1
00:03:18,443 --> 00:03:21,610
Claude Lorius, you are the first to
proved, for 30 years...
2
00:03:21,610 --> 00:03:24,902
...the irrefutable responsibility of man
on climate change.
3
00:03:24,943 --> 00:03:26,818
You are 82 years old...
4
00:03:26,860 --> 00:03:30,068
We welcome Claude Lorius,
director of research...
5
00:03:30,068 --> 00:03:32,610
...at the National Center
Scientific Research.
6
00:03:32,610 --> 00:03:35,443
You interpreted the messages from
the Antarctic ice sheets.
7
00:03:35,527 --> 00:03:38,360
What you foretold happened
30 years ago.
8
00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:39,943
Why me?
9
00:03:42,235 --> 00:03:44,318
Is it a matter of luck?
10
00:03:46,110 --> 00:03:48,152
Is it destiny?
11
00:03:49,568 --> 00:03:52,860
The people I met? Without
I wouldn't be able to do anything to them.
12
00:03:54,318 --> 00:03:56,360
My name is Claude Lorius.
13
00:03:57,277 --> 00:04:01,860
At 82, I am speechless watching
the impact of our discoveries.
14
00:05:03,402 --> 00:05:06,693
During
of my life I saw...
15
00:05:06,693 --> 00:05:09,693
...that man burning
oil, coal, forests...
16
00:05:10,027 --> 00:05:13,110
...had begun to modify
the Earth's climate.
17
00:05:13,902 --> 00:05:16,902
I went back millennia
to confirm...
18
00:05:16,943 --> 00:05:20,110
...that what I discovered
it was not a whim of nature.
19
00:05:21,818 --> 00:05:25,527
I searched hard to turn off
and the slightest doubt.
20
00:05:30,943 --> 00:05:33,902
Today, I am a big man
who sees with sadness...
21
00:05:33,943 --> 00:05:35,943
...that history vindicates him.
22
00:05:42,652 --> 00:05:46,027
Everything we announced
are starting to happen.
23
00:05:47,818 --> 00:05:51,193
The polar ices,
areas that melt...
24
00:05:51,568 --> 00:05:54,943
...the water that covers little by little
the islands, the burning forests...
25
00:05:54,985 --> 00:05:57,193
...the sea currents that
they change course...
26
00:05:57,193 --> 00:06:00,235
...the cyclones that are more numerous
and more violent than ever...
27
00:06:00,318 --> 00:06:04,277
...and behind it all,
people who suffer.
28
00:06:05,652 --> 00:06:08,568
Science empowered me
to see in the future.
29
00:06:09,443 --> 00:06:11,777
I will tell you what I saw.
30
00:06:11,985 --> 00:06:15,652
I will tell you my story.
31
00:06:31,818 --> 00:06:35,360
For me, everything begins
on October 31, 1956.
32
00:06:35,443 --> 00:06:38,568
The French Polar Missions
looking for a young student...
33
00:06:38,652 --> 00:06:42,027
...for shipping to Antarctica,
lasting more than one year.
34
00:06:42,277 --> 00:06:44,693
Excellent required
physical condition...
35
00:06:44,777 --> 00:06:48,110
...and preferably
love of adventure.
36
00:06:51,568 --> 00:06:53,610
When I think back on it today...
37
00:07:30,485 --> 00:07:32,485
Write to me.
38
00:07:37,235 --> 00:07:39,193
What incredible luck.
39
00:07:39,235 --> 00:07:42,985
At 23, to sail
for the edge of the world.
40
00:08:08,777 --> 00:08:11,402
I discover the strange,
self sufficient community...
41
00:08:11,443 --> 00:08:13,860
...with which I will live
for one year.
42
00:08:13,902 --> 00:08:16,027
He is waiting for us
an incredible challenge.
43
00:08:16,027 --> 00:08:19,652
We will study a whole
continent, Antarctica.
44
00:08:20,443 --> 00:08:23,735
The war in the Middle East
does not allow us to pass through Suez.
45
00:08:23,735 --> 00:08:25,902
This is how we will cross
two oceans.
46
00:08:26,193 --> 00:08:31,318
We cheat boredom by breeding
ancient initiation rites...
47
00:08:42,027 --> 00:08:45,610
It's hard to describe
our excitement.
48
00:08:47,193 --> 00:08:50,985
We are coming out of the war,
we thirst for life and knowledge.
49
00:08:51,027 --> 00:08:54,277
Among the nations, he prevailed
an incredible competition...
50
00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,360
...to dominate the latter
virgin parts of the planet.
51
00:09:00,485 --> 00:09:05,193
Today it seems incredible, but
60 years ago, when we were leaving...
52
00:09:05,318 --> 00:09:07,818
...we didn't know anything yet
for Antarctica.
53
00:09:08,027 --> 00:09:10,610
It had just finished
the first wave of explorations...
54
00:09:10,610 --> 00:09:12,693
...in the name
of heroic deeds.
55
00:09:12,735 --> 00:09:15,068
Now it was our turn,
of scientists...
56
00:09:15,152 --> 00:09:17,652
...let's head
towards the southern continent.
57
00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,693
Now I realize that
I left at a unique moment...
58
00:09:28,777 --> 00:09:30,818
...for human history.
59
00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,193
I believe that man
never felt so powerful...
60
00:09:42,193 --> 00:09:44,318
...as many decades
50's and 60's...
61
00:09:44,318 --> 00:09:46,693
...which I did
my first missions.
62
00:09:48,860 --> 00:09:51,027
Machines that
invented for war...
63
00:09:51,110 --> 00:09:53,277
...were put into service
of science...
64
00:09:53,318 --> 00:09:55,652
...paving the way
for cheated parties.
65
00:09:59,277 --> 00:10:02,860
At that time the highest peaks
they "fall" one after the other.
66
00:10:06,818 --> 00:10:09,860
Captions give way
in impressive articles...
67
00:10:09,860 --> 00:10:11,860
...and in stories
of explorations.
68
00:10:12,110 --> 00:10:14,152
20,000 leagues
under the sea.
69
00:10:16,610 --> 00:10:19,693
We are entering the Anthropocene,
in the age of man...
70
00:10:19,693 --> 00:10:22,652
...and the absolute
his reign on the planet...
71
00:10:22,693 --> 00:10:26,193
...without knowing that what
we call progress comes at a price.
72
00:10:26,902 --> 00:10:29,985
The world appears to us
inexhaustible, vast.
73
00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:35,277
However, unbeknownst to us, the balance
of nature has already been disturbed.
74
00:10:41,110 --> 00:10:44,110
The time is approaching when people
they will see for the first time...
75
00:10:44,110 --> 00:10:48,152
...the Earth from space.
Unique and fragile.
76
00:10:52,443 --> 00:10:54,943
And I thought that I
I was on my way to adventure...
77
00:11:03,027 --> 00:11:06,235
We needed a month and a half to
to reach our first port.
78
00:11:07,318 --> 00:11:08,693
Tahiti.
79
00:11:19,818 --> 00:11:22,902
I thought with emotion
the first seafarers...
80
00:11:22,943 --> 00:11:25,943
...which they stepped on for the first time
in these parts, 200 years ago.
81
00:11:35,443 --> 00:11:37,860
After weeks at sea...
82
00:11:38,068 --> 00:11:40,485
...I understood why these islands
they were charmed...
83
00:11:40,527 --> 00:11:42,527
...and they left their place.
84
00:12:40,443 --> 00:12:44,652
From that moment on
all my life, i will be 23 years old...
85
00:12:46,652 --> 00:12:49,943
...connected forever
with those unforgettable images.
86
00:12:54,277 --> 00:12:57,027
I still feel the cold, in which
i refuse to surrender...
87
00:12:57,068 --> 00:13:00,652
I smell the salt, the fried
fish, the burnt oil...
88
00:13:00,735 --> 00:13:03,735
...that made me nauseous
on the icebreaker Norsel.
89
00:13:07,318 --> 00:13:10,527
You don't see that you are arriving
in Antarctica, you run into it.
90
00:13:11,402 --> 00:13:14,443
Its endless coastline
it blends with the horizon.
91
00:13:44,485 --> 00:13:47,027
The French scientific base
Dumont d'Urville...
92
00:13:47,027 --> 00:13:50,068
...is located on the rugged coasts
of the continent.
93
00:13:52,110 --> 00:13:54,193
Here everything surprises you...
94
00:13:54,193 --> 00:13:57,735
...starting with reception
of the only inhabitants of the area.
95
00:14:27,693 --> 00:14:30,568
For me it's an attitude
after such a long journey...
96
00:14:30,610 --> 00:14:32,943
...as long as I don't see it
never any other.
97
00:14:33,027 --> 00:14:37,193
I have weeks ahead of me
arrive at my post, at Sarko station.
98
00:14:43,693 --> 00:14:47,735
Strange to see a year since
your life crammed into a few boxes.
99
00:14:47,735 --> 00:14:50,318
I will spend a year
in the world's largest desert.
100
00:14:50,318 --> 00:14:54,527
No restocking possible.
I have a feeling I forgot something.
101
00:15:20,068 --> 00:15:22,610
Flesh. When I think back...
102
00:15:22,735 --> 00:15:25,943
That's where the real me will be born
inclination towards glaciology.
103
00:15:26,110 --> 00:15:31,485
There I will discover my passion
for polar missions.
104
00:15:38,027 --> 00:15:41,110
I'm leaving as part of it
International Geophysical Year...
105
00:15:41,110 --> 00:15:44,027
...of a study campaign that
were held simultaneously...
106
00:15:44,027 --> 00:15:46,068
...all over the planet.
107
00:15:51,443 --> 00:15:54,485
Antarctica is an object
a special effort.
108
00:15:54,902 --> 00:15:58,902
Over 40 were set up there
scientific observatories.
109
00:15:59,693 --> 00:16:04,152
What I will be working on is
probably the smallest and most isolated.
110
00:16:23,485 --> 00:16:27,527
Contingencies multiply.
A real baptism of fire.
111
00:16:36,068 --> 00:16:39,610
After a breakdown, you have to
lose weight, absolutely.
112
00:16:41,318 --> 00:16:44,402
Here, I understand the concept
of self-denial.
113
00:16:52,235 --> 00:16:55,277
I remember the temperature dropping
vertically in the cabins.
114
00:16:55,693 --> 00:16:59,735
We have to open the doors because
water vapor freezes on the windshield.
115
00:17:35,443 --> 00:17:38,652
I am learning very quickly that here
there can be a huge gap...
116
00:17:38,693 --> 00:17:41,318
...between the desired
and the possible.
117
00:17:44,277 --> 00:17:46,902
Going out to urinate
it's a proper chore.
118
00:17:47,527 --> 00:17:50,735
At every step, we are in danger
to be lost forever.
119
00:17:56,568 --> 00:18:00,193
On the seventh day the wind
exceeds 200 km/h.
120
00:18:00,735 --> 00:18:02,777
Impossible to blink.
121
00:18:02,943 --> 00:18:05,152
In the chamber it is -18 degrees.
122
00:18:18,318 --> 00:18:21,360
We have to wait 10 days
to get a little better.
123
00:18:21,568 --> 00:18:24,110
When I do things
I'm getting warm and it feels good.
124
00:18:24,318 --> 00:18:26,818
I feel like I'm getting old
ten years.
125
00:18:41,568 --> 00:18:45,652
A sled has broken down. No
we have time to fix it.
126
00:18:47,943 --> 00:18:50,152
We have to give up
his entire load.
127
00:18:50,277 --> 00:18:53,902
Scientific equipment and
some personal baggage.
128
00:19:05,860 --> 00:19:07,902
The marks are gone.
129
00:19:08,110 --> 00:19:11,277
We're sinking deep
on the Antarctic plateau.
130
00:19:12,068 --> 00:19:15,318
Sometimes it takes us hours
to find the signs again.
131
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:35,943
After a journey of 28 days, I see,
finally, the posts of Sarco.
132
00:20:04,943 --> 00:20:09,027
Sarko is more reminiscent of underground
nest rather than a scientific station.
133
00:20:09,818 --> 00:20:12,485
But it is fully equipped
and everything is in order.
134
00:20:14,985 --> 00:20:18,027
24 sq.m. that are heated
only at 8 degrees.
135
00:20:18,693 --> 00:20:21,902
Right palace after a month
in the cold, small cabins...
136
00:20:21,943 --> 00:20:24,277
...of icebreakers.
137
00:20:33,402 --> 00:20:35,485
Only three of us will stay here.
138
00:20:35,485 --> 00:20:38,443
The rest rush to take
the way back...
139
00:20:38,443 --> 00:20:41,360
...for fear of being immobilized
from winter.
140
00:20:45,652 --> 00:20:48,277
A strange feeling
squeezes my neck.
141
00:21:32,485 --> 00:21:35,777
See you again. In a year,
if all goes well
142
00:21:49,068 --> 00:21:52,318
I hear the wind, the bell
on top of the posts.
143
00:21:52,693 --> 00:21:55,277
From now on it will be
the only familiar sounds.
144
00:21:56,443 --> 00:21:59,485
For the first time, I feel like
ruler of a kingdom.
145
00:22:15,402 --> 00:22:17,943
From our excitement to
let's start the studies...
146
00:22:17,943 --> 00:22:20,318
...we neglect
our facilities.
147
00:22:22,568 --> 00:22:24,610
Nothing has been done here.
148
00:22:24,610 --> 00:22:28,652
No one has ever collected again
meteorological or geophysical data.
149
00:22:28,902 --> 00:22:31,027
We have the faith of the pioneers.
150
00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:47,110
In every measurement, every observation
I feel an intense joy...
151
00:22:47,193 --> 00:22:50,277
...double because of pride
of being first.
152
00:22:54,402 --> 00:22:55,943
Alright, let's go.
153
00:23:02,693 --> 00:23:03,735
Stop it.
154
00:23:12,568 --> 00:23:14,568
It makes you dizzy.
155
00:23:15,318 --> 00:23:18,568
The data recorded
reveal for the first time...
156
00:23:18,610 --> 00:23:22,443
...valleys and mountains covered
for millions of years...
157
00:23:22,693 --> 00:23:24,943
...under 2,000 meters of ice.
158
00:23:25,318 --> 00:23:27,360
A sunken continent.
159
00:23:34,277 --> 00:23:38,360
At that moment, I understand, in all
of the scope, the power of science.
160
00:23:38,568 --> 00:23:40,652
He sees the invisible.
161
00:23:40,735 --> 00:23:43,735
I want to feel again
the thrill of discovery.
162
00:23:44,402 --> 00:23:46,943
My destiny
has been engraved.
163
00:25:10,735 --> 00:25:13,485
After a few weeks,
we realize with horror...
164
00:25:13,485 --> 00:25:15,860
...that our equipment
sinks into the snow.
165
00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:18,110
We need to put up signs...
166
00:25:18,193 --> 00:25:21,277
...and let's sort it out
before all are buried beyond repair.
167
00:25:26,193 --> 00:25:27,235
Well;
168
00:25:32,485 --> 00:25:36,652
We dig tunnels many meters long
to create warehouses.
169
00:25:36,943 --> 00:25:39,027
For now,
science will wait.
170
00:25:39,527 --> 00:25:43,610
This is about our survival.
We almost forgot her.
171
00:25:44,110 --> 00:25:46,652
SARKO STATION
172
00:25:50,568 --> 00:25:53,860
My observation tower
overturned by the blizzard.
173
00:25:54,110 --> 00:25:56,027
I have been disappointed.
174
00:25:56,027 --> 00:25:58,277
My whole schedule
is called into question.
175
00:25:58,610 --> 00:26:02,402
Thanks to the support of colleagues
I regain my composure.
176
00:26:09,193 --> 00:26:13,235
I curse the fool who
invented this tower.
177
00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,652
For every screw and a burn.
Metal sticks to fingers.
178
00:26:18,693 --> 00:26:21,318
A torture for which
I would like to pay...
179
00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,610
...every time that
I take off my gloves.
180
00:26:29,860 --> 00:26:34,193
As the weeks go by
we acquire a routine.
181
00:26:34,985 --> 00:26:37,943
We gather in the evening for
our only meal together.
182
00:26:39,443 --> 00:26:42,902
Roland cooks while Jacques
sends the data over the wireless.
183
00:26:52,902 --> 00:26:54,485
It's burning!
184
00:27:02,902 --> 00:27:06,902
To endure, we cultivate
camaraderie and solidarity.
185
00:27:07,818 --> 00:27:11,818
We live, we work, we sleep
in the only heated room...
186
00:27:12,193 --> 00:27:14,443
...not at all
personal space.
187
00:27:14,485 --> 00:27:16,985
And no reason to give in
in a bad mood.
188
00:27:17,027 --> 00:27:19,318
Our lives would be transformed
in hell.
189
00:27:19,818 --> 00:27:22,402
We adopt a strange
clothing style...
190
00:27:22,402 --> 00:27:24,527
...where they dominate
the patches and the holes.
191
00:27:24,568 --> 00:27:27,860
Due to lack of water, we stop
to wash our clothes.
192
00:27:28,027 --> 00:27:30,235
We use them
and we throw them away.
193
00:27:43,527 --> 00:27:45,527
Steamed chicken.
194
00:27:45,902 --> 00:27:48,360
Nice grilled scallops Saint-Jacques
and other shellfish.
195
00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:51,402
Beef patties with puree
potato and truffles.
196
00:27:51,943 --> 00:27:53,360
Chateaubriand.
197
00:27:53,777 --> 00:27:55,860
Hare a la ruyal.
198
00:28:07,152 --> 00:28:09,568
Here I will do without
i still know it...
199
00:28:09,652 --> 00:28:12,527
...movements that I will repeat
throughout my life.
200
00:28:12,527 --> 00:28:15,985
There is snow in Sarkos,
so I study crystals.
201
00:28:16,277 --> 00:28:19,735
At first just to see
if there is anything to discover.
202
00:28:27,485 --> 00:28:30,443
Why the summer snow
it has smaller flakes...
203
00:28:30,527 --> 00:28:32,860
...from that which
did it fall in winter?
204
00:28:32,985 --> 00:28:35,527
Their thickness shows
winters with lots of snow...
205
00:28:35,568 --> 00:28:39,027
...or, on the contrary, long periods
no snowfall.
206
00:28:54,027 --> 00:28:58,068
The crystals. I realize
that no two are alike.
207
00:28:58,735 --> 00:29:01,860
Their unique shapes
they testify to each other's history.
208
00:29:02,193 --> 00:29:06,818
Untouched in their prime youth,
round, change shape...
209
00:29:07,235 --> 00:29:10,152
...as they sink under the weight
of the freshest snow.
210
00:29:24,318 --> 00:29:27,735
I imagine their journey.
Later I will learn to identify it.
211
00:29:28,068 --> 00:29:31,443
I see them slipping
imperceptibly to the depths.
212
00:29:32,235 --> 00:29:35,443
Ice is a river
only seemingly still.
213
00:29:36,110 --> 00:29:39,277
One flake will need 50,000
years to reach the shore...
214
00:29:39,277 --> 00:29:41,360
...before spreading out into the ocean.
215
00:29:42,818 --> 00:29:45,943
If struck by the tides,
it will become an iceberg.
216
00:29:46,402 --> 00:29:48,985
If it ends up in the heat
seas, it will melt.
217
00:29:49,068 --> 00:29:52,860
When it becomes water, the great begins
travel of ocean currents.
218
00:29:53,277 --> 00:29:57,152
It evaporates from the sun
and returns to heaven...
219
00:29:57,193 --> 00:29:59,402
...to fall back there
maybe someday...
220
00:29:59,485 --> 00:30:02,818
...on a time scale that
my existence amounts to nothing.
221
00:30:20,943 --> 00:30:24,360
After all, the year went by quickly.
I keep the memory...
222
00:30:24,443 --> 00:30:28,027
...of the long polar night and
the flush on windless nights.
223
00:30:46,610 --> 00:30:49,985
I have never seen so many stars
as in the Antarctic sky.
224
00:31:11,902 --> 00:31:16,110
And what about the aurora borealis?
I still get chills.
225
00:31:16,443 --> 00:31:20,277
I would endure the harshest cold
that one can bear...
226
00:31:20,277 --> 00:31:22,568
...to see it as long as possible
it becomes more.
227
00:31:31,777 --> 00:31:34,860
I remember our last one well
evening at Sarko station.
228
00:31:34,985 --> 00:31:38,652
We were lulled by the familiar hum
of our machines.
229
00:31:39,777 --> 00:31:43,402
I hear them one last time I feel
that I have fulfilled my duty.
230
00:31:44,235 --> 00:31:45,735
2, 3, 1.
231
00:31:48,735 --> 00:31:50,235
2, 3, 0.
232
00:31:53,235 --> 00:31:56,568
For the first time in history
people cooperated...
233
00:31:56,610 --> 00:32:00,943
...to understand the Earth without
they care about races or nationalities.
234
00:32:01,277 --> 00:32:04,527
We were like that too, in solidarity
with our colleagues...
235
00:32:04,568 --> 00:32:06,735
...who did the same as us...
236
00:32:06,777 --> 00:32:11,652
...in Antarctica, in Tahiti,
in Venezuela, in Vladivostok.
237
00:32:25,568 --> 00:32:29,735
After a year our physics
situation was at a critical point.
238
00:32:29,985 --> 00:32:33,027
Beginnings of scurvy,
corneal burns...
239
00:32:38,110 --> 00:32:40,735
But happy that
we saw new faces.
240
00:32:50,860 --> 00:32:52,443
Goodbye, Flesh.
241
00:32:52,568 --> 00:32:54,818
The station will be used
another year.
242
00:32:54,860 --> 00:32:57,402
Then it will be abandoned
on the glacier.
243
00:32:57,485 --> 00:33:01,693
Crushed by the glacier,
it now glides gently towards the shores.
244
00:33:09,902 --> 00:33:13,735
Getting on board, I already have
just an idea in my mind.
245
00:33:13,943 --> 00:33:15,318
To return.
246
00:33:15,443 --> 00:33:18,443
From now on in my veins
a strange virus is circulating.
247
00:33:18,527 --> 00:33:20,693
The passion for Antarctica.
248
00:33:46,443 --> 00:33:49,443
This morning the President
of the Rene Coty Republic...
249
00:33:49,527 --> 00:33:53,360
...received at the Elysee Palace
the French mission of Adelia Land.
250
00:33:53,443 --> 00:33:57,777
These people risked their lives
for the advancement of science.
251
00:33:57,777 --> 00:34:01,068
Coming from Melbourne after
disembarked yesterday from Arcadia...
252
00:34:01,110 --> 00:34:03,402
...the explorers embraced us
253
00:34:03,443 --> 00:34:06,360
...their own that they left behind
back over 16 months ago.
254
00:34:06,443 --> 00:34:10,152
The science heroes are back.
Look at their excitement.
255
00:34:18,943 --> 00:34:23,068
I will never forget the station
Flesh. I left without thinking.
256
00:34:23,818 --> 00:34:26,360
I came back with a unique one
look at the world...
257
00:34:26,860 --> 00:34:29,818
...richer than the time that
I had there to think.
258
00:34:30,402 --> 00:34:34,985
After time, I know it all comes down to it
from that basic experience.
259
00:34:35,277 --> 00:34:38,235
My relationship with others
my passion for science...
260
00:34:38,610 --> 00:34:41,610
...and especially understanding
for the planet I live on.
261
00:34:42,318 --> 00:34:44,735
I saw him in his entirety
the shine and the power.
262
00:34:45,068 --> 00:34:49,527
I did not imagine that since then
every step towards knowledge...
263
00:34:49,610 --> 00:34:52,068
...would make me discover
the view of a world...
264
00:34:52,110 --> 00:34:55,110
...where humanity hurt him
more and more.
265
00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,485
Back in France, I find again
my parents and friends...
266
00:36:07,527 --> 00:36:09,110
...with great pleasure.
267
00:36:09,110 --> 00:36:12,443
But the idea torments me
I leave again for the polar regions.
268
00:36:14,443 --> 00:36:18,193
I hear they talk a lot about work
of Swiss and Danish glaciologists...
269
00:36:18,235 --> 00:36:21,068
...and the remarkable results
which they took out in Greenland...
270
00:36:21,152 --> 00:36:24,902
...thanks to a new instrument
measurement, the mass spectrometer.
271
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:29,693
I am writing a dissertation by adapting
their Antarctic protocol.
272
00:36:34,527 --> 00:36:38,485
October 1959.
I'm at the South Pole again.
273
00:36:38,693 --> 00:36:40,818
Another stroke of luck.
274
00:36:40,818 --> 00:36:44,527
The French government proposed to me to
do my military service...
275
00:36:44,527 --> 00:36:47,360
...participating in an international
exploration campaign...
276
00:36:47,402 --> 00:36:48,985
...in Victoria Land.
277
00:36:49,068 --> 00:36:52,402
A scientific mission
led by the Americans.
278
00:36:53,068 --> 00:36:56,485
I am responsible for glaciology
alongside eight explorers...
279
00:36:56,735 --> 00:37:00,943
...of five different nationalities.
I am one of the most experienced.
280
00:37:09,485 --> 00:37:12,568
The flight over the transatlantic
mountains are luxurious.
281
00:37:13,443 --> 00:37:15,735
Here I am! Great explorer.
282
00:38:04,193 --> 00:38:08,152
We were at Sarko station
300 km inland.
283
00:38:08,902 --> 00:38:12,277
2,500 km await us.
unknown land.
284
00:38:13,485 --> 00:38:16,235
Our mission: to describe
and to understand.
285
00:38:50,027 --> 00:38:53,485
After a journey of a few days
we will realize...
286
00:38:53,527 --> 00:38:56,193
...that we are in a huge
faulted area.
287
00:38:56,860 --> 00:39:01,277
Impossible to turn back.
We have come a long way.
288
00:39:02,485 --> 00:39:05,527
At every step we can fall
into a deadly trap.
289
00:39:07,902 --> 00:39:10,193
On the same day we learn
by wireless...
290
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,860
...that two New Zealanders died
on a similar mission.
291
00:39:33,110 --> 00:39:35,985
Despite the dangers the mission
stops every 50 km...
292
00:39:36,068 --> 00:39:39,652
...so we can execute
his scientific works.
293
00:39:41,527 --> 00:39:43,277
But what the hell!
294
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:46,777
I'm thinking to the point of obsession how
i will check my burning fingers...
295
00:39:46,777 --> 00:39:50,068
...my chattering teeth,
while I should be precise.
296
00:39:50,610 --> 00:39:53,860
A hundred times a day, I hold back
the desire to give it all up...
297
00:39:53,860 --> 00:39:57,652
...to the blows of the wind that my
takes the notebook from the hands.
298
00:40:27,193 --> 00:40:30,360
Soon, of all these
only one list will remain...
299
00:40:30,402 --> 00:40:33,818
...in a table of numbers.
300
00:40:34,402 --> 00:40:37,027
But if it is missing
even one of these...
301
00:40:37,318 --> 00:40:39,610
...all results
will be doubtful.
302
00:40:41,402 --> 00:40:44,402
We need clean data
at regular intervals.
303
00:40:44,818 --> 00:40:47,110
How many times I wanted to
to give up
304
00:40:48,860 --> 00:40:51,152
We don't get warm
never really.
305
00:40:51,443 --> 00:40:54,402
Cabins smell wet
shoes, cubed soup...
306
00:40:54,652 --> 00:40:57,235
...and gas when we want
let's warm up a bit.
307
00:40:58,777 --> 00:41:01,193
Every day exhausts us
more.
308
00:41:05,318 --> 00:41:09,693
As soon as we prepare the meal the walls
covered by water vapor.
309
00:41:10,068 --> 00:41:12,235
Our clothes and sleeping bags
they flood.
310
00:41:28,818 --> 00:41:32,152
When we can't take it anymore dirty,
we make water to make...
311
00:41:32,193 --> 00:41:34,235
...something like a bath.
312
00:41:35,943 --> 00:41:39,110
We take advantage of the slightest
sunshine to breathe a little.
313
00:41:39,277 --> 00:41:42,068
-25 degrees without wind
it's a proper heat wave.
314
00:41:42,693 --> 00:41:46,652
I am fascinated by our ability to
we suffer the unbearable.
315
00:42:03,277 --> 00:42:05,985
The fault detectors
they are ineffective.
316
00:42:06,235 --> 00:42:09,485
They are not reliable even if
you hold the meter in your hand.
317
00:42:09,485 --> 00:42:11,527
We continue with difficulty.
318
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:35,277
To endure another day,
let's look a little further...
319
00:42:35,402 --> 00:42:38,360
...to describe,
to understand.
320
00:42:39,777 --> 00:42:43,068
The search for knowledge
it keeps us from going crazy.
321
00:42:53,818 --> 00:42:56,110
Over 100 days
where we started.
322
00:42:56,443 --> 00:42:59,985
Anxious we look for a passage
between the mountain range...
323
00:42:59,985 --> 00:43:02,693
...which blocks our way
to the ocean...
324
00:43:02,777 --> 00:43:04,860
...where a ship is waiting for us.
325
00:43:05,027 --> 00:43:08,110
Here where we are
the map only states...
326
00:43:08,318 --> 00:43:10,443
"Unregistered Zone".
327
00:43:34,152 --> 00:43:38,110
With three companions we dare to
we go for reconnaissance on a peak.
328
00:43:38,818 --> 00:43:40,818
Climbing does me good.
329
00:43:40,943 --> 00:43:44,152
As children, we baptize
the mountains that surround us.
330
00:43:44,860 --> 00:43:48,860
So on the Antarctic maps
there is a Mount Lorius.
331
00:43:49,610 --> 00:43:52,902
It seems that the geographers got
our game seriously.
332
00:43:53,735 --> 00:43:56,443
That's not the privilege
of explorers?
333
00:44:02,277 --> 00:44:04,277
We won't go any further.
334
00:44:04,277 --> 00:44:07,110
The people and the equipment
he is in such a state...
335
00:44:07,152 --> 00:44:10,360
...where the American authorities
they decided to turn back.
336
00:44:11,027 --> 00:44:13,068
There will be only one flight.
337
00:44:13,110 --> 00:44:15,193
I sacrifice everything
my personal belongings...
338
00:44:15,193 --> 00:44:17,652
...to take along
my precious samples.
339
00:44:28,235 --> 00:44:31,693
Paris, five months later. The snows
of Victoria Land will speak.
340
00:44:38,610 --> 00:44:41,027
With the spectrometer
diving for the first time...
341
00:44:41,110 --> 00:44:43,277
...in the invisible world
of individuals.
342
00:44:47,068 --> 00:44:49,693
There are two different forms
of hydrogen in snow.
343
00:44:49,943 --> 00:44:51,985
Heavy and light hydrogen.
344
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:58,193
When it's cold and snowing
we detect mainly light hydrogen.
345
00:44:58,818 --> 00:45:02,277
When it's hotter
we mainly detect the heavy.
346
00:45:04,443 --> 00:45:07,818
I find that the ratio of these
of the two follows precisely...
347
00:45:07,860 --> 00:45:09,902
...the grading
of temperature.
348
00:45:10,777 --> 00:45:15,318
The isotopic thermometer is born.
It is a special discovery.
349
00:45:19,235 --> 00:45:22,152
Henceforth it is enough to analyze
no one at the spectrograph...
350
00:45:22,235 --> 00:45:26,110
...a sample of snow or ice for
to know exactly...
351
00:45:26,277 --> 00:45:29,610
...the temperature it was
the day the flakes fell...
352
00:45:30,235 --> 00:45:33,318
...even if that happened
thousands of years ago.
353
00:46:05,485 --> 00:46:08,068
The gateways to the climates
of the past they opened.
354
00:46:08,068 --> 00:46:10,610
I'll look for ice cubes
which lie deep...
355
00:46:10,652 --> 00:46:12,735
...which are also the oldest.
356
00:46:12,818 --> 00:46:15,735
I want to know which one
temperature were formed.
357
00:46:15,777 --> 00:46:19,152
If I succeed, I will be able to
describe the evolution of climate...
358
00:46:19,235 --> 00:46:21,235
...over time.
359
00:46:23,027 --> 00:46:26,943
In 1962 I am 30 years old.
I am finishing my thesis...
360
00:46:27,277 --> 00:46:29,902
...and I run a small one
research group.
361
00:46:36,277 --> 00:46:39,485
Ice is like a book that
every new snowfall...
362
00:46:39,527 --> 00:46:41,735
...adds a page
in the previous ones.
363
00:46:42,443 --> 00:46:46,027
The first, oldest pages
they are the ones that lie deeper.
364
00:46:46,235 --> 00:46:48,277
So even the most inaccessible ones.
365
00:46:49,568 --> 00:46:52,193
Dive into history
It's becoming an obsession.
366
00:46:52,860 --> 00:46:56,068
I definitely need to find one
way to surface...
367
00:46:56,235 --> 00:46:59,277
...ice samples that are hiding
in these abysses...
368
00:46:59,318 --> 00:47:01,318
...since the beginning of the world.
369
00:47:22,693 --> 00:47:27,110
We are trying in the Alps with drills
which were meant for rocks.
370
00:47:27,693 --> 00:47:30,235
I work with the engineers
to build...
371
00:47:30,318 --> 00:47:33,818
...a tool capable of searching
samples at great depths.
372
00:47:36,693 --> 00:47:39,277
But we are going blindly.
The months go by.
373
00:47:41,943 --> 00:47:44,235
Finally we place a template.
374
00:47:44,818 --> 00:47:47,902
Now I have to try it
on the Antarctic ice.
375
00:47:48,402 --> 00:47:51,110
We still have a lot to do
to improve it.
376
00:47:52,402 --> 00:47:56,735
Lorius, you are leaving tomorrow for
Adelia Earth. A 16 month mission.
377
00:47:56,818 --> 00:47:58,860
It is not a simple decision.
378
00:47:59,027 --> 00:48:03,652
Although I have been practicing the profession for 8 years,
I never had such problems.
379
00:48:03,985 --> 00:48:09,277
Now I am married, I have children
and are important factors.
380
00:48:15,443 --> 00:48:17,360
All my life
i will be torn...
381
00:48:17,443 --> 00:48:20,735
...among my family
and passion for my work.
382
00:48:20,818 --> 00:48:23,193
I did overall
22 polar missions.
383
00:48:23,235 --> 00:48:26,652
That is, I lived for more than 10 years
in these extreme latitudes...
384
00:48:26,693 --> 00:48:29,193
...in this wild, but
intoxicating atmosphere.
385
00:48:38,027 --> 00:48:40,402
I'm down there again
away from the world...
386
00:48:40,485 --> 00:48:43,985
...where existence is characterized
of challenges and brotherhood.
387
00:48:50,110 --> 00:48:52,943
I feel immense pleasure
where I find Adelia Gi again.
388
00:48:53,027 --> 00:48:56,027
All the memories of the departure
for Sarkos it is there.
389
00:48:56,902 --> 00:48:58,902
It's already been 8 years.
390
00:49:00,235 --> 00:49:03,943
This time I will be in charge
of the station for over a year.
391
00:49:07,152 --> 00:49:11,360
A chance to try the new one
ice drilling equipment...
392
00:49:11,527 --> 00:49:16,902
...near the base, before I get him
in the inaccessible zones of Antarctica.
393
00:49:44,443 --> 00:49:47,527
One night, after a difficult
drilling test...
394
00:49:47,568 --> 00:49:51,110
...we drink to the health of an Australian
colleague who joined us.
395
00:49:51,985 --> 00:49:55,235
I don't know who got it anymore
the piece of ice we broke off...
396
00:49:55,360 --> 00:49:58,860
...arbitrarily deciding to
put it in our whiskey.
397
00:50:06,235 --> 00:50:11,068
Thermal shock will release violently
the air trapped in the ice.
398
00:50:11,777 --> 00:50:14,568
And this air,
it is the air of the past.
399
00:50:18,943 --> 00:50:21,693
Every layer of snow
locks inside him..
400
00:50:21,777 --> 00:50:23,860
...the memory of the climate
who was born
401
00:50:23,985 --> 00:50:28,943
Small fossilized capsules
atmosphere traveled through time.
402
00:50:29,568 --> 00:50:31,777
Why didn't I think of this sooner?
403
00:50:35,693 --> 00:50:38,693
It was enough to analyze
the sequence of air bubbles...
404
00:50:38,902 --> 00:50:42,693
...throughout the depth of the ice
to emerge from the past...
405
00:50:42,735 --> 00:50:45,902
...the whole climate story
since the beginning of the world.
406
00:50:53,527 --> 00:50:57,277
I will need 10 years and the help
Dominique, Jean, Lillian...
407
00:50:57,527 --> 00:51:00,777
...and many more researchers
to prove it.
408
00:51:03,235 --> 00:51:06,652
But as I return to the station
after that unforgettable night...
409
00:51:06,652 --> 00:51:09,485
...I don't know yet that she
the idea will take me far.
410
00:51:09,860 --> 00:51:14,110
I'm getting ready for the second winter
me in Antarctica. 9 months.
411
00:51:14,610 --> 00:51:16,652
We have 1964.
412
00:51:19,818 --> 00:51:22,277
From 1965 onwards,
I decide...
413
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:26,068
...to devote all my energy
in the analysis of air bubbles...
414
00:51:26,235 --> 00:51:29,235
...along with investigations
which my team already did.
415
00:51:33,235 --> 00:51:35,527
The search for the past
climate drives me...
416
00:51:35,568 --> 00:51:39,735
...in more demanding missions,
economically and in terms of equipment.
417
00:51:40,735 --> 00:51:43,943
This diplomatic work
it costs me and it annoys me...
418
00:51:44,027 --> 00:51:46,402
...because it pushes me away
from Antarctica.
419
00:51:54,152 --> 00:51:57,318
We were trying to date
precisely our samples...
420
00:51:57,318 --> 00:52:00,068
...looking for dust grains
trapped in the snow.
421
00:52:00,193 --> 00:52:03,193
It is the physical clock
of the planet.
422
00:52:03,735 --> 00:52:07,527
So we made an unexpected one
and disruptive discovery.
423
00:52:08,068 --> 00:52:13,027
In nuclear explosions specific
number of radioactive elements...
424
00:52:14,027 --> 00:52:16,443
...is released
in the atmosphere.
425
00:52:16,943 --> 00:52:20,277
A large part falls back
around the blast area...
426
00:52:20,568 --> 00:52:25,318
...but some come in
in the highest atmosphere...
427
00:52:25,777 --> 00:52:28,443
...and they move around the planet.
428
00:52:28,902 --> 00:52:34,235
These radioactive elements
we meet again in the snow...
429
00:52:34,277 --> 00:52:36,277
...of the polar regions.
430
00:52:42,027 --> 00:52:45,777
We will soon find the trail
of all nuclear explosions...
431
00:52:46,027 --> 00:52:48,402
...since they were discovered
atomic weapons.
432
00:52:50,360 --> 00:52:53,985
In this white desert that does not
ever colonized by man...
433
00:52:54,027 --> 00:52:56,277
...there is his signature
human kind...
434
00:52:56,318 --> 00:52:59,277
...the bloody marks
of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
435
00:53:32,068 --> 00:53:34,110
We ring the bell
of risk.
436
00:53:34,110 --> 00:53:36,568
The great powers
sign the ban...
437
00:53:36,568 --> 00:53:38,860
...of nuclear testing
in the atmosphere.
438
00:53:38,985 --> 00:53:41,193
For me it's about
moral breach.
439
00:53:41,860 --> 00:53:46,152
No point on Earth has
remain unaffected by man?
440
00:53:47,360 --> 00:53:50,277
The image of a planet
finite, fragile...
441
00:53:50,652 --> 00:53:54,277
...appears for the first time
in front of me in a violent way.
442
00:54:43,110 --> 00:54:45,943
In the 70s
we are beginning to suspect...
443
00:54:46,027 --> 00:54:48,277
...that the human ones
activities lead...
444
00:54:48,360 --> 00:54:50,777
...in a possible
climate deregulation.
445
00:54:50,985 --> 00:54:53,985
But that has to be proven
in an undeniable way.
446
00:55:04,485 --> 00:55:08,985
During the Geophysical Year
international cooperation networks are set up.
447
00:55:10,485 --> 00:55:13,985
I go up with Americans and for
first time with Russian colleagues...
448
00:55:14,068 --> 00:55:16,152
...on a mission to Vault C.
449
00:55:26,818 --> 00:55:29,568
In 1974 I am 42 years old.
450
00:55:30,985 --> 00:55:33,610
My team consists of
over 30 researchers.
451
00:55:33,610 --> 00:55:35,693
Our work is progressing slowly...
452
00:55:35,693 --> 00:55:38,527
...because each new step
requires new quests...
453
00:55:38,527 --> 00:55:41,110
...in the most inaccessible zones
of Antarctica.
454
00:55:42,485 --> 00:55:45,527
We stop at the South Pole
to acclimatize.
455
00:55:45,568 --> 00:55:47,152
What a thrill.
456
00:55:49,110 --> 00:55:54,693
In 1911, 60 years ago, people
first set foot here.
457
00:55:54,777 --> 00:55:57,818
For the glory of their country
and the joy of conquest.
458
00:56:34,277 --> 00:56:37,735
Dome C, 3,250 meters altitude.
459
00:56:38,068 --> 00:56:41,568
Average annual temperature:
-51.7 points.
460
00:56:42,568 --> 00:56:46,110
From white to infinity. As if
you find yourself lost in the ocean.
461
00:56:48,693 --> 00:56:52,027
The air is so poor in
oxygen that a few steps are enough...
462
00:56:52,027 --> 00:56:54,027
...to take our breath away.
463
00:56:54,068 --> 00:56:56,943
One of the worst places on Earth
for any mortal...
464
00:56:56,943 --> 00:56:58,985
...except for glaciologists.
465
00:57:04,860 --> 00:57:08,277
Aerials are confirmed
searches...
466
00:57:08,485 --> 00:57:11,527
...which testified to the existence
of ice 3,500 meters deep.
467
00:57:12,193 --> 00:57:15,860
Hundreds of thousands of years of climate
history to decode.
468
00:57:21,318 --> 00:57:24,443
We found it snowing a bit here.
Just 10 cm a year.
469
00:57:25,193 --> 00:57:28,443
The ice in Dome C is
a thick book...
470
00:57:28,610 --> 00:57:32,110
...with many pages written
on thin paper.
471
00:57:34,235 --> 00:57:37,152
The ideal condition to
go way back in time.
472
00:57:37,235 --> 00:57:40,152
We will attempt a deep
drilling next year.
473
00:57:48,235 --> 00:57:52,193
January 15, 1974:
Excited, we close the base.
474
00:57:52,985 --> 00:57:56,235
At 19.00 the temperature is
mild to -30 degrees.
475
00:57:56,277 --> 00:57:59,818
Our return aircraft
lands without a problem.
476
00:58:06,277 --> 00:58:09,818
We leave all the equipment behind
for future drilling.
477
00:58:10,568 --> 00:58:13,777
A little time to install
launchers and off we go.
478
00:58:14,610 --> 00:58:16,818
I'm already thinking
my next plans.
479
00:59:17,527 --> 00:59:19,527
Fortunately,
there are no injuries.
480
00:59:19,902 --> 00:59:23,485
We reopen the base to
call for help. Hours of waiting.
481
00:59:24,318 --> 00:59:26,902
A second aircraft is coming.
We board again.
482
00:59:38,943 --> 00:59:42,360
The last two planes available
in Antarctica they are looking for us.
483
00:59:43,568 --> 00:59:45,568
One remains in the air
for coverage.
484
00:59:53,443 --> 00:59:54,485
Come on.
485
01:00:24,277 --> 01:00:27,110
I am convinced that
Americans will stop...
486
01:00:27,277 --> 01:00:30,277
...the financial and
scientific collaboration.
487
01:00:41,485 --> 01:00:44,985
The accident affects me deeply,
I was very scared.
488
01:00:45,568 --> 01:00:49,068
The responsibility falls heavily
on my shoulders.
489
01:00:52,402 --> 01:00:54,693
what would happen
if there were dead people?
490
01:00:56,860 --> 01:01:00,735
It makes sense to continue with
given the risk and cost?
491
01:01:08,027 --> 01:01:12,027
However, the initial results that
I get a lot of promise.
492
01:01:17,527 --> 01:01:19,610
This saddens me more.
493
01:01:56,652 --> 01:02:00,693
I am contacting the National again
Science Foundation in Washington.
494
01:02:00,943 --> 01:02:02,068
I'm surprised.
495
01:02:02,152 --> 01:02:05,735
They consider the damage of two planes
occupational hazard.
496
01:02:05,860 --> 01:02:08,152
There is no reason
let's stop.
497
01:02:08,485 --> 01:02:11,193
They consider our drilling
it's worth it.
498
01:02:12,027 --> 01:02:16,068
They send repeat shipments
to repair the aircraft...
499
01:02:16,360 --> 01:02:19,693
...and we land in Dome C,
in December 1977...
500
01:02:20,110 --> 01:02:22,610
...three years later
our first attempt.
501
01:02:24,277 --> 01:02:26,985
For me the bet
of the mission is too long.
502
01:02:27,068 --> 01:02:30,110
I play in three months over
a decade of preparations.
503
01:02:34,568 --> 01:02:37,943
We hope to reach ice
since the last Ice Age.
504
01:02:37,943 --> 01:02:40,027
20,000 years ago.
505
01:03:16,193 --> 01:03:19,110
I feel a strange combination
anxiety and rage.
506
01:03:19,652 --> 01:03:22,777
The continuation of my research
depends on success...
507
01:03:22,943 --> 01:03:26,027
...of this little technologist
miracle, of the drill.
508
01:03:34,735 --> 01:03:36,985
Stop it.
There, it's fine.
509
01:03:43,152 --> 01:03:46,735
Moving one meter per hour,
we dive into the beginnings of time,
510
01:04:21,318 --> 01:04:23,693
We collect fragments of time
measure by measure.
511
01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:28,443
A frustrating routine
24 hours a day for two months.
512
01:04:37,110 --> 01:04:40,277
Every moment the drills are in danger
get trapped in the ice.
513
01:04:40,485 --> 01:04:44,360
It takes tremendous skill to
reactions to the slightest abnormality...
514
01:04:44,402 --> 01:04:48,152
...and pull back the machine
before it gets stuck forever.
515
01:04:49,360 --> 01:04:53,610
I'm trying not to broadcast to
my companions my nervousness.
516
01:04:54,027 --> 01:04:57,818
We are exhausted from the weather
conditions and non-stop work.
517
01:04:58,193 --> 01:05:01,027
Inside the lab
has -53 points.
518
01:05:07,777 --> 01:05:11,985
On the evening of January 1st
we reach 655 meters.
519
01:05:12,152 --> 01:05:14,318
The analysis of crystals
proves...
520
01:05:14,485 --> 01:05:16,652
...that we penetrated
in the Ice Age.
521
01:05:22,027 --> 01:05:25,943
15 days later we will arrive
900 meters deep.
522
01:05:28,027 --> 01:05:31,277
We have to stop, the drill
ice is not customized...
523
01:05:31,402 --> 01:05:33,943
...for such depths and
we are in danger of losing him.
524
01:05:35,610 --> 01:05:39,068
We have to design another one
that adjusts to the pressure...
525
01:05:39,152 --> 01:05:41,235
...in the great depths.
526
01:05:41,443 --> 01:05:44,818
It takes years of processing
to get to this point.
527
01:05:48,735 --> 01:05:51,860
892 meters. Unbelievable.
528
01:05:52,985 --> 01:05:56,902
We go back 40,000 years
climate history.
529
01:06:02,152 --> 01:06:06,485
For the end of the campaign we play
the southernmost football match.
530
01:06:24,902 --> 01:06:27,068
Work begins in the lab.
531
01:06:28,193 --> 01:06:32,818
For the first time we are approaching
the composition of the famous bubbles...
532
01:06:32,860 --> 01:06:35,235
...where they are
trapped in ice.
533
01:06:36,277 --> 01:06:39,193
Something strange is happening to me
carbon dioxide...
534
01:06:39,277 --> 01:06:41,652
...when we get close
in the Ice Age.
535
01:06:41,735 --> 01:06:46,235
We have to go further back
and i know where
536
01:06:47,318 --> 01:06:49,777
A lightning trip
at the Vostok station in 1974...
537
01:06:49,985 --> 01:06:54,443
...letting me take a look
something I've been thinking about for a long time.
538
01:06:59,152 --> 01:07:02,027
Vostok, the Antarctic legend.
539
01:07:03,527 --> 01:07:06,818
The Earth's South Pole,
the unreachable pole.
540
01:07:07,568 --> 01:07:11,110
A Russian base was established there
in the name of my dental mission...
541
01:07:11,152 --> 01:07:13,610
...during the International Geophysical Year.
542
01:07:14,193 --> 01:07:16,860
The most extreme
of all extremes.
543
01:07:29,277 --> 01:07:34,485
The Russians advanced 1,500 km.
inside the continent...
544
01:07:34,527 --> 01:07:37,610
...to get to the point
of the geomagnetic pole.
545
01:07:38,818 --> 01:07:43,402
It was so cold that I had to
put on fire to liquefy...
546
01:07:43,568 --> 01:07:46,527
...the engine oil and
to fill the tank.
547
01:07:48,277 --> 01:07:52,527
A day in Vostok
the thermometer touched -90.
548
01:08:42,985 --> 01:08:45,860
Vostok station was built
on a huge dome.
549
01:08:45,860 --> 01:08:49,818
Of those with the greatest depth.
Drilling has always been done here.
550
01:08:50,527 --> 01:08:52,902
Another bra-de-fer
Russians and Americans...
551
01:08:53,068 --> 01:08:56,027
...who indulged in the same
game in Antarctica too.
552
01:08:59,193 --> 01:09:02,110
I am 52 years old. Working
at Vostok station...
553
01:09:02,402 --> 01:09:05,652
...gained five years of research.
Time to get it up and running...
554
01:09:05,693 --> 01:09:07,735
...the new drill.
555
01:09:09,027 --> 01:09:11,652
On my travels
I made very good friends...
556
01:09:11,735 --> 01:09:15,235
...so much from their camp
Soviet as well as American.
557
01:09:15,777 --> 01:09:18,110
I don't feel far away
from my house in Vostok.
558
01:09:18,318 --> 01:09:21,943
I have the pleasant feeling that I am
again to the Flesh of my youth.
559
01:09:22,485 --> 01:09:26,443
No water, a sauna each
15 days, durable friendship.
560
01:09:27,027 --> 01:09:29,068
Here we are
between passionate.
561
01:09:30,985 --> 01:09:33,693
Here is an unusual one
ice build-up.
562
01:09:33,943 --> 01:09:36,985
Other the thickness of the ice constituted
just one small hurdle...
563
01:09:37,027 --> 01:09:40,610
...between man's greed
and the resources under the continent.
564
01:09:42,318 --> 01:09:45,360
Fortunately, scientists
they kept the piece of ice...
565
01:09:45,360 --> 01:09:47,402
...to have peace of mind
their consciousness.
566
01:10:02,485 --> 01:10:05,652
Despite the bad political climate
of the cold war...
567
01:10:05,860 --> 01:10:10,360
...in 1984 we organize
an unusual mission.
568
01:10:10,860 --> 01:10:12,902
I will never forget her.
569
01:10:12,985 --> 01:10:17,318
American equipment for the French
researchers at a soviet base...
570
01:10:17,360 --> 01:10:19,110
...in the midst of the Cold War.
571
01:10:19,193 --> 01:10:21,193
At the edge of the world
we prove..
572
01:10:21,193 --> 01:10:23,860
...that in the face of science,
political differences...
573
01:10:23,860 --> 01:10:25,943
...they mean nothing.
574
01:10:33,485 --> 01:10:37,193
I had seen this piece of ice
in a warehouse at -57 degrees...
575
01:10:37,818 --> 01:10:40,735
A continuous cylindrical sample
from a depth of 2000 meters.
576
01:10:41,110 --> 01:10:44,068
The holy grail of
glaciologists. I hadn't forgotten.
577
01:11:08,068 --> 01:11:10,318
The Russian drilling rigs
they are excellent.
578
01:11:10,485 --> 01:11:12,943
They use a file and
lifting mechanism...
579
01:11:13,027 --> 01:11:15,943
...that pass around
from drill bits that stick.
580
01:11:16,277 --> 01:11:19,985
This bypass saves them
from opening a new hole...
581
01:11:20,152 --> 01:11:25,568
...and lose years of work if
a pipe gets stuck in deep ice.
582
01:11:41,985 --> 01:11:44,985
There are two at the station
things I will never forget.
583
01:11:45,027 --> 01:11:47,110
Kerosene and vodka.
584
01:11:48,318 --> 01:11:50,443
The smell of kerosene
it permeates everything.
585
01:11:50,527 --> 01:11:52,735
The rooms, the kitchen,
the clothes.
586
01:11:52,902 --> 01:11:56,652
But it is necessary to
do not freeze the borehole.
587
01:11:56,693 --> 01:11:59,652
And vodka is unique
effective medicine...
588
01:11:59,777 --> 01:12:02,527
...which the Russians found for
the change in altitude...
589
01:12:02,652 --> 01:12:05,110
...who suffers for days
the new ones.
590
01:12:07,735 --> 01:12:10,277
We unite for
to work better.
591
01:12:10,402 --> 01:12:13,193
The Russians have succeeded
a technical feat.
592
01:12:13,402 --> 01:12:16,652
They dig into more
from 2,000 meters deep.
593
01:12:16,943 --> 01:12:22,318
This often requires intense
physical participation.
594
01:13:03,902 --> 01:13:07,402
With my colleagues, Michel,
Volondia and Jean-Robert...
595
01:13:07,443 --> 01:13:09,485
...our everyday life
she is tough.
596
01:13:09,943 --> 01:13:12,777
We cannot transfer
20 tons of ice in France.
597
01:13:12,818 --> 01:13:15,193
We have to sort them out,
to choose...
598
01:13:15,235 --> 01:13:16,943
...and let's pack
the samples.
599
01:13:16,985 --> 01:13:20,068
10 hours of daily work
at -57 degrees.
600
01:13:24,402 --> 01:13:27,610
We get to that first one
mission the 150,000 years.
601
01:13:28,568 --> 01:13:32,818
Others will follow wherever
we will reach ice 400,000 years old.
602
01:13:33,693 --> 01:13:36,402
The journey of the ice is from
an epic in itself.
603
01:13:37,027 --> 01:13:40,318
An ice chain of 15,000 km.
on an American plane...
604
01:13:40,360 --> 01:13:43,693
...then on a Russian ship and
then in a French refrigerated truck...
605
01:13:43,735 --> 01:13:46,152
...to our workshop
in Grenoble.
606
01:13:56,068 --> 01:13:58,735
At this stage of the narrative
I'll make a parenthesis...
607
01:13:58,777 --> 01:14:01,818
...for the history of rotation
of the Earth around the Sun.
608
01:14:02,027 --> 01:14:05,402
Our astronomers have learned that
the changes in this course...
609
01:14:05,568 --> 01:14:08,318
...they were causing the succession
cold and hot phases.
610
01:14:08,610 --> 01:14:12,027
100,000 year cycles: 80,000 years
of the Ice Age...
611
01:14:12,235 --> 01:14:14,777
...and 200,000 years of heat
Interglacial period.
612
01:14:19,985 --> 01:14:23,402
Vostok's sample
is a revolution.
613
01:14:23,735 --> 01:14:27,443
His study will confirm
the theory of full circles.
614
01:14:30,110 --> 01:14:36,027
In 1998, in Vostok,
we reach 3,603 meters deep.
615
01:14:36,443 --> 01:14:38,527
420,000 years.
616
01:14:38,777 --> 01:14:40,860
20 years of efforts.
617
01:14:41,443 --> 01:14:44,027
I will always remember how I felt...
618
01:14:44,068 --> 01:14:47,610
...when I saw the first one go up
petrified atmosphere bubble...
619
01:14:47,735 --> 01:14:49,818
...in our analyses.
620
01:14:51,277 --> 01:14:53,902
What an incredible trip.
For her and for me.
621
01:15:09,360 --> 01:15:12,485
My partners decipher
non-stop, day and night...
622
01:15:12,568 --> 01:15:14,860
...the messages from
the ice of Vostok.
623
01:15:14,943 --> 01:15:19,193
The first results are coming out
and unfortunately I am justified.
624
01:15:21,902 --> 01:15:25,193
The results are recorded
of research throughout my career.
625
01:15:25,693 --> 01:15:29,235
Instincts, mistakes,
good and bad decisions...
626
01:15:29,443 --> 01:15:33,485
...knowledge shared,
huge sacrifices and joys.
627
01:15:34,902 --> 01:15:38,443
I see the climate cycles to
are forming before my eyes.
628
01:15:38,693 --> 01:15:42,235
4 glacial cycles that
are designed in a similar way.
629
01:15:42,277 --> 01:15:45,235
They are our witnesses for
temperature changes...
630
01:15:45,277 --> 01:15:47,943
...the sea level,
the CO2 indicators...
631
01:15:48,068 --> 01:15:50,110
...or methane
in the atmosphere.
632
01:15:51,402 --> 01:15:55,360
I have the irrefutable proof
that the climate...
633
01:15:55,527 --> 01:16:00,277
...and the concentration of gases
of the greenhouse are directly connected.
634
01:16:02,527 --> 01:16:07,318
I read in the charts that
Earth's temperature is changing...
635
01:16:07,527 --> 01:16:12,693
...in a range of 5 points between
in hot and cold seasons.
636
01:16:13,402 --> 01:16:16,943
The level of the oceans
varies by 120 meters...
637
01:16:17,027 --> 01:16:19,943
...depending on whether the water is
trapped in the ice...
638
01:16:20,027 --> 01:16:22,318
...or free in liquid form.
639
01:16:25,610 --> 01:16:28,110
A few years later,
we will return to Dome C.
640
01:16:28,360 --> 01:16:31,527
This time we will get there
800,000 years ago.
641
01:16:31,777 --> 01:16:36,485
8 climate cycles confirm
Vostok results.
642
01:16:47,193 --> 01:16:50,860
Wherever we are,
whatever chart we look at...
643
01:16:51,152 --> 01:16:53,235
...the conclusion
it's always the same.
644
01:16:53,610 --> 01:16:57,902
The broadcasts have been going on for 100 years
Human CO2 are responsible...
645
01:16:58,027 --> 01:17:01,360
...for an unprecedented increase
of the Earth's temperature.
646
01:17:01,735 --> 01:17:07,277
We are changing the planet's climate
with unprecedented speed.
647
01:17:07,902 --> 01:17:09,902
The message is irreversible.
648
01:17:11,068 --> 01:17:14,110
These tasks will bring me
the international acclaim...
649
01:17:14,318 --> 01:17:18,610
...but also deep wounds from those
they dispute out of interest...
650
01:17:18,943 --> 01:17:22,277
...results that my colleagues
make valid.
651
01:17:22,777 --> 01:17:26,777
It doesn't matter. Other researchers,
around the world, they continue...
652
01:17:26,943 --> 01:17:29,693
...they still call me
more accurate...
653
01:17:29,902 --> 01:17:34,902
...what we learned from Vostok
and Vault C, 30 years ago.
654
01:19:21,902 --> 01:19:25,402
How from a sample of ice we can
to determine the temperature...
655
01:19:25,443 --> 01:19:27,527
...10, 20 or even
30,000 years ago?
656
01:19:27,527 --> 01:19:31,068
To put it simply
let's say...
657
01:19:31,235 --> 01:19:33,985
...that Antarctica is one
very good witness...
658
01:19:34,152 --> 01:19:37,152
...if we want to predict
climate change.
659
01:19:37,318 --> 01:19:40,652
The ice sheets offer
a unique opportunity.
660
01:19:40,860 --> 01:19:42,402
It is now certain.
661
01:19:42,527 --> 01:19:45,027
The man flipped a little
the ecological balance.
662
01:19:45,152 --> 01:19:46,860
The planet is overheating...
663
01:19:47,027 --> 01:19:50,152
...due to the increase in dioxide
of carbon in the atmosphere.
664
01:19:50,360 --> 01:19:53,485
In the long run man will
modify the planet's climate.
665
01:19:53,610 --> 01:19:56,943
Many scientists attend
to understand it in depth.
666
01:19:57,152 --> 01:20:00,277
Claude Lorius, you say that to
our century the sea level...
667
01:20:00,402 --> 01:20:03,485
...it can go up
at least 50 cm.
668
01:20:03,527 --> 01:20:05,985
This means that
entire landmasses will be covered.
669
01:20:05,985 --> 01:20:10,277
We were looking for the bubbles
air and along the way we showed this.
670
01:20:10,402 --> 01:20:13,777
It is clear that if we continue
so in a century or two...
671
01:20:13,943 --> 01:20:16,943
...that will happen. But it exists
time to fix it.
672
01:20:17,110 --> 01:20:19,943
The disastrous predictions
about overheating...
673
01:20:20,152 --> 01:20:23,860
...and the ozone hole
maybe it's not what we were told.
674
01:20:24,068 --> 01:20:25,860
Who is she?
your scientific opinion?
675
01:20:25,943 --> 01:20:30,235
You are one of those who
they think short term.
676
01:20:30,402 --> 01:20:35,235
It's growing faster and faster.
It does not grow like this, but like this.
677
01:20:35,402 --> 01:20:39,527
Even if we stabilize them
CO2 emissions into the atmosphere...
678
01:20:39,652 --> 01:20:43,777
...the temperature would continue
to increase.
679
01:20:43,818 --> 01:20:46,652
It is a reality
dangerous to humanity?
680
01:20:46,777 --> 01:20:48,902
It is vitally important.
681
01:20:48,985 --> 01:20:52,110
When is the next one?
Earth's cold cycle?
682
01:20:52,235 --> 01:20:55,610
As you know, people have changed
the rules of the game.
683
01:20:55,860 --> 01:21:01,568
The beautiful structure of the climate
it can be overturned.
684
01:21:01,985 --> 01:21:07,485
Are things worse today?
More disturbing?
685
01:21:07,652 --> 01:21:11,860
I mean they will see these
our children's children.
686
01:21:15,068 --> 01:21:17,902
We welcome the Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom.
687
01:21:18,235 --> 01:21:20,902
The global problem
climate change...
688
01:21:21,568 --> 01:21:23,943
The human ones
activities must...
689
01:21:24,110 --> 01:21:27,777
...to reconcile with
the laws of nature.
690
01:21:28,027 --> 01:21:33,193
1992, 1995, 1997.
Rio, Berlin, Kyoto.
691
01:21:33,360 --> 01:21:35,985
Conferences upon conferences.
692
01:21:36,318 --> 01:21:39,235
We say big words,
conditions are gathering...
693
01:21:39,277 --> 01:21:41,485
...and yet with each one
day goes by...
694
01:21:41,485 --> 01:21:44,485
...the script takes place
literally.
695
01:21:45,235 --> 01:21:50,318
By 2025 we will be 26% to 28%
below 2005 levels.
696
01:21:51,568 --> 01:21:53,152
Bittersweet victory.
697
01:21:53,235 --> 01:21:57,068
What is the value of recognition since
the alarm didn't sound?
698
01:21:58,110 --> 01:22:00,985
Sometimes I feel like
I didn't do anything useful.
699
01:22:01,193 --> 01:22:05,902
I am honored to receive this year
the Blue Planet Award.
700
01:22:13,235 --> 01:22:16,527
It was once a garden,
a land fertile, generous...
701
01:22:16,527 --> 01:22:18,568
...where life flowed naturally
702
01:22:19,318 --> 01:22:22,652
My name is Claude Lorius
and I will always be 23 years old.
703
01:22:24,777 --> 01:22:27,277
I am thinking of the first man
who had the idea...
704
01:22:27,402 --> 01:22:29,943
...to grind two stones
to tame the fire.
705
01:22:29,985 --> 01:22:34,193
I think of the melting ice and
the sinking islands down there.
706
01:22:34,527 --> 01:22:36,777
I think of the time when
it's going too fast...
707
01:22:36,860 --> 01:22:39,902
...for the Earth to adapt
to the changes they impose on it.
708
01:22:39,985 --> 01:22:43,610
I think that the man who
he triumphs he should retreat...
709
01:22:43,652 --> 01:22:45,568
...in front of the whole world.
710
01:22:45,610 --> 01:22:49,402
Not for the Earth and its creatures.
These will survive. For our children.
711
01:22:49,860 --> 01:22:53,485
This is what I think about when I unwrap
again the thread of my life.
712
01:22:55,527 --> 01:22:59,402
I hope that, like us, me
knowledge and solidarity...
713
01:22:59,443 --> 01:23:01,777
...they will weather the storms
of history...
714
01:23:01,860 --> 01:23:04,152
...where our generations will
unload on them.
715
01:23:04,485 --> 01:23:06,235
But I have faith.
716
01:23:06,318 --> 01:23:10,818
The man shows greatness
in the face of difficulties.
717
01:24:27,985 --> 01:24:30,777
My story ends.
718
01:24:32,110 --> 01:24:34,152
All that remains is for us to act.
719
01:24:35,193 --> 01:24:37,485
Now that, like me,
you know...
720
01:24:38,360 --> 01:24:40,443
...what will you do?
721
01:24:41,318 --> 01:24:45,318
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