1986 American TV series or program
Planet Earth Genre Nature documentary Narrated by Richard Kiley Composers Jack Tillar andWilliam Loose Country of origin United States Original language English No. of episodes 7 Production Executive producer Thomas Skinner Producer Debbie Glovin Running time 57 minutes (Total 399 minutes approx.) Production company WQED Pittsburgh Original release Network PBS Release January 22 (1986-01-22 ) – (1986-03-05 )
The cover ofPlanet Earth , the companion book to the series byJonathan Weiner published in 1986. Planet Earth PBS television documentary series focusing on theEarth , narrated byRichard Kiley .
Planet Earth exploresgeoscience and how discoveries of the early and mid-1980s were revolutionizing mankind's understanding of the Earth's past, present, and future. It also highlights scientific discoveries not yet fully understood and still under study in the mid-1980s. The series explores the Earth's origins, history, and structure; the forces that operate continually to alter its surface; its oceans; its climate; itsnatural resources ; itsbiosphere and the effects of life on the physical world; its relationship to theSun and other bodies in theSolar System ; and its possible future in the face of pressures the growing human population places on the natural world.[ 1]
TheBBC used the same title for its2006 series , but the two series are completely unrelated and quite different in focus and content.
Produced byWQED inPittsburgh ,Pennsylvania , in association with theNational Academy of Sciences as the centerpiece for a college-credit telecourse,[ 1] Planet Earth was filmed over a period of four years on all seven continents and from the ocean bottom to earth orbit.[ 1] Annenberg/CPB Project andIBM funded production of the series.[ 2] [ 3]
A companion book to the series written byJonathan Weiner , also entitledPlanet Earth , was published in 1986 byBantam Books . Both the series and the companion book sometimes are marketed asOur Planet Earth in an attempt to avoid confusion with the 2006BBC seriesPlanet Earth
Some footage shot forPlanet Earth later also was used in the 1992 PBS seriesEarth Revealed
Critical reception and awards [ edit ] In January 1986,Los Angeles Times Planet Earth as "serious, but not dry" and credited it for its vivid filming of natural scenery, use of computer graphics, and achievement of depicting ongoing scientific research of the early and mid-1980s as "challenging, interesting, and worthwhile."[ 1]
Planet Earth was the co-winner of the 1985-1986Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series or Special, sharing it withLaurence Olivier - A Life , a multi-part biography ofLaurence Olivier that aired on the PBS seriesGreat Performances [ 3]
"The Living Machine" (airedJanuary 22, 1986 ) – The episode discussesplate tectonics andgeologic time , highlighting the work ofJames Hutton ,Alfred Wegener ,Harry Hess ,Allan V. Cox ,Brent Dalrymple ,Frederick Vine , andDrummond Matthews , and discussing howgeologists study layers of rock to read billions of years of the Earth's history. Topics covered includeradiometric dating ,seafloor spreading ,magnetic field reversals ,earthquakes ,volcanism ,subduction , andhotspots , howcontinents grow throughaccretion , howgeophysicists study the interior of the Earth and what they have discovered, the theory of "microplate tectonics," how computer simulations have recreated the effects ofcontinental drift on the world'sgeography over time from the prehistoric supercontinentPangaea to the world of today, and how plate tectonics may have shaped themigratory behaviors of some animals. In addition to showing scientists studying theKilauea volcano inHawaii and using the researchsubmarine Alvin Atlantic Ocean 'sMid-Atlantic Ridge , the episode visits theGrand Canyon ;Scotland 'sArthur's Seat ,Salisbury Crags , andSiccar Point ;California 'sOwens Valley andSan Andreas Fault ;New Madrid ,Missouri ; andAscension Island ."The Blue Planet" (airedJanuary 29, 1986 ) – The episode discusses major new revelations about theoceans . Topics covered include the movement of water in the ocean, such asocean currents andeddy fields , and the effect of newly discovered ocean water dynamics on human activities such asyacht racing ; the causes and effects ofupwellings ; the use ofsatellites to trackplankton growth from space and the use of plankton maps created from such information to advise the crews ofcommercial fishing vessels on the best places to fish; the effect of theEl Niño sonar to makehydrographic surveys of the ocean bottom'stopography ; the study of cores of ocean bottom sediment to study thechemistry of, temperature of, and array of life present in the ocean in the past; andhydrothermal vents and the life that depends on them. The episode follows the firstoceanographer in space,Paul Scully-Power , as he makes the first oceanographic reports ever made from space while aboard theSpace Shuttle Challenger Gulf Stream , theNational Center for Atmospheric Research inBoulder ,Colorado , the waters of theSouthern Ocean offAntarctica and theAntarctic Circumpolar Current , theGoddard Space Flight Center inMaryland , theNational Marine Fisheries Service 's Southwest Fisheries Center inSan Diego , California, theExxon Production Research Company inHouston ,Texas , andBaffin Bay ; and makes dives in abathysphere into the ocean's midwater zone and with theUnited States Navy research submersibleSea Cliff Pacific Ocean ."The Climate Puzzle" (airedFebruary 5, 1986 ) – The episode examines the complexities of the Earth'sclimate . It explains how life adapts to extremes in climate and how changes in the climate have doomed past civilizations; the use of lake sediments,stalagmites , and cores of the ocean bottom and ofpolar ice to detect and track ancient changes in the Earth's climate; theLittle Ice Age andLouis Agassiz 's work in discovering theice ages ;Milutin Milanković 's ideas about how theEarth's motions can trigger changes in climate; the contrast between the climates ofVenus , Earth, andMars and the possibility of Earth's climate one day becoming like that of Venus or Mars; modern civilization's release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, carbon dioxide's role as agreenhouse gas , and the possible effects ofglobal warming onsea levels ,storm surges ,droughts anddesertification ,famine , temperatures, andgreen plant growth;plate tectonics ,seafloor spreading ,subduction ,continental drift , and the role ofvolcanism in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels;methane 's role as a greenhouse gas and the influence oftermites onatmospheric methane levels; computer modeling of the prehistoric atmosphere and the climates resulting from it as it changed over time; and the possibilities for Earth's future climate. The episode visits thedry valleys andice rivers ofAntarctica ; the site of theHarappan Civilization in theRajasthan Desert on theIndian subcontinent ; northernNew Zealand ;Switzerland ;Barbados ;Columbia University inNew York City ; theHudson Valley inNew York ;Vostok Station ; the Institute of Glaciology inGrenoble ,France ; theMauna Loa Observatory inHawaii ;Venice ,Italy ; the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado; and Colorado'sLake Pueblo State Park ."Tales from Other Worlds" (airedFebruary 12, 1986 ) – Usingspecial effects and actual footage from space to illustrate other worlds in theSolar System , the episode discusses the connections between the Earth and thecosmos . Topics include the formation of the Solar System, the Earth, and theMoon ; the formation ofimpact craters and how study of the Moon's surface helps us understand the early history of the Earth; the surface ofVenus as it appears beneath the planet'sacid rain clouds and what it tells us about the early Earth before the beginning ofplate tectonics ; the surface features ofMars , evidence that water once flowed there, and the possibility that life once existed there; how the planetJupiter is actually a failedstar and the features of its atmosphere; Jupiter's moonsCallisto ,Ganymede , andEuropa , and the volcanoes of Jupiter's moonIo ;Saturn ,Uranus ,Neptune , and theOort Cloud ; the theory that a large impact on the Earth caused the extinction of the dinosaurs; and the hypothesis that a hypothetical star dubbed "Nemesis " is responsible for a 26-million-year cycle ofmass extinctions on Earth. The episode visits theAllan Hills of Antarctica;Meteor Crater inArizona ; theNASA Ames Research Center inSan Francisco ,California ; theArecibo Observatory inArecibo ,Puerto Rico ; theLowell Observatory inFlagstaff , Arizona; theScablands of easternWashington ;stromatolites inWestern Australia ; aquarry inUtah ; and the town ofGubbio ,Italy ; and discusses the work ofGene Shoemaker ,Peter H. Schultz ,Percival Lowell ,Walter Alvarez , andJack Sepkoski ."Gifts from the Earth" (airedFebruary 19, 1986 ) – The episode focuses on the Earth'snatural resources , includingminerals such ascopper ,gold ,silver , andplatinum ;fossil fuels such aspetroleum ,coal , andpeat ; andsoil . It examines how deposits of minerals and fossil fuels form; how soil forms, iseroded , and is distributed by thewind ;river deltas ;oil exploration andoil drilling ; the development of an airborneimaging spectrometer aboard aC-130 Hercules aircraft; how scientists use studies of the Earth's mineral and energy sources to analyze the history ofplate tectonic movement andcontinental drift , and how our understanding of plate tectonics has revolutionized the search for natural resources. The episode visits theHillman Hall of Minerals and Gems at theCarnegie Museum of Natural History inPittsburgh ,Pennsylvania ; ancientcopper mining sites onCyprus ; thekuroko mines ofJapan ; deep-seablack smokers off the coast ofMexico in a dive aboard the researchsubmersible Alvin Kid Creek Mine in northernCanada ; theBushveld Complex inSouth Africa ; theUniversity of Toronto inToronto ,Ontario , Canada;Hawaii ; westernTennessee ;Benares , theRiver Ganges , and theGanges Delta inIndia ; theMississippi Delta inLouisiana ; acedar swamp in the process of forming apeat bog inMaine ;offshore oil platforms in theAtlantic Ocean off the coast ofNewfoundland ;Sudan ; theNASA Ames Research Center inSan Francisco ,California ; theJet Propulsion Laboratory inPasadena , California; and theCuprite Hills ofNevada ."The Solar Sea" (airedFebruary 26, 1986 ) – The episode explores the Earth's relationship with theSun . It discusses ancient religious beliefs involvingSun worship ; the disappearance of theAnasazi culture in what is now theFour Corners region of the westernUnited States ; the influence of the Sun onclimate ,weather , andocean currents ;sunspots , their causes and cycles, and theMaunder Minimum ; how the use ofcarbon dating in the study oftree rings reveals the history of solar activity; a possible correlation between solar activity anddroughts ; how an investigation bygeologists into a 700-million-to-800-million-year-old rock record of sun activity in an ancient lake bed demonstrates the consistency of solar activity patterns over time; early instruments for calculating the movements of the Sun and stars, such assundials ; early and moderntelescopes ;spectrums and thespectrograph ;Fraunhofer lines ; solar telescopes aboardSkylab solar oscillations ; thesolar wind and its effect on the Earth'smagnetosphere andmagnetic field ; theaurora borealis ;solar flares andsolar proton events ; and theozone layer and its importance in blocking the Sun'sultraviolet radiation . The episode visitsBenares and theRiver Ganges inIndia ; thepyramids ofEgypt ; theMayan temple atChichen Itza onMexico 'sYucatán Peninsula ;Mesa Verde National Park inColorado ; theHale Library inPasadena ,California ; theUniversity of Arizona inTucson ,Arizona ;South Australia ;Jaipur ,India ;Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona;South Pole Station inAntarctica ;Sacramento Peak Observatory inNew Mexico ; thePoker Flat Research Range inAlaska ; and the Space Environment Service Center inBoulder , Colorado; and highlights the work ofGeorge Ellery Hale ,Jack Eddy ,Walter Maunder ,Christopher Scheiner ,Murray Mitchell ,Galileo Galilei , andIsaac Newton ."The Fate of the Earth" (airedMarch 5, 1986 ) – The episode explores the role of life in shaping the Earth and discusses the planet's possible future. It discusses the firsthydrogen bomb test and the recovery of the environment from its effects; theGaia hypothesis ; the beginning of life on Earth and the possibility that it began intide pools ; the way the firstcells may have formed; the discovery of the earliest fossilbacterium ;stromatolites ; thecarbon cycle ; howchitons can chew away entire islands while feeding; the destruction ofrain forests , theirpharmaceutical value, and a study of how much of a rain forest must be preserved to protect its species; theatomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan , duringWorld War II ; how the aftereffects of anuclear war could create a "nuclear winter ;" theLucky Dragon Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ; the pressure human population increases are placing on the Earth; work to improveagricultural outputs to feed the growing human population; the use ofsatellite imagery to study worldvegetation patterns and the expansion of theSahara Desert ; and humanity's future challenge of managing the world's resources both to meet civilization's increasing demand for energy and feed the growing world population while living in harmony with the Earth. The episode visitsEniwetok Atoll ;Dedham ,England ;North Pole andShark Bay inWestern Australia ;Kilauea inHawaii ;Palau ; theAmazon Basin ; theNational Center for Atmospheric Research inBoulder ,Colorado ;India ; theInternational Rice Research Institute in thePhilippines ; and theGoddard Space Flight Center inMaryland , and highlights the work ofJames Lovelock ,Stanley Awramik ,Michael McElroy ,Thomas Lovejoy ,Brian Toon , andStephen Schneider .
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