:41:40,660 It is a biodiversity hotspot, 585 00:41:40,860 --> 00:41:42,860 great for diving, great for snorkeling. 586 00:41:45,940 --> 00:41:48,410 It was actually my childhood out here 587 00:41:48,450 --> 00:41:51,300 that led me to be where I am today... 588 00:41:51,370 --> 00:41:52,980 Right over here looks good. 589 00:41:53,170 --> 00:41:55,770 ..and at six years old, I pretty much decided 590 00:41:55,810 --> 00:41:58,300 that I was going to dedicate my life 591 00:41:58,340 --> 00:42:01,540 to saving the animals in the water. 592 00:42:08,900 --> 00:42:10,980 In today's warming ocean, 593 00:42:11,020 --> 00:42:15,050 this beautiful reef needs all the help it can get. 594 00:42:22,260 --> 00:42:26,260 But conservation at this scale is expensive. 595 00:42:27,130 --> 00:42:31,130 Hard to prioritize when you've got a large national debt. 596 00:42:36,410 --> 00:42:38,410 But Belize had a plan. 597 00:42:41,770 --> 00:42:44,620 We call it Blue Bonds for ocean conservation. 598 00:42:44,770 --> 00:42:48,130 You could think of it as refinancing 599 00:42:48,170 --> 00:42:49,540 or remortgaging a home, 600 00:42:49,580 --> 00:42:53,810 whereby a bank is able to provide better terms 601 00:42:53,860 --> 00:42:56,690 and reduce the overall payments, 602 00:42:56,730 --> 00:42:58,900 and then the savings from that reduced payment 603 00:42:58,940 --> 00:43:01,020 is what goes towards conservation. 604 00:43:03,340 --> 00:43:07,860 In this case, that was a figure of $180 million US 605 00:43:08,580 --> 00:43:11,050 to be rolled out over a 20-year period. 606 00:43:13,810 --> 00:43:15,770 When you borrow money for your home, 607 00:43:15,810 --> 00:43:17,090 it's an investment, right? 608 00:43:17,130 --> 00:43:19,260 You renovate, you look after it, 609 00:43:19,300 --> 00:43:21,580 and over time, it adds value. 610 00:43:34,020 --> 00:43:36,050 The challenge was really coordinating 611 00:43:36,090 --> 00:43:38,340 all the various players, all the partners, 612 00:43:38,450 --> 00:43:41,860 because something of this scale had just never been done before. 613 00:43:45,370 --> 00:43:48,900 A big team effort was needed for this ground-breaking deal 614 00:43:49,300 --> 00:43:52,450 to protect mile after mile of ocean. 615 00:43:57,690 --> 00:44:00,300 And for its part of the bargain, 616 00:44:01,170 --> 00:44:04,300 Belize had to commit to some serious goals. 617 00:44:04,450 --> 00:44:09,410 Protecting 30% of waters would allow nature to thrive... 618 00:44:11,540 --> 00:44:14,450 ..and better management would support the people 619 00:44:14,490 --> 00:44:16,620 who rely on a healthy ocean. 620 00:44:19,260 --> 00:44:20,900 And look at it. 621 00:44:20,940 --> 00:44:23,980 When it's working, it is absolutely paradise. 622 00:44:24,620 --> 00:44:28,050 Once the decision had been made to move the deal forwards, 623 00:44:28,090 --> 00:44:31,450 it took only 18 months to get everything in order, 624 00:44:31,730 --> 00:44:33,980 and now there's a model for other countries. 625 00:44:35,340 --> 00:44:39,340 Around the world, more projects like this are in the works, 626 00:44:39,690 --> 00:44:43,260 thanks to the success of this inspirational deal. 627 00:44:44,260 --> 00:44:46,370 During a time during climate crisis, 628 00:44:46,450 --> 00:44:49,130 we need things like this more than ever before. 629 00:44:52,730 --> 00:44:55,340 When nature wins, we win, 630 00:44:55,580 --> 00:44:57,660 and so does the carbon drawdown. 631 00:45:15,540 --> 00:45:19,450 But two-thirds of our ocean, known as the high seas, 632 00:45:19,490 --> 00:45:21,900 fall outside of national laws. 633 00:45:23,730 --> 00:45:27,810 Without governance, fishing can be a free-for-all. 634 00:45:30,940 --> 00:45:34,050 To protect nature in these unmanaged waters 635 00:45:34,090 --> 00:45:36,690 takes international collaboration... 636 00:45:38,860 --> 00:45:42,090 ..based on accurate scientific information. 637 00:45:44,620 --> 00:45:46,940 Ecologist Tristan Rouyer 638 00:45:46,980 --> 00:45:51,220 is hoping to spot one of the world's most valuable fish from the sky. 639 00:45:51,540 --> 00:45:53,540 Buckle up and let's go. 640 00:47:38,660 --> 00:47:41,450 Tristan is joining Scientific Angler, 641 00:47:41,730 --> 00:47:44,300 a fleet of recreational fishers 642 00:47:44,370 --> 00:47:47,410 competing to catch a tuna for science. 643 00:48:02,410 --> 00:48:04,050 The Mediterranean Sea 644 00:48:04,090 --> 00:48:06,220 is home to one of the most important 645 00:48:06,260 --> 00:48:10,130 Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries in the world... 646 00:48:11,450 --> 00:48:14,810 ..making it a prime spot to monitor numbers. 647 00:48:50,300 --> 00:48:54,410 Demand for bluefin surged in the 1990s, 648 00:48:54,450 --> 00:48:56,580 which led to their rapid demise. 649 00:48:57,980 --> 00:48:59,370 But against the odds, 650 00:48:59,410 --> 00:49:03,370 these highly prized fish are making a comeback. 651 00:49:16,170 --> 00:49:17,170 Fabien! 652 00:49:24,730 --> 00:49:26,580 The competition is on! 653 00:50:01,660 --> 00:50:05,450 Small tuna like this are the optimum size for tagging. 654 00:50:10,220 --> 00:50:14,410 The tag has been programmed to last for over four years. 655 00:50:16,690 --> 00:50:19,940 It will show Tristan exactly where the tuna goes 656 00:50:19,980 --> 00:50:22,730 as it heads out into unprotected waters. 657 00:50:35,170 --> 00:50:36,260 Perfect. 658 00:50:47,980 --> 00:50:52,300 The resurgence of bluefin tuna can't be taken for granted. 659 00:50:53,900 --> 00:50:57,620 Keeping their numbers up requires collaboration. 660 00:50:58,260 --> 00:51:01,660 And Tristan's data feeds into an international coalition 661 00:51:01,730 --> 00:51:05,050 of over 50 countries and governments 662 00:51:05,090 --> 00:51:08,730 committed to preventing overexploitation in the future. 663 00:51:35,690 --> 00:51:39,490 If Atlantic bluefin tuna can come back from the brink, 664 00:51:39,540 --> 00:51:41,900 surely there's hope we can return 665 00:51:41,940 --> 00:51:44,220 even more nature to abundance. 666 00:51:49,540 --> 00:51:52,690 In an ocean bursting with life, 667 00:51:53,130 --> 00:51:56,770 carbon can be drawn away from the atmosphere. 668 00:51:58,940 --> 00:52:02,730 Carbon is the... It's the... It's the thing of our time, right? 669 00:52:02,770 --> 00:52:05,260 It's the challenge that all of us have to face. 670 00:52:07,370 --> 00:52:09,490 Climate change, it's something that we have done, 671 00:52:09,540 --> 00:52:12,260 but it's also something that we can fix. 672 00:52:14,540 --> 00:52:16,660 No matter where we live, 673 00:52:16,690 --> 00:52:20,220 the nature that surrounds us can be restored. 674 00:52:21,410 --> 00:52:25,050 As a project lead, it gives me the boost 675 00:52:25,220 --> 00:52:27,050 to always look forward 676 00:52:27,090 --> 00:52:30,050 to every morning waking up with an open heart, 677 00:52:30,090 --> 00:52:32,540 because it gives me the determination 678 00:52:32,660 --> 00:52:35,130 that whatever I'm doing brings change. 679 00:52:35,450 --> 00:52:38,450 But it's not just down to you and me. 680 00:52:39,220 --> 00:52:43,980 The world needs to act and boost our entire living planet. 681 00:52:44,050 --> 00:52:48,580 It's a race against time to find solutions for climate change. 682 00:52:49,730 --> 00:52:54,410 We have a choice to build the world we want to live in. 683 00:52:56,370 --> 00:53:00,020 So if we can find a way of investing in nature, 684 00:53:00,050 --> 00:53:02,410 of working with nature... 685 00:53:03,730 --> 00:53:06,730 ..I think we'll be able to overcome even this, 686 00:53:06,860 --> 00:53:10,130 which is the greatest challenge of this century. 687 00:53:28,170 --> 00:53:32,050 The future I want is a future where this sanctuary is filled 688 00:53:32,090 --> 00:53:34,300 with whales and filled with sea birds 689 00:53:34,340 --> 00:53:35,940 and fish and just life, 690 00:53:36,020 --> 00:53:39,940 and so I want to make sure that this sanctuary stays this way. 691 00:53:43,130 --> 00:53:46,940 I want this place to be like this, you know, for ever. 692 00:53:49,170 --> 00:53:54,620 And for ever depends on the future of nature.