Season 1 2012

Dr. Ballard explores the history of volcanoes, and life on earth as he travels from the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii to the crown of its submerged cousin Loihi, a voyage that spans over 16,000 feet from top to bottom. His trip from the lifeless world above the clouds, through the diverse ecosystems on the mountainside, and into the ocean deep runs the gamut of life on earth.

Textbooks say that the Ancients did not have the guts to brave the open sea, out of sight of land and exposed to the elements, but not surprisingly, Dr. Ballard and his crew are out again to rewrite history. In Wrecks of the Abyss, captain and crew sail out into the deep water sea lanes of the Mediterranean in search of ancient shipwrecks that generations of scholars have written-off as impossible finds.

Together, with peer scientists from Britain, Ireland, Iceland, and the U.S., Dr. Ballard searches for the origin of life in the planets most unforgiving environment: the darkness and chill of waters thousands of feet beneath the surface. Here, on the slopes of the Mid-Ocean ridges that divide the earths tectonic plates, are formations called chimneys, where molten lava superheats the ocean, mixing in the nutrients and hardening magma that allows life to thrive against the odds.

Dr. Ballard thinks that rogue waves and all waves are getting larger and more frequent on the seas. In Oceans Fury, Ballard travels the world in search of the forces behind the motion of the ocean, meeting with scientists and practitioners along the way. He talks to oceanographers, climatologists, river boat pilots, surfers, fishers, and more all to prove a single point: the ocean is growing more dangerous by the day.

Dr. Ballard takes-on the long-held belief that space colonies will save the earth, as argued by on-air Apollo 11 crewmember Buzz Aldrin. To do so, Dr. Ballard travels to Hawaii to meet with experimental open-water aqua farmers; to California, where fast moving personal underwater vehicle are being developed for future ocean colonies; and Texas and Alaska where oil platforms are being converted into sea colonies and new imaging technology is unlocking resources hidden on the ocean bottom.