Dynamic Planet

Amidst shifts in Earth's climate, once-stable ecosystems are now in turmoil. Experts, Indigenous communities, and megafauna from the Arctic to the Amazon reveal how science, nature, and tradition can help prepare us for a fast-changing future.

The ground is made up of both ice and frozen soil called permafrost. As the permafrost thaws, the ground sinks and floods. The ice traps gases bubbling up from the decomposing permafrost. Methane traps 30 times more heat in the atmosphere than C02. As the world gets hotter, the permafrost melts faster – releasing ever-greater quantities of this dangerous greenhouse gas.

Leopard seals are the only seals that prey on other seal species although fur seals have rarely been on the menu before. These leopard seals should be living in sea ice, hunting other ice-dwelling seals but they have switched to a new food source.

For the Blackfeet Tribe, bringing back buffalo will revitalize the landscape, making it more resistant to climate change.

Sea turtles are sacred in the Comcáac indigenous culture in northern Mexico. Comcáac Turtle Guardians search for sea turtle nests and do all they can to protect them. Sea turtles help safeguard the overall health and resilience of marine environments. And by keeping the reefs healthy they ensure a bountiful supply of fish for the Comcaac people.

Coral Reefs make up less than 1% of the ocean but support a quarter of all marine life and provide food, income and protection from storms for around one billion people worldwide. Each coral specimen collected will be taken ashore to live in a specially-designed facility where it can be protected for the future.

Elephant seals act as living submarines, diving as deep as 5,500 feet and staying under the ice for up to 90 minutes. Seals are tagged to create a record of the increasing seawater temperature. The sedated seal is fitted with miniature oceanographic sensors. They’ll record the location, depth and water temperature whenever the seal dives

With our warming planet altering our oceans, an extraordinary team of marine experts from Antarctica to Australia, and from Florida to New Zealand, dive into how science, nature, and tradition can prepare us for a fast-changing future.

Elite athlete Dimitris Theodorikakos trains in Athens at night to avoid the punishing daytime heat of summer, as he reflects on the game changing reality of a hotter climate in the home of the modern Olympics.

Peace Project Manager Shannon Diener receives a call informing her that someone has been chased by an elephant. She rushes to defuse the situation and offers up an unusual solution to a problem that is getting worse as the area becomes hotter and drier.

With global temperatures on the rise and ecosystems destabilizing, those living and working on the frontline of change examine how science, nature, and tradition play crucial roles in preparing us for a rapidly evolving future.

Members of the Yurok tribe conduct controlled burning in California to prevent dangerous wildfires and keep their traditions alive.