All language subtitles for Secrets.of.the.Underground.S01E04.Rocky.Mountain.Monsters.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

HIGH ON A COLORADO RIDGE
LIE A SET OF SCRATCH MARKS

ENCASED IN ROCK
FOR 100 MILLION YEARS.

ARE THEY UNPRECEDENTED EVIDENCE
OF A VIOLENT DINOSAUR CLASH?

A NEW 3-D ANALYSIS COULD
REWRITE OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF DINO BEHAVIOR.

I MEAN, THIS IS BIG,
RIGHT?

I MEAN, THIS IS
SOMETHING REALLY NEW.

AND BENEATH THE HIGHLY TOXIC
WATERS OF A CALIFORNIA LAKE,

A STRANGE BACTERIA
IS THRIVING AGAINST ALL ODDS...

LEADING SOME TO BELIEVE IT
COULD BE FROM ANOTHER PLANET.

HOLY SMOKES!
LOOK AT THIS ONE.

I'LL DEPLOY CUTTING-EDGE TECH
TO SCAN THE LAKE BED

FOR EVIDENCE
OF AN ALIEN INVASION.

WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT
WE WERE EXPECTING, WAS IT?

HIDDEN JUST BELOW
THE EARTH'S SURFACE,

THERE ARE COUNTLESS
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.

AND, TODAY, WE FINALLY HAVE
THE TOOLS TO UNLOCK THEM.

LOOK AT THAT!WHOA.

I THINK THIS IS IT.

I'M ROB NELSON,

A SCIENTIST USING
STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY

TO PEEL THE LID OFF
OUR PLANET'S HIDDEN DEPTHS.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
RIGHT HERE.

HOLY MOLY!

THESE ARE THE SECRETS
OF THE UNDERGROUND.

Captions by VITAC--
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

LESS THAN 15 MILES
WEST OF DOWNTOWN DENVER,

IN THE SHADOW OF
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS

SITS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
FOSSIL SITES IN THE WORLD.

SEEN FROM ABOVE,
IT'S LIKE A JAGGED SPINE

RISING FROM
SOFTLY UNDULATING LAND.

LOOK CLOSER
AND YOU CAN SEE

HOW THIS FORMATION EARNED
THE NAME "DINOSAUR RIDGE."

ON ONE SIDE, QUARRIES,

WHERE SOME OF THE MOST ICONIC
BEASTS OF THE JURASSIC AGE

WERE FIRST UNEARTHED
IN THE 1870s,

SETTING OFF A WHIRLWIND
OF DINOSAUR FINDS

THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY.

ON THE OTHER SIDE,
A STEEP ROCK FACE

COVERED IN MORE THAN
300 FOSSILIZED DINO TRACKS

WHICH LAY CONCEALED BENEATH
COUNTLESS LAYERS OF STONE,

UNTIL BLASTING FOR A NEW ROAD
ACCIDENTALLY EXPOSED THEM.

AND RECENTLY, NOT FAR FROM
THIS FIELD OF FOOTPRINTS,

SCIENTISTS HAVE MADE YET ANOTHER
JAW-DROPPING DISCOVERY--

LONG, VIOLENT GOUGES
IN THE ROCK,

POSSIBLY MADE BY DINOSAURS.

COULD THIS BE THE SCENE
OF A BLOODY CLASH

BETWEEN TWO MIGHTY BEASTS--

A JURASSIC SNAPSHOT
PRESERVED FOR MILLENNIA?

IF SO,
IT IS TRULY ONE OF A KIND

AND COULD BE ONE OF
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES

IN PALEONTOLOGY
IN THE LAST 50 YEARS.

MOST DINOSAUR FINDS
SIMPLY CAN'T TELL US

HOW THESE LONG EXTINCT ANIMALS
BEHAVED WHILE ROAMING THE EARTH.

BUT WHEN I LOOK AT PICTURES
OF THESE MARKINGS,

ALL I SEE IS BUMPY ROCK,

WHICH SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE
ALMOST ANYTHING-- LIKE EROSION.

SO I'M NOT QUITE CONVINCED
THEY WERE MADE BY A DINOSAUR.

TO GET A CLEARER VIEW,

I NEED TO SEE THESE SUPPOSED
SCRATCH MARKS FOR MYSELF.

I WANT TO DEPLOY
SOME HI-TECH GEAR

TO ANALYZE THE GOUGES.

SO I'M MEETING UP
WITH DR. MARTIN LOCKLEY,

WHO DISCOVERED THEM.

DR. LOCKLEY!

I CATCH UP WITH HIM
ON THE ROCK FACE

COVERED IN DINO PRINTS.

THIS IS AWESOME!

SO THIS IS WHERE DINOSAURS
WALKED, RIGHT HERE?

YEAH, HAVE YOU
EVER SEEN

SO MANY TRACKS
IN ONE PLACE?

INCREDIBLE.

SOME PALEONTOLOGISTS
SUSPECT MANY OF THESE PRINTS

MAY HAVE BEEN LEFT
BY THE SAME DINOSAUR SPECIES

WHO LEFT THE SCRATCH MARKS.

WELL, THERE'S TWO MAIN
TYPES OF FOOTPRINTS HERE.

YOU CAN SEE
THIS ONE HERE--

IT'S VERY BIRD LIKE.

THEN WE HAVE THESE
TYPES OF FOOTPRINTS

WHICH ARE MORE
CHUNKY OR FLESHY,

AND THEY'RE MADE BY AN
IGUANODON-TYPE OF DINOSAUR,

A BIG HERBIVORE.

SCIENTISTS HAVE ALREADY DATED
THESE FOSSILIZED TRACKS

TO ABOUT
100 MILLION YEARS AGO.

HOW ARE THERE STILL
FOOTPRINTS OF DINOSAURS?

I MEAN, IT FEELS LIKE
THEY WOULD'VE WASHED AWAY.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT
THAT 90% OF ALL TRACKS

THAT WERE MADE
DID WASH AWAY,

BUT IF YOU HAVE
JUST THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY

OF THE SUBSTRATE--
THE SAND OR THE MUD--

THAT WOULD TAKE
A VERY NICE IMPRESSION

AND IT COULD
ALSO DRY OUT,

SO IT BECOMES
MORE LIKE CEMENT.

THIS AREA OF COLORADO
WAS ONCE A COASTAL PLAIN,

MUCH LIKE THE LANDS BORDERING
THE GULF OF MEXICO TODAY.

WHAT IS NOW STEEP ROCK
WAS, BACK THEN,

A FLAT, WET, BEACH-LIKE
ENVIRONMENT.

PROBABLY A LOT
OF FOOTPRINTS

WERE MADE ON THIS SURFACE
AND SMUDGED OUT,

AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING
IS THE LAST CLEAR ONES

BEFORE THIS LAYER
WAS COVERED OVER

WITH ANOTHER LAYER
OF SEDIMENT.

IT WASN'T UNTIL 1937

THAT THE NOW-FOSSILIZED
FOOTPRINTS

WERE EXPOSED ONCE MORE--

UNCOVERED AS WORK CREWS
WERE CLEARING AWAY ROCK

TO CREATE THE NEARBY
WEST ALAMEDA PARKWAY.

THAT DISCOVERY OPENED UP A WHOLE
NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT DINOSAURS,

BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF
THE FIRST SETS OF FOSSILS

EVER DISCOVERED THAT PROVIDED
INSIGHT INTO HOW THEY LIVED,

INSTEAD OF HOW THEY DIED.

HOW ARE STUDYING BONES
DIFFERENT THAN STUDYING THESE?

PEOPLE WHO STUDY BONES

REALLY ARE STUDYING
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.

IF THE SKELETON'S COMPLETE,
THEY'RE STUDYING

HOW THE DEAD ANIMAL
WAS BURIED QUICKLY.

BUT IF THE SKELETON'S
ALL BROKEN UP, THEY'RE STUDYING

HOW IT DECAYED
OR HOW IT WAS TORN APART.

BUT WITH TRACKS,
WE'RE ALWAYS STUDYING

THE DYNAMIC,
LIVING ANIMAL

AS IT WAS WALKING AROUND
ON A PARTICULAR DAY

100 MILLION YEARS AGO.

WAS IT SOLITARY?

DID IT HAVE OTHER
SIMILAR ANIMALS

GOING IN THE SAME
DIRECTION WITH IT?

THESE FOOTPRINTS HELP ANSWER
HOW THE DINOSAURS MOVED,

BUT THE SCRATCH MARKS
COULD REVEAL SOMETHING

EVEN MORE EXCITING...

LIKE HOW THEY FOUGHT...

THAT IS, IF THEY'RE
ACTUALLY DINOSAUR SCRAPES.

I STILL HAVE TO SEE THEM
FOR MYSELF.

WELL, HERE WE ARE AT THE NEXT
DINOSAUR TRACK SITE.

I HEAD WITH DR. LOCKLEY
TO A SITE

JUST OFF A TWO-LANE ROAD
NOT FAR FROM THE FOOTPRINTS.

YOU HAVE TO
GET YOUR EYE IN, KIND OF,

TO SEE WHAT'S HERE.

CAN YOU SEE THE WAY

THAT THERE'S TWO
BIG, LONG GROOVES?

THE MARKINGS
ARE EXTREMELY LARGE,

BUT DOES THAT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN
THEY WERE MADE BY DINOSAURS?

SO, THESE
ARE SCRATCH MARKS?

LET ME POINT OUT
THAT THERE'S A RIDGE
DOWN THE MIDDLE.

SO, I ASK YOU,

DO WE HAVE MAYBE A LEFT SIDE
AND A RIGHT SIDE HERE?

I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE THEY'RE
GASHES LEFT BY ANCIENT ANIMALS,

BUT TO MY EYES,
THEY COULD JUST AS EASILY

HAVE BEEN GOUGED OUT
BY A MODERN BULLDOZER.

SO, BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER,

I NEED TO FIND OUT
IF THESE MARKS ACTUALLY DATE

TO THE SAME TIME PERIOD
AS THE FOOTPRINTS.

FIRST OF ALL,

HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN
THESE MARKS WERE MADE?

DR. LOCKLEY EXPLAINS

THAT PALEONTOLOGISTS
PRIMARILY DATE

FOSSILIZED MARKINGS,
LIKE THE SCRATCHES,

BY DETERMINING
THE AGE OF THE ROCK

ON WHICH THE IMPRESSION IS LEFT.

THAT'S OFTEN DONE
WITH A PROCESS

CALLED RADIOMETRIC DATING.

IT'S A METHOD THAT RELIES
ON ELEMENTS FOUND IN THE ROCK.

OVER TIME, EACH ELEMENT
WILL SHED NEUTRONS

AND DECAY AT A KNOWN RATE
THAT SCIENTISTS CAN MEASURE

TO GET AN APPROXIMATE DATE
FOR THE ROCK'S SURFACE,

BUT THE KEY ELEMENTS FOUND
IN SEDIMENTARY ROCK,

WHERE FOSSILS
ARE USUALLY DISCOVERED,

DECAY TOO RAPIDLY TO BE
A RELIABLE DATING SOURCE

FOR SUCH OLD SURFACES.

HOWEVER, THERE ARE
ELEMENTS THAT EXIST

IN VOLCANIC ASH,
LIKE URANIUM AND POTASSIUM,

WHICH DECAY MORE SLOWLY.

SO GEOLOGISTS WILL LOOK
FOR LAYERS OF ASH

ABOVE AND BELOW THE ROCK
IN WHICH THE FOSSILS ARE FOUND.

BY DATING EACH LAYER OF ASH,

THEY CAN DETERMINE
AN AGE RANGE FOR THE ROCK

AND THE FOSSILS IN QUESTION.

WE KNOW THAT THIS ROCK FORMATION

HAS SOME
VOLCANIC ASH LAYERS IN IT.

IN FACT,
THEY'RE JUST UP HERE.

I CAN SHOW YOU.

SURE ENOUGH, THERE'S
A CREAM-COLORED STRIP

OF HARDENED VOLCANIC ASH

STILL VISIBLE
JUST BELOW THE SCRATCH MARKS.

HERE IS
THE VOLCANIC ASH.

THERE'S A LITTLE
PIECE OF IT THERE.

GEOLOGISTS HAVE ANALYZED
THIS QUITE A FEW TIMES

AND CONSISTENTLY
COME UP WITH AGES

THAT ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT
OVER 100 MILLION YEARS.

THIS MEANS THAT THE ROCK
ON WHICH THESE MARKS WERE LEFT

IS ALSO ABOUT
100 MILLION YEARS OLD,

JUST LIKE THE ROCK COVERED
IN DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS.

SO, THE TIMELINE SEEMS TO FIT.

BUT JUST BECAUSE THE ROCK
IS 100 MILLION YEARS OLD

DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN
THE SCRATCHES ARE.

LET'S FACE IT--
A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN,

AND ANY NUMBER OF CULPRITS COULD
BE BEHIND THESE MARKINGS--

LATER ANIMALS, EARLY HUMANS,
OR EVEN THE EARTH ITSELF.

SO I NEED TO DIG DEEPER
FOR NEW CLUES

ABOUT WHAT, OR WHO, MADE THEM.

WHEN YOU'RE READY.

FIRE.

AND LATER,
I'LL INVESTIGATE CLAIMS

THAT A CALIFORNIA LAKE
IS INFESTED WITH ALIENS.

THIS AREA
REALLY IS BIZARRE.

IS THIS THE FIRST EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE,

RIGHT HERE IN CALIFORNIA?

COULD THIS LAKE
HAVE BEEN FORMED BY A METEOR?

I'M AT DINOSAUR RIDGE,
JUST OUTSIDE DENVER,

TO SEE WHAT COULD BE
DINOSAUR SCRATCH MARKS,

EXPOSED IN MODERN TIMES

AFTER BEING BURIED BENEATH
LAYERS OF ROCK FOR MILLENNIA.

IF THESE GOUGES
WERE MADE BY A DINOSAUR,

IT COULD BE UNPRECEDENTED
EVIDENCE OF A VIOLENT ENCOUNTER.

I WANT TO BRING IN
SOME HI-TECH TOOLS

TO EVALUATE THE SCRATCHES,
BECAUSE I'M NOT YET CONVINCED

THEY WERE ACTUALLY MADE
BY A DINOSAUR,

AND I HAVE EVERY REASON
TO BE SKEPTICAL,

GIVEN THE LONG HISTORY
OF EXAGGERATIONS, HALF-TRUTHS,

AND FULL-ON FABRICATIONS
ABOUT DINOSAUR REMAINS.

IN THE LATE 1800s,

TWO EARLY PALEONTOLOGISTS
NAMED O.C. MARSH AND EDWARD COPE

WERE LOCKED IN A FIERCE
RIVALRY DUBBED "THE BONE WARS."

THEY WERE EACH RACING
TO UNEARTH FOSSILS

AND NAME NEW DINOSAURS.

SO, IN THE HEAT
OF COMPETITION,

MARSH ANNOUNCED ONE OF HIS FINDS
WAS AN ENTIRELY NEW SPECIES

WHEN IT WAS REALLY JUST
A MORE INTACT SPECIMEN

OF ONE ALREADY KNOWN.

FAST-FORWARD TO 1999

WHEN A NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN
FEATHERED FOSSIL

WAS SUPPOSEDLY FOUND IN CHINA.

IT WAS LAUDED
AS A TRUE MISSING LINK

BETWEEN DINOSAURS AND BIRDS,

BUT WHEN CONDUCTING
A DETAILED CT SCAN,

SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED IT WAS
MADE UP OF 88 DIFFERENT PIECES

TAKEN FROM MULTIPLE FOSSILS.

SO, WITH FOSSIL FAKERY
SO RAMPANT,

ISN'T IT ALSO POSSIBLE
THAT THESE SCRATCHES WERE MADE

BY SOME MODERN PRANKSTER
SEEKING NOTORIETY?

AND EVEN IF NOT,

CAN WE REALLY RULE OUT
OTHER FORCES LIKE EROSION,

OR A MORE RECENT ANIMAL,
LIKE A MOUNTAIN LION?

I THINK FOR ME TO SAY
IT'S DEFINITELY SCRATCH MARKS,

I'M GONNA HAVE TO LOOK
AT A LITTLE BIT MORE DATA.

LUCKILY, THERE'S AN EASY WAY
TO TEST ALL THESE THEORIES.

IF THESE MARKINGS
WERE MADE MORE RECENTLY,

SAY, BY A HUMAN,
A MACHINE, OR EVEN EROSION,

THEY WOULD LIKELY BE
LIGHTER IN COLOR.

THAT'S BECAUSE MOST ROCK HAS
WHAT GEOLOGISTS CALL PATINA,

AN ANCIENT WEATHERED LAYER
THAT ENCRUSTS ITS SURFACE.

ONCE THAT PATINA IS REMOVED,

THE ROCK UNDERNEATH APPEARS
TO BE A DIFFERENT SHADE.

BUT THAT DOESN'T SEEM
TO BE THE CASE HERE.

THE SURFACE OF THE MARKS
APPEARS TO BE

RELATIVELY UNIFORM IN COLOR,

MATCHING THE SHADING

OF THE 100-MILLION-YEAR-OLD ROCK
AROUND THEM.

SO, IT SEEMS MUCH MORE LIKELY
THAT THESE SCRATCHES WERE MADE

WHEN DINOSAURS
ROAMED THIS AREA.

BUT WHY?

WHAT EXACTLY WENT ON HERE
100 MILLION YEARS AGO?

TO FIGURE THAT OUT,

I NEED A MORE PRECISE VIEW
OF THESE MARKINGS,

A DETAILED CLOSE-UP

ONLY POSSIBLE WITH THE AID
OF CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY.

HEY, GUYS!Breithaupt: HI.

SO, I'M BRINGING
IN TWO EXPERTS

IN THE FIELD
OF 3-D PHOTOGRAMMETRY--

NEFFRA MATTHEWS
AND BRENT BREITHAUPT.

PHOTOGRAMMETRY
WEAVES TOGETHER

MULTIPLE 2-D IMAGES
TO CREATE A 3-D MODEL

WITH PRECISE
TOPOGRAPHICAL DETAILS.

THIS IS GOING TO BE
LIKE FORENSIC PALEONTOLOGY.

WE MIGHT BE ABLE
TO SEE SOME THINGS

ON OUR COLOR DEPTH MAPS AND OUR
OTHER HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGERY

THAT WE DON'T SEE THAT EASILY
WITH OUR NAKED EYE.

I'VE USED THIS TECHNIQUE
BEFORE TO CREATE DIGITAL MODELS

OF AN UNDERWATER ROCK
IN LAKE MICHIGAN.

THERE YOU GO. THANK YOU.

NOW I'M HOPING THIS PROCESS
WILL HELP DETERMINE

IF THESE SCRATCH MARKS
ARE THE REAL DEAL.

ALL RIGHT,
LET'S DO IT.

THE PRECISION OF THE DATA
SHOULD LET ME GET A BETTER READ

ON THE MEASUREMENTS
OF THE MARKINGS.

AND IF MULTIPLE GROOVES
ARE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE,

THAT WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST

THEY ARE NOT RANDOM
OR ACCIDENTAL.

THESE ARE
YOUR CALIBRATORS.

TO ENSURE TOTAL ACCURACY,

WE PLACE SCALE BARS
AROUND THE MARKINGS.

THESE ARE SPECIALLY
CALIBRATED TO MEASURE

TO THE SUB-MILLIMETER LEVEL.

YOU WANT A PLACE
SO THEY DON'T MOVE.

ONCE THEY'RE SET,

THEY CAN'T MOVE
THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS HERE.

WITH THE BARS IN PLACE,
WE START SNAPPING AWAY.

MAKE SURE I HAVE
A PRETTY GOOD STABLE GROUND.

YOU'RE GOOD.
WHEN YOU'RE READY.

OKAY.
HIGHER?

NOW TRY
TO TAKE A STEP OVER.

TILT IT BACK
A LITTLE BIT NOW.

OKAY,
THERE YOU GO.

FIRE.

FIRE.

ONE MORE.

FIRE.

PERFECT.
DID THAT LOOK GOOD, NEFFRA?

THAT LOOKS GREAT.

WITH THE WIND PICKING UP
ON THE RIDGE,

IT'S TIME TO DOWNLOAD
THE IMAGES.

SPECIAL SOFTWARE WILL KNIT
THE 2-D PHOTOS TOGETHER

TO CREATE
A DETAILED 3-D RENDERING.

REALLY EXCITED TO SEE
WHAT THIS DATA REVEALS.

COULD WE BE ON THE VERGE
OF A DISCOVERY

THAT WILL FOREVER CHANGE
HOW WE THINK ABOUT DINOSAURS?

OH, MY GOODNESS!
LOOK AT THAT!

I'M AT DINOSAUR RIDGE
IN COLORADO

TRYING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM
OF SOME MYSTERIOUS MARKINGS

THAT MAY PRESERVE THE VIOLENT
BEHAVIOR OF A DINOSAUR.

FIRE.

THE SCRATCHES ARE DIFFICULT TO
DISTINGUISH WITH THE NAKED EYE,

SO A 3-D RENDERING
MADE WITH PHOTOGRAMMETRY

IS FINALLY BRINGING
THESE SUPPOSED DINO MARKINGS

INTO FOCUS.

WOW!

I AM BLOWN AWAY
AT ALL OF A SUDDEN,

THOSE SCRATCH MARKS
LOOK LIKE SCRATCH MARKS.

ON THE RIGHT SIDE
OF THE RIDGE,

I CAN NOW CLEARLY SEE
LONG, THIN GROOVES,

EACH ABOUT AN INCH DEEP,

FOR ALMOST THEIR
ENTIRE 6-FOOT LENGTH.

AND THIS PATTERN IS MIRRORED
ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RIDGE,

SUGGESTING THE BILATERAL
SYMMETRY OF A TWO-LEGGED ANIMAL.

THEN, NEFFRA NOTICES
ONE MORE THING.

SEE THAT THERE ARE THOSE
THREE INDENTATIONS, RIGHT THERE?

I THINK THAT'S
THE IMPRESSION

OF JUST A MOMENT
OF IT STANDING ON ONE FOOT.

WHAT DO YOU THINK,
MARTIN?

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

ISN'T THIS EXCITING?

THAT'S AWESOME.

THE PHOTOGRAMMETRY MODEL
REALLY BRINGS

THESE MARKINGS INTO FOCUS
LIKE NEVER BEFORE

AND OFFERS COMPELLING EVIDENCE

THAT A LIVING, BREATHING
DINOSAUR MADE THESE SCRATCHES.

THIS IS A MAJOR FIND,
BECAUSE IT MAY GIVE US A GLIMPSE

INTO A LIVING
DINOSAUR'S BEHAVIOR.

NOW THE NEXT STEP
IS TO DETERMINE

WHAT KIND OF DINOSAUR
MADE THESE SCRATCH MARKS.

I KNOW THAT ABOUT
100 MILLION YEARS AGO,

SEVERAL SPECIES OF DINOSAURS
ROAMED THIS AREA.

AND I KNOW FROM
THE FOOTPRINTS I SAW EARLIER

THAT TWO GROUPS LIKELY WALKED
THROUGH THIS VERY SPOT--

PLANT-EATING IGUANODONS
WITH THE FLESHIER FOOTPRINT

AND BIPEDAL,
CARNIVOROUS THEROPODS

WITH THREE BIRD-LIKE DIGITS
AND SHARP CLAWS.

SO, IF WE TAKE A LOOK
AT THOSE PRINTS

AND LINE THEM UP
WITH THE SCRATCH MARKS,

WE HAVE A MATCH.

THE SPACING OF
THE SCRATCHES POINTS TO

AN ANIMAL WITH THREE TOES
EQUIDISTANT FROM EACH OTHER.

SO, IF THESE MARKINGS
WERE INDEED MADE BY A DINOSAUR,

IT WAS VERY LIKELY
A LARGE, CLAWED THEROPOD.

SO HOW BIG IS THIS?
I MEAN, THIS IS BIG, RIGHT?

THIS IS SOMETHING
REALLY NEW.

I'VE NOT SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

AFTER 100 MILLION YEARS,

PHOTOGRAMMETRY MAY HAVE
UNLOCKED THE IDENTITY

OF THE SPECIES
BEHIND THESE SCRATCHES.

BUT THERE IS ONE MORE
GIANT MYSTERY TO UNRAVEL--

WHAT ON EARTH WAS GOING ON HERE?

TO FIND OUT, I WANT TO DO
SOMETHING A LITTLE UNORTHODOX,

AND CERTAINLY NOT HI-TECH...

REPLICATE THE SCRATCH MARKS

WITH A MODEL
OF A THEROPOD FOOT.

OH, THIS LOOKS LIKE
A PRETTY GOOD SPOT.

SO, ACTUALLY,
THE SAND HERE

IS QUITE SIMILAR
TO THE SANDSTONE.

THIS CREEK BED
WILL SIMULATE

THE HABITAT
THIS DINOSAUR LIVED IN.

LET'S GO AHEAD AND
SEE IF WE CAN MAKE
THE SAME KIND OF MARK.

BASICALLY
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN

KIND OF A FORWARD
TO BACKWARDS MOTION, RIGHT?

YEAH.

THEN IT WOULD
HAVE BEEN BOTH.

IT WAS DOUBLE MARKS
LIKE THAT...

LEFT FOOT,
RIGHT FOOT, I GUESS.

YOU MAKE A PRETTY
GOOD DINOSAUR. YEAH.

HONESTLY, THESE LOOK
VERY SIMILAR

TO THE MARKS
THAT WE SAW.

BUT WHY WOULD IT
HAVE BEEN DOING THIS?

ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT WE CAN SAY FOR SURE

IS THAT IT WAS A PRETTY
ENERGETIC ACTIVITY,

AND SO WHAT WOULD ENCOURAGE
IT TO BE SO ENERGETIC?

LET'S TRY TO TAKE
SOME OF THE THINGS WE KNOW.

FIRST OF ALL, IT PROBABLY
WASN'T DIGGING FOR WATER.

IT COULD HAVE JUST GOT DOWN
AND DRANK THE WATER, RIGHT?

THAT'S RIGHT.

AND THE OTHER THING IS

IF IT HAD DUG A HOLE
FOR WATER...

RIGHT.

...THE WATER WOULD HAVE
PONDED UP IN THE HOLE

AND GOT RID OF
THE SCRAPE MARKS.

WOW.

IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T
BE DIGGING FOR ROOTS

BECAUSE IT WAS A CARNIVORE,
IT WAS A MEAT-EATER.

HMM.

MARTIN EXPLAINS THAT IT ALSO
PROBABLY WASN'T BUILDING A NEST,

SINCE THEROPOD NESTS WERE ROUND.

SO, THEN WHAT
COULD IT BE DOING?

HOW ABOUT FIGHTING?

COULDN'T THESE MARKINGS
MEMORIALIZE

A DEADLY BATTLE
BETWEEN BEASTS?

I'M IN COLORADO,
TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

A GROUP OF MYSTERIOUS MARKINGS
QUITE POSSIBLY LEFT

BY A THEROPOD DINOSAUR
100 MILLION YEARS AGO.

WHY EXACTLY WAS THIS SPECIES
CLAWING AT THE GROUND?

COULD THIS BE
THE FIRST REAL-TIME EVIDENCE

OF A DINOSAUR FIGHT IN PROGRESS?

CLUES FOUND IN DINOSAUR BONES

SUGGEST THEY DID
DO BATTLE WITH ONE ANOTHER.

MANGLED TAILS,
BATTERED BONES,

AND FOREIGN TEETH
LEFT BEHIND IN JAW BONES

SUGGEST THAT THE PREHISTORIC ERA
WAS A VIOLENT TIME.

SO, AMIDST ALL THESE CLASHES,

COULDN'T THEY HAVE ALSO LEFT
BEHIND SOME GOUGES IN THE SAND?

SEEMS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE.

BUT IF THESE SCRATCHES
WERE EVIDENCE OF A FIGHT,

WOULDN'T WE ALSO FIND MARKINGS
LEFT BY THE SPARRING PARTNER?

THERE ISN'T ANY
OTHER SET OF SCRATCHES

IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY,

SO, WHILE THIS THEORY
IS TANTALIZING,

IT MAY NOT BE
THE MOST PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION.

I THINK WE'VE RULED
OUT A LOT OF THINGS.

WHAT'S LEFT? WHAT BEHAVIOR
DO YOU THINK THIS IS?

WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE
IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER

IS THAT THESE
CARNIVOROUS DINOSAURS

ARE THE ANCESTORS
OF MODERN BIRDS.

FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY,
SOME SCIENTISTS HAVE THEORIZED

THAT BIRDS AND THERAPOD
DINOSAURS WERE LINKED.

AND NEW DISCOVERIES
HAVE BOLSTERED THIS IDEA.

A SERIES OF VERIFIED
FOSSILS FOUND IN CHINA

SHOW SOME LATER DINOSAURS
WERE ACTUALLY FULLY FEATHERED--

A CLEAR LINK TO BIRDS.

AND FOSSILIZED SKULLS
OF BABY DINOSAURS

BEAR STRIKING RESEMBLANCE
TO ADULT BIRD SKULLS.

SCIENTISTS HAVE EVEN
DEMONSTRATED THAT CHICKENS

WALK LIKE DINOSAURS WHEN RAISED
WITH A PROSTHETIC TAIL.

SO, COULD THIS
AVIAN LINK EXPLAIN WHY

A THEROPOD MADE SUCH DEEP,
PERMANENT GOUGES IN THE EARTH?

SOME BIRDS THAT
ARE GROUND-NESTING,

THEY DO THIS BEHAVIOR

LIKE THEY'RE BEGINNING
TO BUILD A NEST,

BUT ACTUALLY
WHAT THEY'RE DOING

IS SHOWING OFF
TO THEIR PARTNERS.

IT'S PART OF A COURTSHIP
OR A MATING RITUAL,

AND THAT, I THINK,
IS WHAT WE'RE FINDING.

WOW.

WAIT. WHAT?!

FOREPLAY? MATING?

I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING.

BUT TODAY, WE CAN SEE
THE SAME SEDUCTIVE SCRAPING

IN ATLANTIC PUFFINS,
AUSTRALIAN BRUSH TURKEYS,

PLOVERS, AND A NOCTURNAL
GROUND-DWELLING

NEW ZEALAND PARROT
CALLED THE KAKAPO.

SO, IT SEEMS
OUR DINOSAUR SCRATCHES

WERE PROBABLY MADE
IN THE NAME OF LOVE, NOT WAR.

ISN'T THATAMAZING?

TO HAVE ALL OF THOSE
THINGS COME TOGETHER

ON THE EVIDENCE
OF SOME SCRAPE MARKS.

I STARTED THIS INVESTIGATION
A LITTLE SKEPTICAL,

BUT I'M AMAZED AT HOW
MUCH CAN BE GLEANED

FROM A COUPLE OF SEEMINGLY
RANDOM SCRATCH MARKS.

AND WHILE WE MAY NEVER KNOW
WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY

WHAT THE PREHISTORIC WORLD
WAS TRULY LIKE...

FIRE.

...NEW TECHNOLOGIES CONTINUE
TO DRAW ITS STAR PLAYERS

MORE FULLY OUT
OF THE SHADOW OF EXTINCTION.

AND NOW, I'M DOWNSIZING FROM
THE MAMMOTH TO THE MICROSCOPIC

TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER
A RARE SPECIES

OF EARTH'S TINIEST MICROBES

COULD REALLY BE
VISITORS FROM OUTER SPACE.

CALIFORNIA'S MONO LAKE.

NESTLED IN THE HIGH DESERT
OF THE SIERRA MOUNTAINS,

THIS WONDER OF NATURE
SEEMS VIRTUALLY BARREN

OF AQUATIC LIFE...

AND APPEARS TO BE
FROM ANOTHER PLANET.

FOR DECADES,
NASA HAS BEEN STUDYING

THE AREA'S UNUSUAL LANDSCAPE,

WHICH SEEMS TO BEAR
STRIKING SIMILARITIES

TO THE SURFACE OF MARS.

SCIENTISTS
ARE ESPECIALLY INTRIGUED

BY THE LAKE'S TUFA TOWERS--

THE ODDLY SHAPED
LIMESTONE SPIRES

THAT TOWER ABOVE THE SURFACE.

EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THAT SIMILAR STRUCTURES

COULD EXIST ON THE RED PLANET.

BUT WHAT REALLY CAPTURED
THE WORLD'S ATTENTION

WAS A STUNNING DISCOVERY
MADE HERE IN 2010.

THAT YEAR, RESEARCHERS FOUND
STRANGE BACTERIA THRIVING

IN THE INHOSPITABLE WATERS.

ITS BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION

APPEARED TO BE
FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT

FROM ALL LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.

SOME EVEN SURMISE THAT THESE
BEINGS WERE NOT OF THIS WORLD.

WHILE THE TERM "ALIENS"

TYPICALLY CONJURES UP
IMAGES OF LITTLE GREEN MEN,

MANY SCIENTISTS AGREED
THAT THEY'D MORE LIKELY

BE TINY ORGANISMS INVISIBLE
TO THE NAKED EYE...

LIKE THE MYSTERIOUS
MICROBES OF MONO LAKE.

COULD THIS REALLY BE THE FIRST
EVIDENCE OF ALIEN LIFE FORM?

MAYBE WE'RE LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING SMALL, JUST LIKE THIS.

AND, I MEAN,
IT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

THAN ANY OF THE LIFE FORMS
WE HAVE HERE ON EARTH.

MOST SCIENTISTS
SEEM TO DISMISS

THE IDEA OF
AN OTHER-WORLDLY ORIGIN...

...BUT I WANT TO SEE IF I CAN
PUT THESE ALIEN RUMORS

TO THE TEST MYSELF.

SO I'M HEADING OUT
TO MONO LAKE

FOR A CLOSE ENCOUNTER
OF THE MICROSCOPIC KIND.

YOU DON'T
USUALLY SEE THIS

WHEN YOU'RE WALKING
THROUGH THE FOREST.

I'M HEADED OUT
TO CALIFORNIA'S MONO LAKE,

ABOUT 200 MILES EAST
OF SAN FRANCISCO,

TO INVESTIGATE
AN EXTRAORDINARY CLAIM

THAT STRANGE BACTERIA
FOUND AT THE SITE

CAME FROM OUTER SPACE.

SPANNING 65 SQUARE MILES,

THIS ANCIENT LAKE IS
WHAT'S KNOWN AS A CLOSED BASIN,

SO WATER CANNOT FLOW OUT

BUT IS INSTEAD LOST
THROUGH EVAPORATION,

LEAVING HIGH CONCENTRATIONS
OF SALT AND MINERALS BEHIND.

THIS AREA
REALLY IS BIZARRE.

SO, THIS LAKE IS ACTUALLY
A LOT BIGGER THAN I EXPECTED.

IT'S GOT A SOMEWHAT-ELLIPTICAL
SHAPE TO IT,

THERE'S A BUNCH OF ISLANDS.

TODAY THERE ARE
NO FISH SWIMMING

IN WHAT'S COME TO BE KNOWN
AS CALIFORNIA'S DEAD SEA.

SO, I WANT TO KNOW
HOW THIS MICROBE CAN SURVIVE

IN SUCH AN INHOSPITABLE PLACE.

TO DO THIS,
I FIRST NEED TO UNDERSTAND

WHAT MAKES THIS WATER SO TOXIC,
BECAUSE ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

COULD BE KEY TO UNCOVERING THE
BACTERIA'S BIOLOGICAL SECRETS.

THE FIRST THING
THAT WE HAVE TO DO

WHILE WE'RE OUT HERE
IS FIGURE OUT WHY

THERE'S ALMOST NOTHING
THAT LIVES IN THIS LAKE.

NOW, TO HELP ME DO THAT,

I'LL HAVE A FEW
DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS.

THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT YOU WOULD USE

TO TEST THE CHEMISTRY
OF YOUR POOL.

SO, THESE STRIPS
ARE GOING TO HELP US

DETERMINE
WHAT THE pH IS.

MEASURING THE LAKE'S pH LEVEL

WILL TELL ME HOW ACIDIC
OR BASIC THE WATER IS.

NOW, JUST FOR REFERENCE,

MOST LAKES ARE GOING
TO HAVE A pH OF 7.

SO ACCORDING TO THIS,
MY pH STRIP SHOULD BE ORANGE.

LOOK AT THAT!

THE pH IS OFF THE CHARTS--
IT TURNED BRIGHT PINK.

MY SCALE ONLY GOES TO 8.5,

SO THIS MUST BE
A pH OF 9 OR 10.

JUST FOR COMPARISON,
BLEACH HAS A pH OF 12.

SO YOU COULD BASICALLY
WASH YOUR WHITES IN HERE

AND HAVE THEM COME OUT
LOOKING SPOTLESS.

I CAN ALSO GAUGE
THE WATER'S MINERAL CONTENT

WITH THESE STRIPS.

HIGH LEVELS OF MINERALS
ARE TYPICALLY HARMFUL

TO THE SKIN AND GILLS
OF AQUATIC SPECIES.

THE HARDNESS OF THE WATER
HAS A LOT TO DO

WITH HOW MANY METALS ARE IN IT,

MAYBE HEAVY METALS MAKING IT

SO THAT HARDLY ANYTHING
LIVES IN THIS LAKE.

TOTAL HARDNESS-- VERY HIGH.

SOME METALS ARE MORE
DANGEROUS THAN OTHERS.

SO, TO DETERMINE EXACTLY
WHICH ONES ARE PRESENT,

I PULL OUT AN X-RAY
FLUORESCENCE GUN.

THIS IS
VERY NEW TECHNOLOGY.

I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO DO THIS DECADES AGO.

WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS
I'M GOING TO PULL THIS TRIGGER,

OUT OF THE FRONT HERE
IT'S GOING TO SEND

A HIGH-INTENSITY
X-RAY BEAM,

AND THEN AS IT BOUNCES OFF
OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS,

IT'S GOING TO SEND
BACK DIFFERENT SIGNALS,

WHICH IS GOING TO HELP ME
INTERPRET WHAT'S IN HERE.

HOLY MOLY!

THERE'S BORON, MAGNESIUM,

AND ACTUALLY THERE'S A LOT
OF ARSENIC IN HERE.

THESE LEVELS OF ARSENIC
ARE REALLY, REALLY HIGH.

WE'RE LOOKING
AT 2,000 TIMES HIGHER

THAN WOULD BE
ACCEPTABLE TO DRINK.

HUMANS HAVE BEEN MINING
THE CRYSTALLINE METALLOID

KNOWN AS ARSENIC SINCE
THE DAYS OF ANCIENT GREECE.

THE ELEMENT IS USED TO PRODUCE
A WIDE ASSORTMENT OF ITEMS--

FROM MEDICINES
AND WOOD FURNITURE,

TO ELECTRONICS
AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

BUT BECAUSE IT'S OFTEN ODORLESS
AND TASTELESS IN COMPOUND FORM,

ARSENIC HAS ALSO BEEN KNOWN

AS THE PERFECT POISON
THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

ICONIC VILLAINS LIKE THE ROMAN
EMPEROR NERO AND THE BORGIAS

USED IT
TO ELIMINATE THEIR FOES.

IF INGESTED, THE TOXIN
CAN POSE SERIOUS HAZARDS

INCLUDING CANCER,
NERVE DAMAGE, AND DEATH.

AND IT TURNS OUT
THAT MONO LAKE

HAS ONE OF
THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATIONS

OF ARSENIC ON THE PLANET.

SO IT PROBABLY ISN'T
THE IDEAL BEACH DESTINATION,

UNLESS YOU'RE ONE OF
THESE INVINCIBLE MICROBES.

YOU CAN SEE
THOSE DARK ROCKS?

WE'RE GOING
OVER THERE.

PERHAPS NO ONE KNOWS

THIS SO-CALLED
ALIEN BACTERIA BETTER

THAN GEOMICROBIOLOGIST
RON OREMLAND.

HE WORKED WITH
THE NASA-SUPPORTED TEAM

OF RESEARCHERS THAT DISCOVERED
IT BACK IN 2010.

TODAY, HE'S TAKING ME
TO AN ISLAND ON THE LAKE

FOR A CLOSE ENCOUNTER.

HOLY SMOKES!
LOOK AT THIS ONE.

THIS ONE IS
BRIGHT RED.

YOU DON'T USUALLY
SEE THIS

WHEN YOU'RE WALKING AROUND
THROUGH THE FOREST.

NOPE.

WHEN IT WAS FIRST FOUND,
THE MICROBE, DUBBED GFAJ1,

APPEARED TO RESEMBLE
NO OTHER ORGANISM ON EARTH.

IT SEEMED TO REDEFINE
OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE.

EARLY TESTS INDICATED

ITS DNA SUBSTITUTED
ARSENIC FOR PHOSPHOROUS,

ONE OF THE 6 ELEMENTS EVERY
OTHER LIVING ENTITY REQUIRES.

IT WAS THRIVING
ON A SUBSTANCE

THAT KILLS VIRTUALLY
EVERYTHING ELSE.

ALL THESE
MICROORGANISMS RIGHT HERE,

THEY GET ENERGY
FROM THE ARSENIC.

THEY'RE PHOTOSYNTHETIC--
THEY'RE LIKE PLANTS

EXCEPT THEY'RE BACTERIA,
THEY'RE MORE PRIMITIVE.

SO ESSENTIALLY, WE'RE LOOKING
AT A GROUP OF ORGANISMS

THAT HAVE A COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT PATHWAY

OF GETTING ENERGY
THAN ANYTHING ELSE

THAT'S ON THE PLANET,
AS FAR AS PLANTS GO.

YES.

AND THIS IS JUST THE PERFECT
ENVIRONMENT FOR THEM.

AND THEY'RE RED
BECAUSE OF THE PIGMENTS

THEY USE
TO HARVEST THE LIGHT.

THIS ABILITY TO ADAPT
TO SUCH INTOLERABLE CONDITIONS,

CLASSIFIES THESE BACTERIA
AS EXTREMOPHILES.

EXTREMOPHILES CAN THRIVE

IN THE MOST FORBIDDING
OF ENVIRONMENTS--

PLACES THAT ARE
INTENSELY HOT, COLD,

ACIDIC, AND EVEN RADIOACTIVE.

THEIR REMARKABLE ABILITY

TO LIVE IN SUCH
EXTREME CONDITIONS

HAS MADE THEM INSTRUMENTAL
IN DEVELOPING

REVOLUTIONARY MEDICATIONS
AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.

IT'S ALSO WHY THEY'RE
CONSIDERED INVALUABLE

IN THE SEARCH
FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE

BECAUSE THEY SHED LIGHT
ON HOW LIVING CREATURES

COULD WITHSTAND
THE HARSHER CONDITIONS

THAT PREVAIL
ON OTHER PLANETS.

MOST SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE
THE MYSTERIOUS MICROBE

OF MONO LAKE IS SIMPLY
AN EARTHLY EXTREMOPHILE,

BUT THE BACTERIA'S
STAGGERING TOLERANCE FOR ARSENIC

IS UNIQUE EVEN AMONG
THAT ADAPTABLE GROUP.

SO, IS IT POSSIBLE THERE'S A
MORE OTHER-WORLDLY EXPLANATION?

THAT PROSPECT WOULD SEEM
MUCH MORE PLAUSIBLE

IF WE HAD OTHER PROOF THAT
LIFE DOES EXIST BEYOND EARTH.

SO FAR, WE DON'T.

BUT SOME ASTRONOMERS
THINK WE COULD BE CLOSE

TO FINDING IT RIGHT HERE
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.

IN 2016, NASA MADE AN
ASTONISHING FIND ON ENCELADUS,

SATURN'S SIXTH-LARGEST MOON.

AN UNMANNED PROBE REVEALED
STRONG EVIDENCE

OF HOT, HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY
IN AN UNDERGROUND OCEAN

LOCATED NEAR
THE MOON'S SOUTH POLE.

WITH VENT-HEATED,
CHEMICAL-RICH WATERS,

ENCELADUS COULD CLOSELY
RESEMBLE THE ENVIRONMENT

IN WHICH LIFE FIRST
ORIGINATED ON EARTH.

IN OTHER WORDS, THE PLACE COULD
BE TEEMING WITH ALIEN MICROBES.

SO, ASTRONOMERS ARE NOW
PLANNING ANOTHER MISSION,

AIMED AT HUNTING THEM DOWN.

WHILE NASA CONTINUES TO PROBE

FOR SIGNS OF ALIEN LIFE
IN OUTER SPACE,

I'M SEARCHING FOR IT
RIGHT HERE IN CALIFORNIA.

BEFORE I TAKE
ANY THEORY OFF THE TABLE,

I NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK
AND FIGURE OUT

HOW EXACTLY THIS LAKE GOT
SO TOXIC IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I'M HOPING IF I CAN TRACE
THE ARSENIC TO ITS SOURCE,

I'LL UNCOVER CLUES
ABOUT THE ORIGIN

OF THE BIZARRE BACTERIA
THAT'S FEEDING OFF OF IT.

WHAT DID
YOU BRING?

I GOT
SOME MAGNETOMETERS.

SO, I'M BRINGING IN
GEOPHYSICIST JARED PEACOCK

TO HELP ME CONDUCT

A MAGNETOTELLURIC SURVEY
OF MONO LAKE

THAT WILL TELL US MORE

ABOUT WHAT'S GOING
ON DEEP BENEATH IT.

SO, WITH MAGNETOTELLURICS,
OR MTs, AS WE CALL IT,

WE MEASURE THE EARTH'S
ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY.

WALKING AROUND ITS SHORES,
I'VE NOTICED SEVERAL SPRINGS

BUBBLING UP
FROM BENEATH THE SURFACE.

SPRINGS LIKE THIS
USUALLY ORIGINATE

DEEP IN EARTH'S SUBSTRATE,

AND THEY COULD OFFER
THE LAKE'S TOXIC CHEMICALS,

AND MAYBE THESE BACTERIA
THEMSELVES,

A RIDE UP FROM
THE BOWELS OF EARTH.

AN MT SURVEY USES ELECTRICAL
AND MAGNETIC FIELDS

TO IDENTIFY VARIATIONS
BENEATH THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

WITH THE DATA,
IT THEN CONSTRUCTS A 3-D MAP

OF THE DIFFERENT
GEOLOGICAL LAYERS.

SO, WE'RE MEASURING THE
EARTH'S ELECTRICAL RESPONSE

TO THAT MAGNETIC FIELD,

AND THAT GIVES US
ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY.

PUT THIS ONE RIGHT HERE.

THIS IS TECHNOLOGY
THAT CAN PLOT OUT AREAS

AS DEEP AS TENS
OF THOUSANDS OF FEET.

SO, IT'S ESPECIALLY
USEFUL FOR PETROLEUM

AND MINING EXPLORATION.

BUT TODAY I'M HOPING
IT WILL UNCOVER THE SECRETS

OF ONE OF THE PLANET'S
MOST EXTREME LIFE FORMS.

SO NOW WE
FLIP THE SWITCH?

YEAH.SWEET.

LET'S HAVE A LOOK.ALL RIGHT.

BY PLUGGING THE SURVEY
DATA INTO AN ALGORITHM,

WE CAN THEN
CREATE THE 3-D MODEL

OF THE LAKE BED'S
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE

AND SCAN FOR CLUES
ABOUT THE SOURCE

OF ITS LETHALLY
TOXIC ELEMENTS.

BUT THERE'S ALSO A BIG CLUE
RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES.

MONO LAKE IS SURROUNDED
BY VOLCANIC TERRAIN,

AND VOLCANOES ARE A MAJOR SOURCE

OF THE LIFE BLOOD
OF THESE BACTERIA-- ARSENIC.

SO AS THE SURVEY
DATA STARTS COMING,

JARED EXPLAINS HOW WE'RE
LOOKING FOR SIGNS

OF UNDERGROUND MAGMA CHAMBERS,

WHICH ARE THE HEART
OF VOLCANOES.

SO, MAGMA IS VERY HOT,
IT'S WARM, IT'S LIQUID,

SO IF WE HAVE
A MAGMA CHAMBER,

IT WILL COME RIGHT UP
AS A NICE BRIGHT SPOT.

HERE'S THE MOMENT
OF TRUTH RIGHT HERE.

SO...
HOLY MOLY!

SO, IF WE GO THROUGH THIS...THAT'S PRETTY DETAILED.

SO, HERE'S
THE MAGMA CHAMBER

THAT'S UNDERNEATH
THE MONO CRATERS.

OKAY, SO THAT'S...

IT'S ABOUT
10 KILOMETERS DEEP.

OH, MY GOODNESS!

AND THIS IS WHAT'S COMING
OUT UNDERNEATH THE LAKE.

SO, WHAT'S
RIGHT BELOW US.

WOW! SO A MASSIVE AMOUNT
OF MAGMA IS FLOWING

SIX MILES UNDER OUR FEET.

USING THE RESULTS, JARED TRACES
THE SOURCE OF THE MAGMA

BACK TO A 10-MILE VOLCANIC CHAIN

JUST SOUTH OF THE LAKE, KNOWN
IRONICALLY AS THE MONO CRATERS.

BUT THESE CRATERS ARE
THE WORK OF PLANET EARTH,

NOT ALIEN INVADERS.

THEY ARE ACTUALLY VOLCANOES THAT
LAST ERUPTED ONLY 600 YEARS AGO,

AND THEY'RE STILL
CONSIDERED ACTIVE.

SO, THEY ARE STILL SPEWING
ARSENIC-RICH GASES

THROUGH A SET OF VENTS

WHICH LIE DIRECTLY
BENEATH THE LAKE.

SO NOW WE KNOW HOW IT
BECAME THE PERFECT HOME

FOR THESE STRANGELY
TOXIC MICROBES.

BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS--

DID THOSE BACTERIA
ORIGINATE HERE

AND EVOLVE TO WITHSTAND
INCREASINGLY POISONOUS WATERS,

OR DID THEY HITCH A RIDE
FROM OUTER SPACE

AND ARRIVE ALREADY WELL SUITED
FOR AN ARSENIC-RICH ENVIRONMENT?

I'VE GOT AN IDEA
FOR ONE MORE EXPERIMENT

THAT MIGHT SETTLE THIS QUESTION,
ONCE AND FOR ALL.

THAT'S REALLY LOW.

WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE
WERE EXPECTING, WAS IT?

COULD MONO LAKE'S UNSTOPPABLE
MICROBE BE FROM OUTER SPACE?

IF SO, IT WOULD HAVE
NEEDED A RIDE TO EARTH.

SO, I WANT TO SEE
WHETHER THERE'S EVIDENCE

OF AN INTERSTELLAR
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

BENEATH THE SURFACE
OF THE LAKE...

IN OTHER WORDS,
A METEOR CRATER.

IF THERE IS, THIS WOULDN'T BE
THE ONLY LAKE THAT FORMED

IN THE WAKE
OF A COSMIC COLLISION,

SO-CALLED "METEOR LAKES,"

CRATERS FILLED
BY RAIN AND RUNOFF,

EXIST AROUND THE GLOBE.

ONE OF THE LARGEST IS
CANADA'S MANICOUAGAN RESERVOIR,

A RING-SHAPED BODY OF WATER
THAT FILLED THE DEPRESSION LEFT

BY AN ASTEROID MORE
THAN 3 MILES WIDE.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT UNDER
THE RIGHT CONDITIONS,

THESE EXTRAORDINARY LAKES

COULD PROVIDE A HABITAT
FOR ALIEN LIFE?

IF SO, ALL IT WOULD NEED
IS A RIDE TO EARTH.

AS A BIOLOGIST WHO SPENT
A LOT OF TIME THINKING

ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF LIFE,

I KNOW OF SOMETHING CALLED
THE PANSPERMIA HYPOTHESIS.

ACCORDING TO THIS THEORY,

LIFE FROM OUTER SPACE
COULD COME TO OUR PLANET

ABOARD ONE OF
THE THOUSANDS OF METEORITES

THAT CRASH HERE EACH YEAR.

MOST OF THESE ROCKS
ARE TOO SMALL

OR LAND IN AREAS TOO REMOTE
TO EVER BE NOTICED.

BUT IS IT CONCEIVABLE

THEY COULD ACT
AS INTERPLANETARY TAXIS

AND TRANSPORT TINY
ALIENS TO EARTH?

IN FACT, SOME SCIENTISTS THINK
THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED.

IN 1984, AN AMERICAN GEOLOGIST

IN THE ALLAN HILLS REGION
OF ANTARCTICA

DISCOVERED WHAT BECAME KNOWN
AS THE MARTIAN METEORITE.

ANALYZING THE SPECIMEN,

SCIENTISTS CONCLUDED
THAT IT LIKELY FORMED

WHEN A VOLCANO ERUPTED
4.5 BILLION YEARS AGO...

ON MARS.

THE ERUPTION CATAPULTED
THE ROCK INTO SPACE

AND IT EVENTUALLY
LANDED ON EARTH.

BUT WHAT MADE THIS ROCK
EVEN MORE UNIQUE

WAS A CONTROVERSIAL CLAIM

THAT THE CARBONATE GLOBULES
IT CONTAINED

WERE PRODUCED
BY MARTIAN MICROORGANISMS.

TODAY, THESE STATEMENTS
REMAIN UNPROVEN,

BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN--

THE CARBONATE GRAINS
ARE SIMILAR TO THE ONES FOUND

IN MONO LAKE'S TUFA TOWERS.

SO, COULD THERE BE
SOME COSMIC CONNECTION

BETWEEN THE MARTIAN METEORITE

AND THE MYSTERIOUS
MICROBES OF MONO LAKE?

IF THERE IS, IT SEEMS
WE'D HAVE TO FIND SIGNS

OF AN IMPACT CRATER HERE.

HEY, THANKS FOR
COMING OUT HERE.

YEAH, OUR PLEASURE.I APPRECIATE IT.

TO TEST THIS THEORY,
I'M GETTING SOME HELP

FROM GEOPHYSICISTS
DALE RUCKER AND NIGEL CROOK.

I THINK THE EASIEST WAY
FOR SOMETHING TO COME HERE

FROM ANOTHER PLACE
IS THROUGH A METEORITE CRASH

AND THEN IT IS NOW
HERE ON EARTH.

COULD THIS CRATER,
THIS LAKE,

HAVE BEEN FORMED
BY A METEOR?

WHAT WE'RE
TRYING TO MEASURE

IS WHETHER THE EARTH
IS CONDUCTIVE OR RESISTIVE.

DALE EXPLAINS
THAT A METEOR IMPACT

WOULD COMPRESS THE GROUND

THEREBY BLOCKING THE FLOW
OF ELECTRIC CURRENTS.

OPPOSITE OF THAT WOULD BE
SOMETHING LIKE THIS SOIL,

THEN YOU WOULD GET
A LOT OF ELECTRICITY

FLOWING THROUGH IT.

IF THE LAKE BOTTOM
IS RESISTIVE,

IT WOULD INDICATE
THAT IT'S HARD ROCK

LIKELY FORMED
FROM A METEOR IMPACT.

TO HELP DETECT ANY EVIDENCE
OF A COSMIC COLLISION,

NIGEL AND DALE
HAVE BROUGHT ALONG

A MARINE ELECTRICAL
RESISTIVITY METER.

LOOKS GOOD, HUH?

WITH THIS 500-FOOT-LONG CABLE,

WE'LL TRANSMIT
ELECTRIC CURRENTS DOWN

TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.

A SET OF RECEIVERS ON THE CABLE
WILL THEN PICK UP THE SIGNALS

AND MEASURE
THE LAKE BED'S HARDNESS.

WE CAN THEN USE THAT INFORMATION
TO GATHER DETAILS

ABOUT THE LAKE BED'S
GEOMETRY AND COMPOSITION.

THAT'S REALLY LOW.

WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT
WE WERE EXPECTING, WAS IT?

AS THE DATA COMES IN,
A PATTERN SLOWLY EMERGES.

IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GETTING
VERY CONDUCTIVE

AS WE GET INTO THESE
LAKE-BOTTOM SEDIMENTS.

HUH.

SO, IF THIS WAS
AN IMPACT CRATER,

WE'D BE SEEING
HARD MATERIAL

AT THE BOTTOM
INDICATING A METEOR.

IT'S ACTUALLY SHOWING
THE OPPOSITE.

IT'S A VERY SOFT MATERIAL.

FROM WHAT I'M SEEING
IN THE DATA,

IT IS NOT HARD ROCK,

THAT IT'S LIKELY SOME
SORT OF SEDIMENTATION.

THE MATERIAL
AT THE LAKE BOTTOM

LIKELY IS NOT FORMED
FROM AN IMPACT CRATER

BASED ON THE RESISTIVITY
VALUES THAT WE'RE SEEING.

WOW! OKAY, SO NO IMPACT
MEANS NO METEOR.

IT MEANS, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD...

...NO ALIENS.

OF COURSE,
THERE ARE OTHER THEORIES

ABOUT HOW THIS BACTERIA COULD
HAVE COME FROM OUTER SPACE.

MAYBE IT WAS TRANSPLANTED
BY SMALLER DEBRIS

THAT FELL TO THE PLANET
FOLLOWING A COSMIC COLLISION,

OR IT COULD HAVE
BEEN PLANTED HERE

BY AN INTELLIGENT SPECIES
TO PROPAGATE ITS KIND.

BEING A PROUD MAN
OF SCIENCE, THOUGH,

I'M NOT GONNA GO THERE.

UNTIL I SEE SOME
CONVINCING EVIDENCE

TO SUPPORT AN ALIEN
BACTERIAL INVASION,

I'M INCLINED TO CONCLUDE
THE MICROBES OF MONO LAKE

ARE NOT VISITORS FROM AFAR

BUT HARDY EXTREMOPHILES
BORN AND BRED ON PLANET EARTH.

AND, REALLY, THAT MAKES
THEM EVEN COOLER.

BECAUSE, FOR ME, WHAT'S MOST
COMPELLING ABOUT THIS STORY

IS HOW IT FORCES US

TO RE-EXAMINE THE BASIC
CONCEPT OF LIFE ON EARTH.

THESE SEEMINGLY
INVINCIBLE BACTERIA

ARE A STUNNING EXAMPLE
OF THE RESILIENCE AND DIVERSITY

THAT CAN BE FOUND RIGHT HERE
ON OUR OWN HOME PLANET...

LITTLE MICROSCOPIC REMINDERS

OF HOW REMARKABLE
OUR WORLD REALLY IS.