Summary: Sediment sequences deposited under glacial conditions during the Pleistocene period cover some 10% of the earth's land surface. This program concentrates on the interpretation of a sediment sequence exposed in a river cliff cut by the River Severn in England. Techniques of sampling and analysis are illustrated, with emphasis on the measurement of particle size and of particle dip and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Niagara Falls straddle the U.S. state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario and are the most powerful waterfalls in North America. In fact, they are the world’s first source of hydroelectric power, able to send electricity over long distances via their generating stations. This PBS program details the history of the falls from the time Native Americans lived in the area to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Sea-level change has occurred throughout Earth's history. What can the past tell scientists today about the rise and fall of the planet's oceans? This program takes viewers on a virtual field trip to the Book Cliffs, in Utah-the place where sequence stratigraphy was developed and tested-to study and interpret the sedimentary record there. Some of the field evidence for sea-level change is...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The moment demand outpaces supply, water becomes a commodity to be traded in the global market. But who owns the rights to water? And how can a price be set on water? In this program, the pros and cons of privatization are assessed in a number of water management situations around the world: Aguas Argentina in Buenos Aires; the Bechtel corporation in Cochabamba, Bolivia; Thames Water company in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although as many as 300 people are killed by lightning annually, some 700 victims actually survive the experience every year. This program gathers insight and information from a convention of lightning-strike survivors and goes on assignment with photographer Warren Faidley, who actually goes looking for electrical storms. Faidley acknowledges the danger of trying to capture his stunning,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Following National Geographic explorer and correspondent Nick Baker, this program takes a remarkable 5,000-mile road trip along one of the greatest mountain ecosystems in the world-the Rockies. Beginning at the northernmost reaches of the Yukon and ending in the breathtaking parklands of Yellowstone, Baker sets out to explore the natural history of these locations in the wake of an ambitious...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Why do mountains tend to have a triangular shape? How much rain must fall to start a river? How do single grains of sand accumulate into a dune? This episode from the Amazing Planet series answers those and other geologic questions by capturing the beauty born of eons of unceasing environmental violence as water, wind, and ice erode the surface of the Earth into an ever-changing sculpture of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: In 2007, the American honeybee population almost disappeared, the Northwest Passage became navigable without the aid of icebreakers, and China surpassed the United States in total carbon emissions. This program documents the most ominous environmental milestones of that year, providing an illuminating snapshot of the changing condition of the planet. Replete with fires and floods, migrations...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Any study of Planet Earth, with its surface area of approximately 200 million square miles, will obviously have a lot of ground to cover! Using high-quality film footage and detailed animations, this collection of 49 video clips (30 seconds to 2 minutes each) examines the history of Earth, the structure of Earth, tectonics and volcanism, water and the oceans, the evolution of landscapes, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: Despite great strides made in reducing point source pollution, America still has 300,000 miles of rivers and streams and 5 million acres of lakes that remain contaminated. This documentary examines how coastal and inland communities across the country are turning their attention to controlling non-point source pollution through watershed management and TMDL-total maximum daily load-programs....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: When the USDA replaced MyPyramid with MyPlate, the goal was to simplify dietary recommendations by providing at-a-glance guidelines without having to weigh and measure at every meal. This program explores the key concepts of MyPlate and how it correlates to the more detailed Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including portion sizes, proportions, food group choices, and caloric balance. The...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program analyzes the dynamic nature of rivers and the relationship between their forms and processes. It examines the various functions a single river needs to perform, and shows how to measure river form and process, relate the two, and synthesize several attributes of the form of a river channel. It examines the differences between low and high flow, and explains how to calculate the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Almost half the world gets its drinking water from rivers that cross national boundaries. Analysts predict that more wars will be fought over water than oil. This program surveys a number of active or potential hot spots: Israel and the river Jordan; the Southeastern Anatolia Project in Turkey and its effects on Syria and Iraq; Egypt's Toshka Canal and the Nile Basin Initiative; and the Tehri...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As current sources of fresh water become increasingly inadequate to support the needs of North America below the Canadian border, the U.S. and Mexico are looking toward their northern neighbor for relief. This program examines the political and commercial ramifications of NAFTA on the bulk export of water, as well as initiatives to conserve and recycle fresh water in the Sun Belt and in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: At ground level, shallow seas, broad beaches, dunes, and waterlogged hollows seem to comprise a chaotic environment. In fact, there is order and form, produced by the interaction of wind, vegetation, and moving sand. Because sand dunes develop rapidly, the development of a landform can be observed. Measuring wind velocity demonstrates how saltation, sand movement, and erosion happen. The...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The lowland basis around Los Angeles contains the most extensive water conservation and flood control system in the world. In 1917, work began on a system of dams and improved channels to control the floodwaters entering the basin. This program looks at the way this system was built and the problems entailed in its design and construction.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Much of our understanding of climate change and the precarious state of the Earth's polar ice is due to the work of French glaciologist Claude Lorius. This program documents several of his missions to Antarctica and his primary innovation: heavy-hydrogen analysis of drilled ice core samples. Detailed interviews with Lorius and with several of his colleagues are interwoven with astonishing,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program takes a hard look at the mounting challenge of providing millions of people in urban areas with potable water and adequate disposal of waste water. To highlight the difficulties, segments focus on the water problems of the megalopolis, cities with populations of over ten million people, such as Lagos, Jakarta, and Mexico City. The massive logistics that enable Las Vegas to prosper...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: From the gentle ebb and flow of a neap tide to the crashing force of mammoth breakers, the Earth's ocean waters are constantly at work, shaping and eroding beaches, fjords, sea cliffs, and other geographical features. This program shows how waves, currents, and tides interact dynamically with the planet's coastal environments. Presenting vital information on emergent and submergent coastlines,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: Yosemite is a glaciated landscape born millions of years ago when colliding tectonic plates created the longest and highest mountain range in the continental United States. It is known for its steep granite cliffs, impressive waterfalls, and the world's largest living trees, the Giant Sequoias. But this is no five-star resort-this is the wilderness. With more than 700,000 acres of land,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: For thousands of years, the only threat to polar bears came from humans. Nothing has changed-except now it is fossil fuel consumption, not spears and guns, that pushes Ursus maritimus toward extinction. Depicting the hapless species as the proverbial canary in a coal mine, this program studies the intensifying impact of climate change on the Arctic region. Viewers learn how the entire Arctic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Competition for freshwater is heating up. Is war inevitable, or is a peaceful solution possible? This program spotlights three trouble spots that epitomize the intensifying crisis and efforts being made to manage it: the Okavango, where a commission formed by Angola, Namibia, and Botswana is trying to resolve the conflict that is endangering the river's unspoiled waters; the Rio Grande, where...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Earth's surface is a fragile mask, and this Science Screen Report reveals the turmoil beneath it. A cutaway view of the planet depicts its layers-including its crust, hot mantle, and superheated core-and leads to an outline of plate tectonic theory. The Himalayas, the Matterhorn, and the Hawaiian Islands are analyzed as examples of tectonic and volcanic activity, while the core's...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: It is August, 2005. A doomsday scenario predicted by a handful of engineers and scientists is about to play out, with geographical and man-made factors combining to produce one of the worst natural disasters in American history. This program presents a scientific analysis of the destruction of New Orleans, explaining what really happened when Hurricane Katrina hit, and why. Depicting the city's...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010