Our Oceans (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[Barack Obama] A great current
rises slowly from the abyss
into the middle of
the world's largest ocean,
where it soothes
an exhausted humpback whale
who has just become a mother.
[delicate, enchanting music playing]
She's traveled across 3,000 miles
of open ocean to give birth
[lows]
in these calm, tropical waters.
[low, rumbly grunting]
Humpbacks are intelligent and sensitive.
Here, they have
the peace and time they need
to establish the vital mother-calf bond.
[enchanting music continuing]
A hug helps affirm one of nature's
strongest connections.
But they can't stay here.
If they get hit by a storm
in the open ocean,
it could separate them.
So, they're swimming for the only shelter
in this part of the Central Pacific,
the islands of Hawai'i.
Getting there is dangerous.
[menacing music building]
[bubbles burbling]
Male humpbacks patrol
the island's approaches
[jarring whale song clashing]
knowing that every adult female
coming here will soon be ready to breed,
and worth the chase.
[menacing music intensifies, trails off]
Her two-ton newborn is
unaware of the dangers.
But babies can be killed or separated
in the crush of 40-ton males.
[graceful, lilting music playing]
So, Mom communicates in a whisper,
trying not to be overheard.
[furtive murmuring]
Protecting her son is her priority.
But he wants to play.
His innocent splashes give them away.
[ominous, keening whale song]
Now, the race is on.
They accelerate to 15 miles an hour.
[tense, resounding music playing]
A dozen rivals start competing for her
in a heat run.
[agitated lowing]
With her calf in tow,
Mom can't outrun them.
She's caught.
And all she can do now
is try to protect her calf
as the males fight to be by her side.
[resounding thud]
Eighty tons of blubber and muscle collide.
[music intensifies, trails off]
Mom uses her 15-foot-long pectoral fin
to fend off a male who gets too close.
[tense music playing]
[plaintive whale song]
[frenetic lowing]
She does everything she can
to shield her baby.
He's tiring fast.
But shallow water is ahead.
Then, the biggest male closes in again
and releases a barrier of bubbles.
[forceful burbling]
It's a display of dominance,
showing that he's got energy to spare.
Forcing away any rival
that comes too close.
Giving Mom and calf
the chance to dive out of sight.
[tense music crescendos, trails off]
[gentle, enchanting music playing]
She allows him
to escort them both to safety.
[whale huffs]
With his protection, they can rest.
And if he's patient enough,
she may, in time, choose to mate with him.
But her calf remains her top priority.
Now, he can suckle in peace
and safely play
splashing around as much as he wants.
In just a few months, Mom and her calf,
along with the rest of
Hawai'i's humpbacks,
will begin their trek north
to their rich summer feeding grounds,
half an ocean away.
[sweeping, majestic music building]
Our oceans are so vast
that they define the color of our planet.
Throughout human history,
they've been a gateway to the unknown.
Even today, the surface of the ocean is
a portal to another world.
One of mystery
and drama
populated by creatures so intelligent
and rarely seen
that we are only just beginning
to get to know them.
[crackly crunching]
[gentle huffing]
But as the world goes through
unprecedented change
so too do our oceans.
We'll witness incredible ways to survive
[quavering clicking]
as we face
this fast-changing world together.
We'll experience their challenges
[sprightly tinkling]
reveal their secrets,
and discover lives more like ours
[bear cub whimpers]
than we could have ever imagined.
[sweeping music intensifies]
Never has there been a more important time
for us to explore the wonders
surprises
and joys of life across our oceans.
Our voyage begins in the expanse of blue
that covers almost a third of our planet.
Of all our oceans, the Pacific is
the largest and the deepest.
Many currents swirl
around this mighty ocean,
but one unites them all.
[current whooshing]
It's part of the most powerful circulation
of water on Earth.
We call it the global ocean current
and it brings the Pacific to life
in astonishing ways.
[music subsides]
Like on the reefs of the West Pacific,
where it helps support
the greatest variety of sea life
found anywhere.
It's home to the world's most famous fish.
A clownfish.
And his family.
They live in an anemone
beside the drop-off,
with ocean views.
[delicate, enchanting music playing]
The great current refreshes
the corals that built this world
allowing them to thrive
by bringing clean, oxygenated water
from the open ocean
right to their doorstep.
Just what this little guy needs.
Because soon,
he'll become a first-time parent.
Mom has laid over 100 precious eggs,
and it's now Dad's job to look after them.
Which means keeping them tidy
[cheeky music playing]
brushing away dirt and sand
and providing round-the-clock care.
The reef is full of predators
and a well-tended anemone will protect
the family with its stinging tentacles
providing Dad does his chores
and keeps everything spic and span.
[whimsical music playing]
But staying on top of the housework
and keeping the eggs clean
is a tall order.
Especially today.
[music trails off]
[menacing music building]
[jarring stinger]
[menacing music continuing]
A raft of floating stones.
It's a sign of elemental forces at work.
Because somewhere far away,
an undersea volcano has erupted,
creating pumice
billions of gas-filled volcanic rocks,
which can be carried
for thousands of miles
on the global ocean current.
[whimsical music resumes]
It's a new dad's worst nightmare.
But in the long term,
this mess could actually be good news
for the whole neighborhood.
Because pumice will slowly dissolve,
releasing nutrients that support
development and growth.
Turns out,
a little dirt really doesn't hurt.
[music trails off]
Wherever it flows, the great current
delivers extraordinary riches,
and in the Pacific,
its path is guided by a colossal force.
[clamorous rumbling]
[explosion reverberates]
[tense, haunting music playing]
One with the power to make mountains.
A 25,000-mile chain of active volcanoes,
known as the Ring of Fire,
surrounds this ocean.
From the West Pacific,
they form a mountainous coastline
that guides the great current
on a loop northwards,
carrying over 50 million tons
of tropical water every second
towards the islands of Japan
[music trails off]
where it warms the surrounding water
to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just enough to sustain
tropical coral reefs
further north than anywhere else on Earth.
[enigmatic, entrancing music playing]
A young broad club cuttlefish
is looking for romance.
Because today marks the start
of the annual Cuttlefish Ball,
held each spring when the warming water
helps trigger their urge to find a mate.
Cuttlefish have the astonishing ability
to communicate their feelings
through their skin.
But this superpower
can also be a weakness.
Especially if you're a little anxious
about your first date.
One particular female has caught his eye.
[quirky, buoyant music playing]
Deep breath.
Here goes.
As he approaches,
his brain connects directly
with thousands of pixels in his skin,
to say,
"Hi. I'm cool, calm and relaxed."
Just what she is looking for.
[foreboding music playing]
But here comes trouble.
These tough guys are making
their aggression clear.
Their swagger and zebra stripes
mean they're angry
[intense, aggressive music playing]
and not afraid
to throw their weight around.
The young male is cut out.
[wily, mysterious music playing]
But like Hulk,
they shouldn't make him angry.
They won't like him when he's angry.
Instantly he displays
his own intense zebra stripes.
With his temper unleashed
he scares off a rival.
And he returns to the female.
But she's not interested in a tough guy.
[subtle, quirky music playing]
To win her over,
he'll need to keep his cool.
So, in an incredible display,
he appears to split his personality.
[enigmatic, entrancing music playing]
With his relaxed tones,
he shows the female he's calm,
while showing his rivals
his macho stripes.
At last, with a little anger management,
his superpower has become an advantage.
Showing he's the strong
yet sensitive type.
And finally, she's impressed.
Things move fast in the cuttlefish world.
And in no time, they're starting a family.
[bright, buoyant music playing]
She lays their eggs
where they'll be kept warm
and oxygenated by the current.
[music trails off]
From here, the great current
also transforms its character,
becoming rich with minerals
as it passes the active volcanoes
that mark the northern boundary
of the Ring of Fire.
So that when it arrives off Alaska
three years later
[willowy music playing]
it helps fuel an annual feast.
Humpbacks.
They've traveled all the way from Hawai'i
in anticipation of this seasonal bounty.
But the fishing isn't what it used to be.
[ship's horn blares]
[ship's horn blares]
Because these days,
our fishing fleets often get there first.
Our appetite for fish means
that marine predators
must compete with us.
But these two shady characters
have a secret spot.
And a plan
to outsmart the humans.
By stealing fish
[groovy, funky music playing]
from a salmon hatchery.
These nets contain 14 million young salmon
that will soon be released
to help repopulate the wild.
Why go up against the fishing fleets
when you've got an all-you-can-eat buffet?
[muffled footsteps]
But it's a fisheries Fort Knox.
You can't sneak past security
when you're 50 feet long.
[taut percussive beat playing]
Unlike some petty thieves.
It seems like an impossible mission.
[funky, furtive music playing]
But this crafty duo
have been scoping the joint for years.
And they've got a plan
to strike the moment the hatchery
releases the young salmon.
Step one, get your timing right
and keep a low profile.
[fishery gate creaking]
With the coast seemingly clear,
the vault is unlocked.
[chains rattling]
The sound of chains is like a dinner bell
alerting the whales
that the prize is on the move.
[furtive, circumspect music intensifying]
Step two, break in
before the young salmon get out.
It's a smash-and-grab job
[music swells, trails off]
but most of the fish break free
and start scattering out to sea.
So, the final step is
to blow a net of bubbles
[dramatic music building]
which conceals a new feeding trick
using their pectoral fins to herd the fish
into an even tighter ball.
These criminal masterminds
have pulled off the perfect heist
although enough salmon do escape
to boost numbers in the wild.
In the end,
there's nothing the humans can do
[slick, triumphant music playing]
to stop the ocean's 40-ton thieves.
[music trails off]
[somber, majestic music playing]
As it begins to follow
the coastline south,
the cold, fertile current enriches
the volcanic west coast of North America
supporting forests of giant kelp,
some towering 180 feet above the seabed
home to an astonishing variety of life.
Every level is inhabited.
[graceful, mysterious music playing]
Sea lions soar through the branches.
Sea otters rest in the canopy
and feed on the forest floor,
which shelters
an enchanting world of invertebrates.
The current's influence
even transforms life beyond the ocean.
It sustains thousands of miles
of coastal rainforest,
including the tallest trees on Earth.
They can only grow here,
where the current chills the air,
bathing them in sea mist
and delivering soft rain
[ship's horn blares]
helping keep this entire coastline cool.
When the current reaches Los Angeles,
it slows,
and on a few calm summer days,
the surface layer warms just enough
to set the stage for a great spectacle.
[enchanting, spirited music playing]
This incredible light
is called bioluminescence,
the glow of billions
of microscopic plankton.
As each one is disturbed,
it emits a glimmer.
[excited barking]
And it's what these California sea lions
have been waiting for.
As shoals of sardines
feed on the plankton,
they light up
turning the spotlight on themselves.
All this activity
draws dolphins to the feast.
[enchanting music continuing]
The natural fireworks create so much light
that even daytime predators are drawn in.
[splash]
Who'd have thought?
One of nature's greatest light shows,
hiding in plain sight,
just beyond the bright lights of LA.
[music trails off]
As the great current flows
toward the tropics,
some diverts into a desert sea.
Mexico's Gulf of California.
By constantly replenishing its waters,
the current helps keep
the Gulf fertile and cool.
It's been called the world's aquarium
for the sheer diversity of fish.
But not all fish are content
to hang with a crowd.
Beneath the shoals,
there is a miniature world
that's providing a more private venue.
This female signal blenny is
on the lookout for a partner.
[bold, vibrant music playing]
Several two-inch-long males
are keen to compete for her attention.
[castanets clacking]
But she's only interested in the fittest
largest
and best-dressed.
So, what better way to choose
[jazzy, exuberant music playing]
than to host a dance-off
and see who has the best rhythm
style
and stamina.
Each blenny adds their own dance moves,
trying to outdo each other.
Great extension.
Smooth move.
But what's the verdict?
Do the fish have talent?
Hmm.
It's a "no" from her.
But there's no need
for murder on the dance floor.
Here's another female.
[exuberant music continuing]
The party can go on all day
here in Mexico's most exclusive ballroom.
[music fades out tinnily]
[majestic music playing]
The global ocean current
powers away from the Americas
and into the Central Pacific.
In this wilderness,
voyagers need to cover
huge distances to find food.
[dolphins clicking, trilling]
And where they can,
they travel with the current.
Like these spinner dolphins.
It would be easy
to lose each other out here.
So, they perform pirouettes
up to ten feet in the air.
[loud splash]
The noisy splashes
help keep them together.
So, they can cruise
in super pods up to 5,000 strong.
[majestic music subsides]
Out here, far beneath the waves,
the Ring of Fire gives birth
to undersea volcanoes and deep-sea vents
that change the structure
of the seabed itself
with consequences
for those swimming far above.
[somber, contemplative music playing]
A manta ray hitching a ride
with the current.
Her 26-foot wingspan allows her
to travel the ocean with ease.
She's heading for a secret rendezvous
in the big blue.
A seamount rising from the abyss.
One of over 30,000 peaks
hidden beneath the surface of the Pacific.
Built from lava, each one has
a unique magnetic signature
from the earth's metals hidden within
which she can detect using a sense
she shares with her relatives.
[uneasy music playing]
Sharks.
This allows seamounts
to become a meeting place.
And a rare opportunity
for solitary ocean wanderers to socialize.
[somber, contemplative music continuing]
[jarring stinger]
But humans have exploited
many of these seamounts
and fished them out.
In the past 50 years,
the number of sharks have declined by 90%
in some parts of the Pacific,
breaking fragile webs of life.
[somber, thoughtful music playing]
Only by protecting these seamounts
can we glimpse how they enrich life
across the Central Pacific.
Reminding us
how abundant our oceans can be
when we choose to safeguard them.
Three-quarters of the world's
volcanic activity remains submerged.
But every few years,
volcanoes break the surface
[harsh, alien music playing]
creating new islands
as lava escapes from the earth's crust.
When lava flows into the sea,
it cools rapidly, building jagged coasts.
Six hundred miles off Ecuador,
a chain of volcanic islands that has risen
in the path of the global ocean current.
The Galápagos.
The island's active volcanoes create
an intricate shoreline
and an opportunity
for a trailblazing predator.
[warm, cheerful music playing]
The Galápagos sea lion
[pup bays]
and his family.
Their pup is still too young
to catch her own food.
So, it's up to Mom and Dad
to do the hunting.
[bays]
They've chosen to make their home
on these harsh volcanic rocks
for a good reason.
It's protected from the open ocean
by a maze of gullies and shallow bays.
And yet, they can also reach
some of the most abundant fish-filled seas
in the Central Pacific.
As the great current collides
with these volcanic islands,
it forces food-rich water up
[shoals rustling]
fertilizing the surface
and fueling an explosion of life
just offshore.
But for the sea lions,
bringing any of this
back to the youngster won't be easy.
[foreboding music playing]
Because they have got competition.
Blacktips.
The upwelling attracts yellowfin tuna,
one of the fastest fish in the sea
[tense, staccato music building]
reaching speeds of 40 miles an hour.
[music intensifies]
There's no way
the sea lions could catch them out here.
Tuna normally avoid shallow water.
So, the bull blows a wall of bullets,
which cuts off their escape
and forces them towards the shore.
Working together, the sea lions
drive the tuna into an old lava flow
leading them into a trap.
Now, the sea lions have the edge.
But the scent of blood
alerts their rivals.
The bull has his catch,
but is surrounded by sharks.
One bite could leave him wounded
and unable to support his family.
When it's all over, the bull is unharmed.
But he's lost his prize.
Still, their pup's got to eat.
[barks inquisitively]
So Mom isn't giving up.
[steely, determined music playing]
And the sharks know it.
So, the sea lion's only chance is
to drive the tuna
where the sharks can't follow.
Straight out of the ocean.
[triumphant music playing]
At last, their young pup has
all the food she could want,
thanks to the unique hunting skills
of her parents,
seen nowhere else but here
in the Galápagos.
The global ocean current continues
to bring the entire Pacific to life,
taking just four years to cross
the greatest stretch
of open ocean on Earth.
Over 12,000 miles wide, the South Pacific.
Where a green sea turtle
is hoping to find food.
She's listening out
for the sound of distant surf.
[distorted, slowed-down whooshing]
[pensive surf rock music playing]
Huge swells, driven by winds,
break on the shallows,
unleashing some of the most powerful waves
in the world.
It's no place for the fainthearted.
Because beneath
all these Polynesian waves
it's gnarly
as hundreds of tons of seawater
can crash down with every barrel.
[rowdy surf rock music playing]
People have been
riding the waves here for centuries
but the turtle's ancestors have been
charging the breaks since long before us.
She knows how to manage herself
in the waves.
Unlike some.
Besides, she's not here to surf.
She's here for the turf.
She knows the best algae grows
where the coral can't,
in the impact zone,
right where the waves break.
And thanks to her skills,
she has the best grazing all to herself.
Everyone in the South Pacific has to cope
with nature's most powerful forces.
[full, rolling rumbling]
When a volcano exploded in Tonga in 2022
it released energy
equivalent to 1,000 atom bombs
[muffled explosion]
sending shock waves around the planet.
But it's in chaos like this that we see
the Ring of Fire's most surprising role.
[graceful music playing]
Over millions of years,
eruptions have created a legacy
of more than 20,000 paradise islands.
Each one, a stepping stone for life
helping creatures spread across
the vast distance of the South Pacific.
And once in a rare while,
the Ring of Fire combines
with the great current
to throw these long-distance travelers
an extra lifeline
by carrying rafts of pumice
which offer safe passage to hitchhikers.
Even as far as
Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
And back to where we started our journey,
the coral reefs of the West Pacific.
A new home,
where the drifters can finally settle.
If they can find a place among the locals.
On our journey around the Pacific Ocean,
the global ocean current
has helped transform
the Ring of Fire's destructive nature
into a powerful force for life.
But its epic,
one-thousand-year-long voyage
through all our oceans
is only just beginning.
[majestic, soaring music playing]
Next
the current flows into the Indian Ocean.
Vibrant
and spectacular
but highly competitive.
When faced with the increasing impact
of our world,
it's the cleverest
who will find new ways
to survive.
[sparkling, pensive outro music playing]