All language subtitles for Italys Mystery Mountains PBS 720p HDTV EN SUB

female narrator: ITALY.

IT'S A PLACE THAT MEANS
SO MUCH TO SO MANY.

THE ART,

THE CULTURE,

THE BEACHES,

THE MOUNTAINS.

ITALY IS A SKINNY BOOT

THRUST INTO THE BLUE
OF THE SPARKLING MEDITERRANEAN

WITH THE ISLAND OF SICILY

LIKE A BALL
BALANCING AT ITS TOE.

BUT ITALY HASN'T
ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE THIS.

IT IS A TURBULENT LAND
GEOLOGICALLY

AND HAS CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY
OVER TIME.

SINCE THE DAYS
OF LEONARDO DA VINCI,

SCIENTISTS HAVE
STRUGGLED TO LEARN

WHAT MAKES THIS LAND
SO DRAMATIC,

SO UNUSUAL,

SO VIOLENT.

[siren wailing]

THIS IS THE LAND THAT GAVE BIRTH
TO THE SCIENCE OF GEOLOGY

IN THE 17TH CENTURY.

EVER SINCE THEN,

GEOLOGIC DISCOVERIES
MADE IN ITALY

HAVE ROCKED OUR THINKING
ABOUT OUR PLANET.

- [speaks Italian]

narrator: IT'S A SUNNY DAY
IN EARLY SPRING.

- [speaking Italian]

narrator:
AMERICAN GEOMORPHOLOGIST

FRANK PAZZAGLIA IS WORKING
ON THE MUSONE RIVER

IN THE APENNINE MOUNTAINS.

WITH HIM IS AN ITALIAN STUDENT,
SANDRO MARIANI.

- [speaking Italian]

- [speaking Italian]

- SI, SI. PERFECTO.

narrator: THE GRANDSON OF
ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS TO THE U.S.,

FRANK IS INTRIGUED

BY THE COMPLEXITIES
OF ITALIAN GEOLOGY.

HE'S WORKING IN ITALY AS PART

OF AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM
OF EARTH SCIENTISTS,

HOPING TO ADD SOME NEW PAGES

TO ITALY'S FASCINATING,
UNFINISHED GEOLOGIC TALE.

SPECIFICALLY, THEY WOULD LIKE
TO ANSWER A QUESTION

THAT HAS BEEN NAGGING
AT GEOLOGISTS FOR YEARS.

ARE THE APENNINES STILL GROWING,

OR ARE PARTS OF THEM
NO LONGER ACTIVE?

- THERE IS AN OPINION
AMONG MANY GEOSCIENTISTS

THAT THE FRONT
OF THE APENNINES ARE DEAD,

THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER GROWING
TECTONICALLY.

NOW THIS IS NOT SHARED
BY ALL GEOLOGISTS.

SO WE'VE DEFINED
FOR OURSELVES HERE

A VERY AMBITIOUS PROJECT
TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

THE GROWTH AND THE EVOLUTION
OF THE APENNINE MOUNTAINS.

AND IN DOING THIS AND TRYING

TO UNDERSTAND THIS
PARTICULAR MOUNTAIN RANGE,

WE HOPE TO BE ABLE
TO SAY SOMETHING MORE GENERAL

ABOUT HOW MOUNTAINS ARE BUILT
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

AND HOW THE LESSONS
THAT WE LEARNED HERE TIE IN

TO THE GENERAL THEORY
OF PLATE TECTONICS

AND THE CONSTRUCTION
OF GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES.

narrator: THE GROUNDWORK FOR
UNDERSTANDING ITALY'S MOUNTAINS

HAD ALREADY BEEN LAID
CENTURIES AGO

BY SCIENTIFIC PIONEERS.

IT WAS HERE IN THE APENNINES
DURING THE RENAISSANCE

THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
AND LATER, NICOLAUS STENO,

STUDIED FOSSILIZED SEA SHELLS.

THEY REALIZED
THAT THESE WERE THE KEY

TO UNDERSTANDING THE GROWTH
OF THESE MOUNTAINS.

THE WORD "GEOLOGY" ITSELF
WAS INVENTED IN ITALY

IN 1603 BY ULISSE ALDROVANDI.

FOR FRANK PAZZAGLIA
AND HIS PREDECESSORS,

ITALY IS A MOST REWARDING PLACE
TO STUDY MOUNTAINS.

SOME 75% OF THE LAND
IS MOUNTAINOUS.

IN THE NORTH
ARE THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS,

THE ITALIAN ALPS.

HEADING SOUTH, THE APENNINES
FORM THE BACKBONE OF ITALY.

THEY RUN DOWN THE ENTIRE LENGTH
OF THE PENINSULA

AND INTO NORTHERN SICILY.

WHERE THE MOUNTAINS REACH
TO THE COAST,

LIMESTONE CLIFFS RISE STEEPLY
FROM THE SEA.

THE COLORFUL TOWNS
OF CINQUE TERRE

IN NORTHERN ITALY

ARE STACKED AMONG THESE CLIFFS.

THE APENNINES MEET THE SEA AGAIN
IN SOUTHERN ITALY,

MAKING FOR STUNNING SCENERY
ON THE AMALFI COAST.

FROM SICILY TO THE ALPS,

ITALY'S MOUNTAINS
ARE A STEADY PRESENCE,

AND FOR THE MOST PART,

IT'S OBVIOUS TO GEOLOGISTS
THAT THE BULK OF THE MOUNTAINS

ARE ACTIVELY GROWING.

IN FACT, IN SOME PLACES,

AS FRANK PAZZAGLIA
AND HIS COLLEAGUES WELL KNOW,

THEY ARE GROWING
UNUSUALLY QUICKLY.

ONE OF THE FASTEST-RISING
MOUNTAIN RANGES

IS CLOSE TO A CITY
KNOWN ALL AROUND THE WORLD

FOR ITS LEANING TOWER,
WHICH DATES FROM 1173.

PISA IS ALSO A VIBRANT CENTER
OF LEARNING

AND HAS BEEN
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

JUST DOWN THE ROAD
FROM THE LEANING TOWER,

GIANCARLO MOLLI
IS A GEOLOGY PROFESSOR

AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF PISA,

WHERE GALILEO TAUGHT
IN THE 16TH CENTURY.

TODAY GIANCARLO AND HIS STUDENTS
ARE DISCUSSING

THE NEARBY MOUNTAINS
THAT ARE RISING SO QUICKLY.

THEY ARE CALLED
THE ALPI APUANE.

- [speaking Italian]

narrator:
MUCH OF THE GEOLOGIC STORY

OF THE ALPI APUANE
HAS BEEN PIECED TOGETHER

BY ITALIAN GEOLOGISTS
OVER THE YEARS.

- [speaking Italian]

narrator: BUT GIANCARLO
IS DETERMINED

TO FILL IN THE BLANKS.

MYSTERIES REMAIN AS TO HOW FAST
THESE MOUNTAINS HAVE RISEN.

GIANCARLO WANTS TO KNOW
EXACTLY HOW FAST AND WHY.

THESE ARE THE MOUNTAINS
THAT BROUGHT UP FROM THE DEPTHS

A VERY RARE AND EXCEEDINGLY
BEAUTIFUL ROCK.

THAT ROCK IS
THE FAMOUS ITALIAN MARBLE

SHAPED CENTURIES AGO

BY THE SCULPTORS
OF THE RENAISSANCE.

IN FLORENCE,

MARBLE ADORNS THE ORNATE
CAMPANILE AND DUOMO.

IT WAS HERE IN FLORENCE
THAT MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI

BROUGHT TO LIFE
HIS UNFORGETTABLE STATUE

OF THE YOUNG DAVID.

THE DAVID STANDS NEXT
TO UNFINISHED SCULPTURES

KNOWN AS THE PRISONERS.

THEY ARE STILL STRUGGLING
TO COME OUT OF THE ROCK.

MICHELANGELO'S
SUBLIME SCULPTURES

ALSO GUARD THE TOMBS
OF THE POWERFUL MEDICI FAMILY.

HE FOUND THE PURE MARBLE
THAT HE NEEDED FOR HIS WORK

IN THE ALPI APUANE MOUNTAINS
NEAR THE TOWN OF CARRARA.

THE ALPI APUANE ARE SO NAMED

FOR THEIR CRAGGY,
ALPINE-LOOKING PEAKS.

THEIR DAZZLING WHITENESS
CAN EASILY BE MISTAKEN

FOR SNOW FROM A DISTANCE.

BUT THE WHITE IS NOT SNOW.

IT'S MARBLE.

ALL OVER THESE MOUNTAINS
ARE QUARRIES,

WHERE HUGE CHUNKS OF MARBLE
HAVE BEEN EXTRACTED.

THESE QUARRIES REMAIN

THE WORLD'S LARGEST PRODUCER
OF MARBLE.

- [speaking Italian]

narrator: FOR GEOLOGISTS
LIKE GIANCARLO MOLLI,

A QUARRY CAN BE
AN EXCELLENT PLACE

TO STUDY THE INSIDES
OF MOUNTAINS.

THE ROCK LAYERS
HAVE BEEN EXPOSED,

MAKING IT EASIER TO TELL
HOW THEY'VE BEEN LAID DOWN,

SQUASHED, AND FOLDED.

THE HARD MARBLES WERE CREATED
FROM SOFTER LIMESTONE.

IT WAS IN THE LIMESTONE HILLS
OF TUSCANY AROUND FLORENCE

THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
FOUND FOSSILIZED SEASHELLS.

THIS WAS IN THE EARLY 1500s,

RIGHT AT THE TIME MICHELANGELO

WAS LABORING
OVER HIS SCULPTURES.

WHEN LEONARDO FOUND
THE SEASHELLS,

IT WAS NOT UNDERSTOOD HOW
THEY HAD GOTTEN OUT OF THE SEA

AND INTO THE MOUNTAINS.

BUT OVER THE YEARS,

SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED
AN IMPRESSIVE EXPLANATION.

MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,
THERE WAS NO ITALY HERE.

INSTEAD,
THERE WAS A SHALLOW OCEAN

CALLED THE TETHYS.

- THE GEOLOGIC STORY OF ITALY
IS REALLY FASCINATING

BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GO BACK
TO SET THE STAGE.

BEFORE THERE WAS ANYTHING
THAT WE WOULD RECOGNIZE

AS THE APENNINE MOUNTAINS,

THERE WAS THE SEPARATION
OR THE BREAKUP

OF A LARGE SUPERCONTINENT
CALLED PANGAEA.

AND IN THE BREAKUP
OF THIS CONTINENT,

A NEW OCEAN BASIN
WAS CREATED.

WE CALL THIS OCEAN BASIN TETHYS.

narrator:
TINY SEA CREATURES LIVED

IN THE ANCIENT TETHYS OCEAN.

OVER TIME,
AS THEY LIVED AND THEN DIED,

THEIR REMAINS DRIFTED
TO THE OCEAN FLOOR.

THESE DEPOSITS BUILT UP LAYERS
OF SEDIMENT MILES THICK

AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SEA.

EVENTUALLY, THE LAYERS HARDENED
INTO LIMESTONE.

IN THE CASE
OF THE CARRARA MARBLES,

THE LIMESTONE
WAS THEN BURIED DEEPLY

BY TECTONIC FORCES
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.

EXTREME HEAT AND PRESSURE
BAKED IT INTO MARBLE.

- THIS CUT OF MARBLE IS SPECIAL,
A PURE WHITE MARBLE.

THAT IS A--THAT IS THE REASON
WHY IT WAS USED BY THE ROMAN

AND THEN DURING RENAISSANCE,
FOR EXAMPLE BY MICHELANGELO,

UP TO NOW
FOR MONUMENTS

AS WELL AS FOR BUILDING STONE.

AND THE FACT THAT IT IS SO PURE
IS DUE TO THE FACT

THAT THE ORIGINAL SEDIMENT
OF THE ENVIRONMENT WAS SPECIAL.

narrator:
THAT SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT WAS

A WARM, CALM, SHALLOW OCEAN,

SOMETHING LIKE THE CARIBBEAN SEA
OF TODAY.

BUT TO PRODUCE MARBLE
THAT IS SO PURE AND WHITE,

THE ORIGINAL SEA FLOOR

HAD TO BE WELL AWAY
FROM BEACHES AND SAND.

BUT HOW DID ITALY'S LIMESTONES,
FORMED IN THE SEA,

END UP AS RUGGED MOUNTAINS,

RISING FAR ABOVE
SEA LEVEL TODAY?

THIS QUESTION PUZZLED GEOLOGISTS
FOR CENTURIES.

THE PLACE WHERE THE PUZZLE
FINALLY BEGAN TO FIT TOGETHER

WAS IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S
GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES,

THE ALPS.

A PARTICULARLY DRAMATIC PART
OF THIS MAJESTIC RANGE

GUARDS ITALY'S
NORTHERNMOST BORDER.

PIECING TOGETHER THE STORY
OF THE ALPS

WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT

PARTLY BECAUSE
OF THE VERTICAL TERRAIN

AND PARTLY BECAUSE THE ROCKS
OF THE ALPS SEEMED ALL WRONG.

THEY WERE TOPSY-TURVY.

IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 1960s

AND THE ADVENT OF THE THEORY
OF PLATE TECTONICS

THAT THE ALPS BEGAN
TO MAKE SENSE.

ABOUT 80 MILLION YEARS AGO,

GLOBAL TECTONIC FORCES CAUSED

THE CONTINENTS
OF AFRICA AND EUROPE

TO APPROACH EACH OTHER.

IN BETWEEN THEM,
THE SEA FLOOR OF THE TETHYS,

INCLUDING A SPECIAL PIECE
OF CRUST, OR MICROPLATE,

CALLED ADRIA,

DOVE OR SUBDUCTED
BENEATH EUROPE.

AS THIS HAPPENED,

GREAT SLABS OF THE EARTH'S CRUST

AND SEDIMENTS FROM THE SEA FLOOR

WERE PILED UP INTO MOUNTAINS

AT THE EDGE
OF THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT.

IN SOME PLACES,

OLDER ROCKS WERE SHOVED
OVER YOUNGER ONES,

OBSCURING THEIR ORIGINS.

GEOLOGISTS CLIMBING HIGH
IN THE MOUNTAINS

EVEN FOUND A PIECE
OF THE EARTH'S MANTLE,

WHICH IS NORMALLY BURIED

20 MILES BENEATH
THE EARTH'S CRUST.

THE ALPS WERE A GEOLOGICAL MESS,
BUT A BEAUTIFUL ONE.

AND FROM THE UNRAVELING
OF THIS MESS,

GEOLOGISTS ANSWERED THE QUESTION
OF HOW SEASHELL FOSSILS

COULD END UP IN MOUNTAINS.

WHEN THE CONTINENTS COLLIDED,

ANCIENT LIMESTONES
FROM THE TETHYS OCEAN

WERE THRUST HIGH IN THE AIR.

ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC
EXAMPLES OF THIS ACTION

CAN BE SEEN
IN ITALY'S DOLOMITES.

HERE, HUGE LAYERS OF LIMESTONE,

ONCE RESTING FAR BELOW
THE SURFACE OF THE SEA,

ARE NOW STANDING
AT GREAT HEIGHTS

DRAPED IN HIGH
MOUNTAIN GLACIERS.

GLACIERS ALSO CARVED OUT
SPECTACULAR LAKES,

LIKE LAKE COMO
DURING THE ICE AGES.

ARMED WITH THE STORY

OF THE CATACLYSMIC BIRTH
OF THE ALPS,

GEOLOGISTS BEGAN TO EXPLORE
WHETHER THIS FANTASTIC TALE

COULD ALSO EXPLAIN THE BIRTH

OF ITALY'S OTHER
GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGE,

THE APENNINES.

WERE THESE ALSO PUSHED UP
BY COLLIDING PLATES?

THE STORY FIT IN MANY PLACES,

BUT IN SOME, IT DIDN'T.

THE ALPI APUANE RANGE

WAS ONE OF THOSE PLACES
WHERE IT DIDN'T.

GEOLOGISTS COULD SEE
THAT SOMETHING FAR DIFFERENT

MUST HAVE MADE THESE MOUNTAINS.

BUT WHAT WAS IT?

IT WASN'T UNTIL MANY YEARS LATER

THAT THIS MYSTERY
WOULD BE SOLVED.

THERE WAS ANOTHER PLACE IN ITALY

THAT LOOKED VERY STRANGE
TO GEOLOGISTS.

IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CALABRIA
AT THE TOE OF THE BOOT,

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGIST
NANO SEEBER IS EXPLORING

HOW THIS GEOLOGICALLY PERPLEXING
AREA CAME TO BE.

ON THE MAP,
CALABRIA FORMS A LINK

BETWEEN THE APENNINES

AND THE MOUNTAINS
TO THE SOUTH IN SICILY.

BUT THE APENNINES
AND THE MOUNTAINS OF SICILY

ARE MOSTLY COMPOSED OF LIMESTONE
AND OTHER SEDIMENTARY ROCKS.

IN CONTRAST,
CALABRIA'S MOUNTAINS ARE MADE

OF GRANITE AND METAMORPHIC ROCK,

TOTALLY DIFFERENT
FROM LIMESTONE.

OVER THE YEARS,
ITALIAN GEOLOGISTS PUZZLED

OVER THE STRANGE ROCKS
OF CALABRIA,

MUCH AS NANO SEEBER
IS DOING TODAY.

- IN GEOLOGY,
THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.

YOU NEED TO LOOK AT A MOUNTAIN
AND THINK OF WHAT'S IN IT.

AND NOT ONLY THAT,
BUT THINK HOW IT CHANGES

THE SHAPE OF THE ROCKS
INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN.

narrator: IT SOON BECAME
APPARENT TO ITALIAN GEOLOGISTS

THAT THE ODD ROCKS OF CALABRIA
EXTENDED INTO SICILY.

- IT'S CONTROLLED BY THIS FORCE.

narrator: THERE WAS
A PART OF SICILY,

THE NORTHEASTERN CORNER,

THAT WAS VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THE REST OF THE ISLAND.

HERE AT MESSINA,

THE ROCKS ARE MORE LIKE
CALABRIA'S ROCKS

AND NOTHING LIKE THE REST
OF THE APENNINES.

CLOSE BY, THE SICILIAN
COASTAL RESORT OF TAORMINA

IS ALSO BUILT ON ROCKS
LIKE CALABRIA'S.

THE ROCKS OF THE REST OF SICILY

FIT WITH THE APENNINES
ON THE MAINLAND.

WHAT COULD EXPLAIN
THESE DIFFERENCES?

IT TOOK A NEW TWIST
TO THE THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS

FOR GEOLOGISTS TO FIGURE OUT
WHERE THESE ROCKS HAD COME FROM.

AND WITH THAT TWIST

CAME A DRAMATIC
NEW UNDERSTANDING

OF ALL OF ITALY.

IT TURNS OUT THAT THE ROCKS
OF CALABRIA AND NORTHERN SICILY

STRONGLY RESEMBLED
THOSE OF THE ALPS.

AND IN FACT,
AS FRANK PAZZAGLIA LEARNED

FROM HIS ITALIAN COLLEAGUES,

THESE ROCKS HAD ONCE BEEN
PART OF FRANCE.

- ITALY AT ONE TIME WAS ACTUALLY
CONNECTED TO FRANCE.

AND OVER THE PAST SEVERAL
TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS,

IT HAS BEEN SWINGING
TO THE EAST.

narrator: CHUNKS OF ROCK
THAT WOULD BECOME ITALY

ALONG WITH CORSICA AND SARDINIA

SEPARATED FROM FRANCE
ABOUT 30 MILLION YEARS AGO.

ITALY, STILL UNDERWATER,

PLOWED INTO
THE ADRIA MICROPLATE,

WHICH SUBDUCTED BENEATH IT.

IN THE PROCESS,
PIECES OF ADRIA WERE SCRAPED OFF

AND A NEW MOUNTAIN RANGE
BEGAN TO GROW.

THE APENNINES WERE BORN.

INITIALLY THE MOUNTAINS WERE
BELOW SEA LEVEL.

FINALLY, BETWEEN
5 AND 10 MILLION YEARS AGO,

ITALY EMERGED FROM THE SEA.

THE SUBDUCTION PROCESS CAUSED
A GROWING WEDGE OF MATERIAL

THAT RAN DOWN THE WHOLE LENGTH
OF THE ITALIAN PENINSULA.

- SO ITALY LOOKS LIKE A BOOT

POSITIONED TO KICK TO THE WEST,

BUT IN FACT, IT IS MOVING
BACK TOWARDS THE EAST

SWINGING AND CONSUMING
THE ADRIA MICROPLATE

IN ITS WAKE.

narrator: THE SWINGING ITALIAN
BOOT THAT EMERGED FROM THE SEA

SOLVES LEONARDO DA VINCI'S
MYSTERY

ABOUT HOW
THE FOSSILIZED SEASHELLS

GOT INTO THE APENNINES.

BUT THIS FASCINATING TALE

OF THE BIRTH OF ITALY
AND THE APENNINES

WAS NOT YET THE WHOLE STORY.

THERE WERE SOME VERY FAMOUS
MOUNTAINS IN THE SOUTH

THAT DID NOT FIT
THIS PICTURE AT ALL.

OR DID THEY?

IN SOUTHERN ITALY

ABOVE THE FAST-MOVING FOOT
OF THE ITALIAN BOOT

LOOMS THE LEGENDARY
MOUNT VESUVIUS.

MOUNT VESUVIUS
IS THE ONLY ACTIVE VOLCANO

ON MAINLAND EUROPE.

PEOPLE COME TO SEE IT
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

DURING RECORDED HISTORY,

VESUVIUS HAS BEEN KNOWN
TO ERUPT HUNDREDS OF TIMES.

THE MOST FAMOUS ERUPTION

BURIED THE PROSPEROUS
ROMAN TRADING CITY,

POMPEII, IN 79 A.D.

VESUVIUS IS STILL ACTIVE
AND COULD ERUPT AT ANY TIME.

FARTHER SOUTH ON SICILY,
AT THE TOE OF THE BOOT,

IS THE MASSIVE MOUNT ETNA.

LIKE MOUNT VESUVIUS,

ETNA IS A VERY ACTIVE AND
FAMOUSLY DESTRUCTIVE VOLCANO.

FOR YEARS,
GEOLOGISTS COULD NOT EXPLAIN

WHAT THE TWO VOLCANOES
WERE DOING HERE.

BUT AROUND THE TIME
PLATE TECTONICS THEORY

WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE 1960s,

GEOLOGISTS CAME
TO A SURPRISING CONCLUSION

ABOUT MOUNT VESUVIUS
AND MOUNT ETNA.

THEY ARE VOLCANOES
AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

FROM THE APENNINES
OR THE ALPS.

BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY CAUSED
BY THE SAME PROCESS,

SUBDUCTION.

AS THE SUBDUCTING PLATE
SINKS DOWN,

IT SLIDES UNDER THE OTHER
AND HEATS UP.

THIS HEATED MATERIAL
BECOMES MAGMA,

WHICH RISES UP
THROUGH THE TOP PLATE

TO BUILD ACTIVE VOLCANOES.

THE ITALIAN VOLCANOES
FIT THIS PICTURE WELL.

IN FACT, GEOLOGISTS COULD TRACE
A VOLCANIC ARC

THAT FOLLOWS
THE SUBDUCTING PLATE.

STARTING AROUND ROME,

WHERE THERE ARE
SOME DORMANT VOLCANOES,

AND CURVING DOWN PAST STROMBOLI

AND THE VOLCANIC AEOLIAN ISLANDS

AND CONTINUING PAST ETNA
FARTHER SOUTH.

BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING PECULIAR
ABOUT ETNA.

[all speaking Italian]

ON A BRIGHT JUNE MORNING,

NANO SEEBER AND
GRADUATE STUDENT MARGARET REITZ

HAVE COME DOWN FROM CALABRIA

TO GET TO THE BOTTOM
OF THIS PECULIAR FEATURE.

- [speaking Italian]

- YEAH, THERE ARE--
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FAULTS.

ACTUALLY WE'VE GOT A NORTH,
NORTHEAST TREND

FROM THE STRAIT OF MESSINA.

narrator:
ETNA'S ERUPTIONS CONTAIN

A RARELY SEEN MIXTURE
OF LAVA AND ASH.

USUALLY, A VOLCANO PRODUCES
ONE OR THE OTHER.

WHY DOES ETNA PRODUCE BOTH?

NANO AND MEG HAVE
A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING OUT,

BUT THEY MOST GET
THE PERFECT LAVA SAMPLE.

THEY HAVE TO WORK FAST.

THE VOLCANO HAS BEEN
ERUPTING FREQUENTLY,

AND THE SCIENTISTS ARE SEIZING
THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY

TO FIND A SAMPLE
BEFORE IT ERUPTS AGAIN.

THE GOING IS DIFFICULT
AND EVEN DANGEROUS.

LEADING THE WAY IS BORIS BEHNCKE
OF THE I.N.G.V.,

ITALY'S NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF GEOPHYSICS AND VULCANOLOGY.

- A PART OF THIS VENT
ERUPTED ON THE TENTH OF MAY.

narrator: BORIS KNOWS ETNA
AS WELL AS ANYONE ALIVE.

- THE MOUNTAIN IS QUITE
A LARGE VOLCANO

AND ALSO ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE
VOLCANOES ON EARTH.

IT'S CURRENTLY
3,330 METERS TALL.

THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS
THAN 11,000 FEET.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE
VOLCANOES ON EARTH,

MAYBE THE SECOND MOST ACTIVE
AFTER KILAUEA ON HAWAII.

- IT'S ONE
OF THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES

ON THE PLANET.

AND IT'S VERY YOUNG, ACTUALLY.

IT'S ONLY
HALF A MILLION YEARS OLD.

narrator: HOW IT GOT
SO BIG SO FAST

IS PART OF THE RIDDLE OF ETNA.

HOW DID SO MUCH LAVA
ACCUMULATE SO QUICKLY?

- ETNA SITS IN A PLACE
WHERE THERE ARE LOTS OF FAULTS

AND CRACKS RUNNING THROUGH
THE CRUST OF THIS PLANET.

IN THIS VERY AREA,

MANY OF THESE FAULT SYSTEMS
INTERSECT IN THAT PLACE.

SO IT'S A PLACE
OF PARTICULAR INSTABILITY,

AND THUS IT IS MUCH EASIER

FOR THE MAGMA TO COME IN
THAT PLACE.

THERE SEEMS TO BE
NO OTHER VOLCANOES ON EARTH

WHERE WE HAVE A SIMILAR
GEODYNAMIC SITUATION.

- THAT LOOKS GOOD.

BEAUTIFUL.

- NOW WE CAN BREAK
THAT DOWN FURTHER.

- YEAH, YEAH.

narrator: FINALLY THE TEAM
FINDS THE PERFECT SAMPLE.

- YUP.

THERE.
- IT'S HARD ROCK.

narrator: THEY WILL TAKE IT
TO THE LAB FOR ANALYSIS

AND FIND OUT THAT, INDEED,
ETNA'S LAVA IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL.

IT OFTEN COMES
FROM VERY DEEP IN THE EARTH,

WORKING ITS WAY UP
THROUGH CRACKS.

NANO'S TEAM TIME
THEIR EXPEDITION PERFECTLY.

SHORTLY AFTER THEIR CLIMB,
ETNA EXPLODED.

IT'S BECAUSE ETNA IS SO ACTIVE

THAT A HUGE NETWORK
OF SEISMIC STATIONS,

GAS-MONITORING DEVICES,

AND OTHER HIGH-TECH
MONITORING INSTRUMENTS

HAS BEEN SET UP TO WARN
OF IMPENDING ERUPTIONS.

THIS WARNING SYSTEM,

ONE OF THE WORLD'S
MOST ADVANCED,

KEEPS THE MILLION PEOPLE
LIVING CLOSE BY SAFER.

THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE
LIVING HERE BECAUSE,

AS IT TURNS OUT,

THERE ARE MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES
TO LIVING ON A VOLCANO.

- THERE ARE LOTS OF BENEFITS
TO LIFE ON A VOLCANO

BECAUSE WE'VE GOT
VERY FERTILE SOILS

DUE TO THE WEALTH OF MINERALS
IN THE VOLCANIC PRODUCT,

ESPECIALLY IN THE ASH.

AND EVERYTHING
THAT GROWS ON ETNA

IS A LITTLE BIT BIGGER
AND A LITTLE BIT MORE TASTY.

THERE ARE IMPORTANT RESOURCES
LIKE TOURISM.

THEN THE VOLCANO PROVIDES
BUILDING MATERIAL

BECAUSE LAVA IS VERY
RESISTANT ROCK,

MUCH BETTER THAN CONCRETE.

AND FINALLY, ALSO,

THE VOLCANO STORES
INCREDIBLE QUANTITIES OF WATER

BECAUSE IT'S ALL POROUS ROCK,

AND THAT IS CERTAINLY
AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT

IN A PLACE LIKE SICILY

WHERE THERE ARE ELSEWHERE
PROBLEMS WITH DROUGHT.

IF THE SOUTHEAST QUAKE
ERUPTS AGAIN,

IT'LL THROW OUT
A LOT OF OLD MATERIAL.

narrator:
AS THESE SCIENTISTS LEARN MORE

ABOUT MOUNT ETNA AND VOLCANOES,

THEY'RE ALSO GETTING INSIGHTS

INTO AN INTIMATELY RELATED
GEOLOGIC PROCESS

ALSO CAUSED BY PLATE MOVEMENTS
AND SUBDUCTION:

EARTHQUAKES.

PEOPLE HERE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN

THE MASSIVE
MESSINA EARTHQUAKE OF 1908,

WHICH CAUSED
WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION

IN BOTH SICILY AND CALABRIA.

- THERE'S BEEN
TERRIBLE EARTHQUAKES

IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

AND UNDERSTANDING
HOW CALABRIA WORKS TECTONICALLY

IS GONNA HELP TO UNDERSTAND

WHAT KIND OF EARTHQUAKES
WE CAN EXPECT.

narrator: THE PEOPLE OF CALABRIA
AND THE REST OF SOUTHERN ITALY

ARE WELL AWARE
THAT EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES

ARE THE GEOLOGIC SIGNATURES
OF THEIR LAND.

BOTH ARE DRIVEN BY THE CRUSHING
TECTONIC FORCE OF SUBDUCTION.

BUT IS SUBDUCTION AT WORK
FARTHER TO THE NORTH?

IS IT A MAJOR FORCE THERE?

- ENTIRE BLOCKS
OF BUILDINGS COLLAPSED

AS A POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE
STRUCK CENTRAL ITALY

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SAYS

THE QUAKE MEASURED 6.3
ON THE RICHTER SCALE.

narrator: IN 2009,
A LARGE EARTHQUAKE

STRUCK THE CENTRAL
ITALIAN TOWN OF L'AQUILA,

KILLING MORE THAN 300 PEOPLE.

ABOUT 100 MILES AWAY
IN THE REGION OF UMBRIA,

THE 13TH CENTURY BASILICA
OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED

AND FOUR PEOPLE PERISHED

WHEN AN EARTHQUAKE STRUCK
IN 1997.

OBVIOUSLY THE EARTH'S CRUST
IS VERY ACTIVE IN CENTRAL ITALY.

REGIONS LIKE UMBRIA AND TUSCANY

ARE FREQUENTLY JOLTED
BY EARTHQUAKES.

BUT UNLIKE THE SOUTH,
CENTRAL ITALY HAS NO VOLCANOES.

THE LINE OF SUBDUCTION-DRIVEN
VOLCANOES ENDS NORTH OF ROME.

IS A PROCESS
OTHER THAN SUBDUCTION

BUILDING THE MOUNTAINS

AND TRIGGERING THE EARTHQUAKES
IN CENTRAL ITALY?

UNTIL RECENTLY, GEOLOGISTS
THOUGHT THAT SUBDUCTION

WAS LONG DEAD
TO THE NORTH OF ROME.

APPARENTLY, ANOTHER PROCESS,

THE STRETCHING
OF THE EARTH'S CRUST,

HAD TAKEN OVER--

OR SO THEY THOUGHT.

BUT EARTH SCIENTISTS WORKING
IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ITALY

HAVE BEGUN TO WONDER.

ONE OF THEM IS MARK BRANDON,

AN OLD FRIEND AND ADVISOR
OF FRANK PAZZAGLIA.

THEY ARE MEETING
IN THE MEDIEVAL TOWN OF ELCITO,

FROM WHICH THEY CAN SEE
A LONG WAY OFF.

- SO WE'RE LOOKING ALONG
THE ENTIRE ADRIATIC COAST HERE.

- EXACTLY, WE'RE LOOKING OUT
OVER THE TOP OF CINGOLI RIDGE,

AND FROM CINGOLI RIDGE,

THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE
LIMESTONE RIDGE.

narrator: MARK HAS BEEN
TRAVELING AROUND TUSCANY,

WHERE SIGNS OF THE STRETCHING
OF THE EARTH'S CRUST

ARE MUCH IN EVIDENCE
TO GEOLOGISTS.

- WE SEE THE ROCKS
AT THE SURFACE PULLING APART.

AND A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT
IS THAT IF WE GO

INTO VARIOUS PARTS
OF THE LANDSCAPE

LIKE AROUND FLORENCE,

WHAT WE SEE ARE THERE ARE
BIG GRABENS OR STRETCH MARKS

WHERE THE EARTH IS PULLING APART
AT THE SURFACE.

IN FACT, MANY
OF THE EARTHQUAKES WE SEE

ARE DUE TO A LARGE PART
OF THE CRUST AT THE SURFACE

BEING STRETCHED APART.

narrator: THE LOVELY LANDSCAPE
OF TUSCANY NEAR FLORENCE

IS A FAMILIAR ONE,

OFTEN USED AS THE BACKGROUND
IN RENAISSANCE PAINTINGS.

ONLY A CLOSER LOOK BY GEOLOGISTS
REVEALS THE WRENCHING APART

OF THIS GENTLE LANDSCAPE.

- SO, I MEAN, WE THINK
MASSA COULD GO UNDER HERE.

narrator: TRAVELING ONWARD
FROM CENTRAL ITALY

AND HEADING TO THE NORTHWEST,

MARK BRANDON
AND HIS COLLEAGUE DARRYL COWEN

CAN TELL THAT MUCH MORE
THAN STRETCHING

IS OPERATING
TO BUILD ITALY'S MOUNTAINS.

ONE PLACE WHERE THEY'RE
HOPING TO FIND THE MISSING LINK

IS IN MICHELANGELO'S
MARBLE QUARRIES

IN THE ALPI APUANE MOUNTAINS.

WAITING FOR HIS
AMERICAN COLLEAGUES

AT THE STATION IN CARRARA

IS GIANCARLO MOLLI
WITH STUDENT GABRIEL CAZALLI.

- HOW ARE YOU?
- CIAO.

narrator:
GIANCARLO IS TAKING THE GROUP

TO HIS RUGGED,
MOUNTAINOUS FIELD AREA.

GEOLOGISTS HAVE WORKED OUT
THAT THE FAMOUS MARBLES HERE

HAVE RISEN UP VERY QUICKLY
FROM DEEP IN THE EARTH.

AND THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD'VE
RISEN UP SO RAPIDLY

IS IF THE ROCKS AROUND THEM
WERE BEING STRETCHED APART

BY A VERY POWERFUL
AND MYSTERIOUS FORCE.

THAT STRETCHING WOULD HAVE
OPENED A GAP FOR THE ALPI APUANE

TO RISE QUICKLY TO THE SURFACE.

- THE ALPI APUANE EXPOSES
THE DEEPEST METAMORPHIC ROCKS

IN THE APENNINES.

WHAT WE MEAN BY THIS,

THESE ARE ROCKS THAT HAVE BEEN
TAKEN DEEP INTO THE CRUST

AND HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED

BY HIGH TEMPERATURES
AND HIGH PRESSURES

INTO ENTIRELY NEW ROCKS.

AND FOR MANY YEARS NOW,

THERE'S BEEN THE RECOGNITION
THAT THE APUANE AREA

AND THE METAMORPHIC ROCKS
THAT UNDERLIE IT

HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP
TO THE SURFACE

BY THIS OVERALL
STRETCHING PROCESS.

SO IT'S A MANIFESTATION OF THIS
EXTENSION OR STRETCHING PROCESS,

THE DEEPEST OR MOST PRONOUNCED
MANIFESTATION OF THAT.

narrator:
WITH THE FAMOUS MARBLES

OF THE ALPI APUANE
FRESH IN HIS MIND,

MARK IS IMPRESSED

BY WHAT THE STRETCHING
OF THE EARTH'S CRUST CAN DO.

BUT WHAT IS THE FORCE BEHIND
THE RAPID STRETCHING APART

OF TONS OF ROCK
IN THE ALPI APUANE?

AND WHY IS IT
THAT THE EARTH'S CRUST IN ITALY

IS BEING PULLED APART
IN SOME AREAS

WHILE AT THE SAME TIME,

IT'S BEING SQUEEZED UP
IN OTHER AREAS?

FORTUNATELY, MARK HAS STUDIED
MOUNTAIN BELTS AROUND THE WORLD,

AND ONE THEORY HAS EMERGED
THAT MAKES SENSE TO HIM.

IT'S CALLED ROLLBACK.

IN THIS SCENARIO,

THE APENNINES ARE BEING
SQUEEZED UP INTO MOUNTAINS

ABOVE THE DOWN-GOING
SUBDUCTING PLATE.

MEANWHILE, THE SUBDUCTING PLATE
DRAWS BACKWARD

AT THE POINT WHERE
IT CURVES DOWNWARD.

THIS IS CALLED
ROLLBACK OF THE PLATE.

AS IT ROLLS BACK,

THE SUBDUCTING PLATE

SUCKS THE COLLIDING PLATE
TOWARDS IT,

STRETCHING IT APART.

ON TOP OF THAT PLATE,

THE CRUST ALSO
STRETCHES AND DEFORMS,

RISING UP IN SOME PLACES
AND SINKING DOWN IN OTHERS,

CREATING A LANDSCAPE
OF HILLS AND VALLEYS,

AS IN TUSCANY.

BUT ROLLBACK HAS BEEN
HARD TO PROVE,

AND THERE ARE OTHER THEORIES
THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN

THE OBSERVATIONS ON THE SURFACE.

THIS DEBATE IS WHAT HAS BROUGHT
MARK BRANDON TO ITALY.

- ITALY IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PLACE

TO STUDY THIS PROCESS
OF COLLISION OF PLATES

AND OVERALL STRETCHING
AT THE SURFACE.

WE SEE THIS GOING ON
IN DIFFERENT MOUNTAIN BELTS,

SUCH AS THE HIMALAYA,
THE ANDES.

WE ALSO SEE IT GOING ON
IN SUBMARINE SUBDUCTION ZONES,

LIKE THE MARIANA
IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC.

BUT MANY OF THOSE SETTINGS,

EITHER THE PROCESS
HAS BEEN ARRESTED

OR IT'S DIFFICULT
TO STUDY DIRECTLY

BECAUSE THE TOPOGRAPHY
IS TOO HIGH

OR WE CAN'T GET DIRECTLY
TO THOSE AREAS.

narrator:
THE ACCESSIBLE TOPOGRAPHY

OF ITALY'S APENNINES
WITH ITS NETWORK OF GOOD ROADS

OFFERS ONE OF THE BEST HOPES

OF SOLVING THIS IMPORTANT
GEOLOGIC MYSTERY.

GEOLOGISTS GENERALLY AGREE
THAT THE COLLISION OF THE PLATES

FOLLOWED BY THE SUBDUCTION
OF THE ADRIA MICROPLATE

PUSHED UP THE APENNINES
SOME 5 TO 10 MILLION YEARS AGO.

BUT IN ONE PART OF THE APENNINES
AROUND THE CITY OF BOLOGNA,

MANY GEOLOGISTS WERE CLAIMING

THAT THE MOUNTAINS
WERE NOW DEAD;

THEY WERE NO LONGER BEING
PUSHED UP BY SUBDUCTION.

IF THAT WERE TRUE,
THEN THE ROLLBACK THEORY,

WHICH HINGED IN PART

ON SUBDUCTION STILL BEING ACTIVE
IN NORTHERN ITALY,

WAS ALSO DEAD.

- 40,000 OR SOMETHING.

AND RIGHT HERE IT SAYS THAT--

- HEY, HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON?

- WELL, SHE'S GOT THESE REALLY,

REALLY INTERESTING OFFSETS
IN THE TERRACES.

- YOU GUYS ARE WORRYING TOO MUCH
ABOUT THE GEOLOGY.

TODAY'S--TODAY'S THE FEAST
OF SAN GIUSEPPE

AND IT'S VERY--IT'S TRADITIONAL
IN MANY PARTS OF ITALY

TO HAVE BREADS MADE
ON THE FEAST OF SAN GIUSEPPE.

- BELLISSIMA.

- FESTE DEL PAPA.

AND THIS IS A SERPENTONI.

WE STUFFED IT WITH APPLES.

AND THIS IS JUST
A REGULAR BRAID BREAD.

- DID YOU MAKE THAT TOO?

narrator: FRANK AND MARK
HAVE ENLISTED EXPERTS

FROM VARIOUS FIELDS
OF EARTH SCIENCE

TO FIND OUT IF THE APENNINES
ARE STILL ALIVE OR NOT.

- WE'RE DIPPING
TOWARDS THE BASE...

narrator: THIS IS PERHAPS
THE BIGGEST GEOLOGICAL MYSTERY

REMAINING IN ITALY

AND SOLVING IT
WILL NOT BE EASY.

THE SCIENTISTS ARE MEETING
TO STRATEGIZE

AT THE GEOLOGIC OBSERVATORY
OF COLDIOGIOCO,

A TINY VILLAGE
IN THE NORTHERN APENNINES.

A NUMBER OF THE SCIENTISTS
ARE CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS

AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE

TO DETERMINE IF
IT'S LIFTING UP AND DEFORMING.

OTHERS ARE IMAGING
THE DEEP INTERIOR OF THE EARTH.

STILL OTHERS ARE MAPPING
THE BENDS AND TURNS

IN ROCK LAYERS
BROUGHT UP FROM FAR BELOW.

- THAT IS THE PROBLEM
WITH THE...

narrator: ONE MEMBER
OF THE COLLABORATION

IS GEOLOGIST
VINCENZO PICOTTI.

VINCENZO HAS BEEN WORKING
ON THE RENO RIVER

AT A TOWN CALLED MARZABOTTO,
NOT FAR FROM BOLOGNA.

HERE A NOVEL TECHNIQUE
HAS BEEN USED

TO CALCULATE THE AGES
OF THE TERRACES ABOVE THE RIVER.

ON TOP OF THESE TERRACES

ARE ARTIFACTS
OF THE ANCIENT ETRUSCANS

THAT ONCE LIVED HERE.

ON ONE WIDE, FLAT RIVER TERRACE

ARE THE RUINS
OF AN ANCIENT ETRUSCAN TOWN.

SINCE ARCHAEOLOGISTS
KNOW EXACTLY

WHEN THE ETRUSCANS
LIVED ON THIS TERRACE,

VINCENZO CAN USE
THAT DATE TO ESTABLISH

THAT THE RIVER TERRACE
IS AT LEAST THAT OLD.

THIS WILL HELP HIM SEE

IF THE MOUNTAINS
ARE STILL GROWING.

- THIS IS A VILLAGE
OF ETRUSCAN AGE.

AND THOSE WALLS WE CAN SEE NOW

ARE THE FOUNDATIONS
OF THE HOUSES

OF THIS HIGHLY-CIVILIZED PEOPLE.

THE AGE OF THIS VILLAGE

IS MORE OR LESS 2,500 YEARS.

AND SO WE CAN HAVE A MINIMUM AGE

FOR THE RIVER TERRACE.

narrator:
SOIL GEOMORPHOLOGIST MISSY EPPES

IS USING A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE.

SHE IS ESTABLISHING
THE AGES OF RIVER TERRACES

THAT MAY BE HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD

BY LOOKING AT THE SOIL
ON TOP OF THEM.

- SOILS WORK
MUCH LIKE PEOPLE WORK

IN TERMS OF
THE OLDER THEY GET,

THEY HAVE
CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS

THAT ENABLE YOU
TO UNDERSTAND HOW OLD THEY ARE,

JUST LIKE A MOM MIGHT
BE ABLE TO LOOK AT ANY CHILD

AND KNOW THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW,
15 WEEKS OR A YEAR AND A HALF,

OR, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS,

AND YOU USE THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF THAT CHILD

TO SAY HOW OLD IT IS.

WE DO THE SAME THING WITH SOILS.

THE OLDER SOILS GET,
THE REDDER THEY GET,

THE DEEPER THEY GET,
THE MORE CLAY THEY HAVE IN THEM.

WELL, ACTUALLY, I MEAN--

SO THAT I CAN GO UP
TO AN OUTCROP

AND LOOK AT A NICE EXPOSURE
OF A SOIL AND SAY,

"YOU KNOW, THIS MUCH REDDENING,
THIS MUCH CLAY,

"IT MUST BE 10,000 YEARS OLD.

"THIS SOIL IS REALLY THICK.
IT HAS A LOT OF CLAY.

IT MUST BE 100,000 YEARS OLD."

THIS IS WHERE I WAS HAVING
ALL THAT TROUBLE.

IF THIS WERE THE QT-6 DRAFT,
THEN THEY'RE BE A LOT OF OFFSET.

SO IF WE COULD FIND
A SOIL RIGHT THERE,

THEN WE WOULD REALLY KNOW.

ONCE MISSY
AND GRADUATE STUDENT RYAN BEERMA

FIND AGES
FOR THE RIVER TERRACES,

THEY CAN LOOK TO SEE IF THERE
ARE TERRACES OF THE SAME AGE

BUT OF DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS.

IF THEY FIND
THOSE MISMATCHED TERRACES,

IT MEANS THE EARTH'S SURFACE
IS DEFORMING HERE.

OR IN OTHER WORDS, THE APENNINES
ARE STILL ALIVE AND GROWING.

- YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
- OKAY, WOW.

narrator: MEANWHILE,
THE SCIENTISTS HAVE FOUND

YET ANOTHER WAY TO LEARN
FROM THE RIVERS

IF THE MOUNTAINS ARE RISING
OR ARE NOW DEAD.

- ONE VERY CRITICAL DATA SET
THAT WE ARE COLLECTING

IS RELATED TO THE RATE
AT WHICH RIVERS

ARE CARVING THEIR VALLEYS

AND VERTICALLY INCISING
INTO THE APENNINES.

BECAUSE THE RATE THAT RIVERS
INCISE INTO MOUNTAINS

IS RELATED TO THE RATE
THAT THE ROCKS ARE COMING UP.

narrator: THAT IS,
IF THEY ARE COMING UP.

WHILE FRANK IS WORKING ON
UNDERSTANDING VERTICAL MOTIONS,

ELSEWHERE HORIZONTAL MOTIONS
ARE BEING MEASURED.

IN THE TINY INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC
OF SAN MARINO,

SCIENTISTS ARE MEASURING
HOW THE EARTH'S TECTONIC PLATES

ARE MOVING IN NORTHERN ITALY.

- YOU CAN'T BE AFRAID OF HEIGHTS
AND RUN THIS NETWORK.

- NO.

narrator:
HERE GEODESIST RICK BENNETT

AND HIS ITALIAN COLLEAGUES

HAVE INSTALLED ONE
OF THEIR GPS ANTENNAS.

- IN THIS PROJECT,
WE'RE INSTALLING ANTENNAS,

SUCH AS THIS ONE,

IN AS MANY LOCATIONS
AS WE CAN FIND

THROUGHOUT NORTHERN ITALY.

THE IDEA IS THAT
WE'LL BE ABLE TO DETERMINE

THE MOTION OF ALL
OF THESE INSTRUMENTS.

AND FROM THAT INFORMATION
WE'LL BE ABLE TO LEARN

ABOUT HOW THE ITALIAN PENINSULA

IS RESPONDING
TO THE RELATIVE MOTION

BETWEEN THE AFRICA PLATE,
THE EURASIA PLATE,

AND THE ADRIATIC PLATE.

narrator: IN THE COURSE
OF A YEAR OR TWO,

THE GPS ANTENNAS
SHOULD DETECT MOVEMENT,

EVEN A TINY MOVEMENT,

IF THE MOUNTAINS
OF NORTHERN ITALY

ARE STILL GROWING
AND PULLING APART.

IT MAY EVEN BE POSSIBLE TO TELL
IF THE ENTIRE PENINSULA,

THE BOOT,
IS STILL SWINGING BACK,

GETTING READY TO KICK.

- SHALL WE TRY?
- TRY, YEAH, SURE.

- JUST TAKE UP.

narrator: BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS
EASY TO FIND THE BEST SPOT

TO INSTALL THESE ANTENNAS.

FORTUNATELY FOR THIS ONE,

A COLLEAGUE HAS VOLUNTEERED
HIS ROOF.

- SURVEY ANTENNA, SEE?

- IT'S BEEN VERY DIFFICULT
TO FIND GOOD LOCATIONS

TO PUT THESE INSTRUMENTS.

THEY REQUIRE SKY VISIBILITY

SO THAT THEY CAN
ACTUALLY SEE THE SATELLITES.

THEY REQUIRE SOLID BEDROCK
SO THAT WE CAN BE CONFIDENT

THAT THEY'RE FIRMLY ATTACHED
TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

AND THERE ARE NOT MANY PLACES
IN NORTHERN ITALY

WITH THOSE CHARACTERISTICS.

SO WE'VE HAD TO RESORT TO SOME
RATHER UNCONVENTIONAL WAYS

OF ATTACHING THE ANTENNAS
TO THE EARTH.

IN SOME INSTANCES,

WE'VE ACTUALLY PUT THE ANTENNAS
ON ANCIENT CASTLES

THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND
FOR 800 YEARS OR SO

WHICH ARE NOW POSSIBLY PART
OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

narrator:
ALL OF THESE GEOLOGIC STUDIES

GENERATE HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA.

MOST OF IT IS A PILE OF NUMBERS

HIDDEN IN COMPUTERS
AND NEVER SEEN,

EVEN BY THE SCIENTISTS
WORKING ON THEM.

BUT THAT DATA WILL FORM

THE BASIS OF IMPORTANT
NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

AND OCCASIONALLY SOMETHING ELSE:

MUSIC.

[both speaking Italian]

AT COLDIOGIOCO,
SANDRO MONTANARI,

THE DIRECTOR
OF THE GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY,

HAS BUILT A RECORDING STUDIO

WITH THE HELP OF COMPOSER
GABRIELE ROSSETTI.

THE TWO COLLEAGUES
ARE TAKING GEOLOGIC DATA

AND TURNING THEM
INTO NOTES AND MUSIC.

ONE OF THEIR COMPOSITIONS
IS BASED ON DATA

FROM A WORLD-SHATTERING EVENT
DISCOVERED IN SOME ROCKS

NOT FAR FROM COLDIOGIOCO.

HERE A THIN LAYER IN THE ROCKS
GAVE SCIENTISTS THE FIRST CLUE

THAT IT WAS A GIANT METEOR
STRIKING THE EARTH

THAT SPELLED THE END
FOR THE DINOSAURS.

[both speaking Italian]

TODAY SANDRO AND GABRIELE
ARE WORKING ON ANOTHER PIECE

CALLED GOCCE DE TEMPO,
DROPS OF TIME.

- THIS IS OUR PLOTS
OF CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES.

THEY'RE BEING TAKEN
FROM THE FRASASSI GORGE.

AND THE VARIATION
OF THESE VALUES

TELL US HOW THE ENVIRONMENT
WAS CHANGING THROUGH TIME

FOR THE PAST 100,000 YEARS.

narrator: THIS MUSIC REFLECTS
THE CHEMISTRY OF FORMATIONS

IN A SERIES
OF MAGNIFICENT CAVES,

THE FRASASSI CAVES.

THESE CAVES ARE MADE
OF LIMESTONE

WHICH WAS BORN
100 MILLION YEARS AGO

IN THE TETHYS OCEAN.

TINY DROPS OF WATER HAVE
DISSOLVED AWAY THE LIMESTONE

TO SCULPT MORE THAN
100 CAVES AT FRASASSI.

BESIDES BEING A WONDERFUL SOURCE
OF MUSICAL COMPOSITION,

THE FRASASSI CAVES HOLD
IMPORTANT GEOLOGICAL CLUES

ABOUT THE GROWTH
OF THE APENNINES.

SANDRO MARIANI,

WHO'S BEEN WORKING
WITH FRANK PAZZAGLIA

AT THE MUSONE RIVER,

IS AN ACCOMPLISHED
CAVE EXPLORER.

HIS NICKNAME IS SPIDERMAN.

SANDRO IS USING
A LEVELING INSTRUMENT

TO SEE IF THE ROCK LAYERS
IN THE CAVE HAVE BEEN TILTED.

TILTING WOULD MEAN THAT
THE ROCKS WERE BENT

AS THE MOUNTAINS GREW.

AND SURE ENOUGH, SANDRO FINDS
BENT ROCKS IN THE CAVES.

THIS IS EVIDENCE
THAT THE MOUNTAINS

HAVE BEEN SLOWLY GROWING
THROUGH THE EONS.

GOING DEEPER STILL,

SCIENTISTS ARE INTERESTED
IN KNOWING WHAT'S HAPPENING

FAR BELOW THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

TO SEE MANY MILES
DOWN INTO THE EARTH,

SEISMOLOGIST SILVIA PONDRELLI
AND JEFFREY PARK

ARE INSTALLING SEISMIC
INSTRUMENTS IN THE MOUNTAINS.

- I THINK THAT SEISMOLOGY
IS GOING TO BE PIVOTAL

IN DETERMINING
THE BEST EXPLANATION

FOR THE NORTHERN APENNINES

BECAUSE IT'S SEISMOLOGY
THAT ALLOWS US

TO SEE BENEATH THE SURFACE,
BENEATH THE CRUST,

AND INTO THE MANTLE
WHERE THE ACTION IS.

narrator:
THEIR BIGGEST QUESTION IS THIS:

IS THE ADRIA MICROPLATE
STILL SUBDUCTING,

CAUSING THE APENNINES TO GROW?

OR ARE OTHER PROCESSES INVOLVED

IN BUILDING THE APENNINES?

JEFF AND SILVIA WILL USE
WAVES GENERATED BY EARTHQUAKES

TO SEE IF THEY CAN
FIND THE ANSWER

IN THE DEEPEST ROOTS
OF THE MOUNTAINS.

WHILE SILVIA, JEFF,
AND THEIR COLLEAGUES

WORK TO FIND OUT
WHETHER NORTHERN ITALY

IS STILL ALIVE GEOLOGICALLY,

IN THE SOUTH
THERE IS NO DOUBT.

STRIKING EVIDENCE FOR THIS
IS FOUND AT THE ADRIATIC COAST

IN AN AREA CALLED APULIA.

HERE AT THE HEEL
OF THE ITALIAN BOOT,

INSTEAD OF MOUNTAINS,

THERE IS A MOSTLY FLAT
LEVEL COASTLINE.

SEASIDE RESORT TOWNS
LIKE TRANI

LINE THE LONG CURVING BAYS
OF THE COAST

AND LOOK OUT UPON
THE GENTLE WAVES

OF THE ADRIATIC SEA.

DOTTING THE COUNTRYSIDE

ARE ROUND STONE HUTS
CALLED TRULLI.

THERE IS A CONCENTRATION
OF TRULLI

IN THE TOWN OF ALBEROBELLO,

A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.

THESE WHITEWASHED HUTS
ARE BUILT OF LIMESTONE,

WHICH FORMS THE BEDROCK
OF THIS UNUSUAL PART OF ITALY.

LIMESTONE HAS BEEN MORE

THAN THE STUFF
OF BUILDING BLOCKS IN APULIA.

IN THE TOWN OF MATERA,

PEOPLE ONCE ACTUALLY LIVED
INSIDE THE LIMESTONE,

CARVING THEIR DWELLINGS

INTO THE LIMESTONE CLIFFS
RUNNING BELOW THE CITY.

THESE DWELLINGS,
DATING FROM MEDIEVAL TIMES,

ARE KNOWN AS SASSI.

BUT WHY IS APULIA SO DIFFERENT
FROM MOUNTAINOUS CALABRIA?

IT TURNS OUT THAT
IN THE COMPLEX GEOLOGY

OF SOUTHERN ITALY,

APULIA IS YET ANOTHER MICROPLATE

THAT WAS ONCE A PART OF AFRICA.

- ABOUT 10 MILLION YEARS AGO,

CALABRIA AND SARDINIA
WERE TOGETHER,

AND CALABRIA DECIDED
TO GO ALONE,

SO IT TOOK OFF FROM SARDINIA
AND MOVED SOUTHEAST.

AND IN DOING SO,
IT CREATED THE TYRRHENIAN SEA

AND COLLIDED
WITH AN OLD PIECE OF AFRICA

WHICH IS CALLED APULIA.

narrator: ORIGINALLY
APULIA WAS UNDER THE SEA,

A GENTLE SEA FLOOR
MADE OF LIMESTONE.

IT WAS PUSHED UP ABOVE SEA LEVEL

BY ITS COLLISION WITH CALABRIA.

APULIA AND CALABRIA
SIT ON OPPOSITE SIDES

OF THE GREAT SUBDUCTION ZONE
THAT CREATED ITALY

WHERE THE AFRICAN
AND EUROPEAN PLATES COLLIDE.

THE COLLISION ZONE SWEEPS RIGHT
THROUGH THE HEART OF SICILY.

- SEE THERE, ANOTHER VOLCANIC...

narrator: MARK BRANDON
AND HIS COLLEAGUE KARL WEGMANN

HAVE COME DOWN TO SICILY TO SEE
IF THE SUBDUCTION ZONE HERE

CAN TELL THEM SOMETHING
ABOUT SUBDUCTION IN THE NORTH.

THEY ARE GUIDED
BY ONE OF THE LEADERS

OF SICILIAN GEOLOGY,
FABIO LENTINI.

- INTERESTING.
- YOU SEE HERE.

- YEAH.
- OH, LOOK AT THOSE CORALS.

- THESE ARE COLONIAL CORALS.

[speaks Italian]

narrator: THEY START
THEIR RECONNAISSANCE

IN NORTHERN SICILY.

THIS PART OF THE ISLAND
IS DEFINED BY MOUNTAINS.

THEY HUG THE COAST
AND PROTECT ANCIENT CITIES

LIKE CEFALU AND
THE SICILIAN CAPITAL PALERMO,

ONCE THE GREATEST CITY
IN EUROPE.

THE GEOLOGISTS STOP FREQUENTLY
TO STUDY THE LIMESTONE MOUNTAINS

PUSHED UP BY THE POWER
OF SUBDUCTION.

AS MARK AND HIS COLLEAGUES
REACH CENTRAL SICILY,

THE MOUNTAINS THIN OUT,

BECOMING ISOLATED SKY ISLANDS
TOPPED BY TOWNS

LIKE ENNA AND IT'S MEDIEVAL
RIVAL ACROSS THE VALLEY,

CALASCIBETTA.

- I DON'T, UH--
ENNA IS THE PLACE.

narrator:
A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH,

THE LANDSCAPE FLATTENS
SUDDENLY.

THIS IS THE AFRICAN PLATE,

AND HALF OF SICILY
SITS ON THIS PLATE.

THE SOILS AND BEDROCK
OF SOUTHERN SICILY

ARE BEST SEEN ALONG
ITS BREATHTAKING COAST.

THEY COME IN SHADES OF WHITE.

RAGGED LIMESTONE TERRACES MAKE

FOR COZY ALCOVES
AND SECRET HARBORS.

THIS ONE, NORTH OF SYRACUSE,
WAS ONCE A PIRATE HANGOUT.

SALT AND GYPSUM MINES
ARE EVERYWHERE.

THESE MINERALS SPEAK
OF A REMARKABLE TIME

ABOUT 6 MILLION YEARS AGO

WHEN TECTONIC FORCES BLOCKED
THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR.

THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN SEA

WAS CUT OFF FROM THE WATERS
OF THE ATLANTIC,

LEADING TO WHAT
GEOLOGISTS CALLED

THE MESSINIAN SALINITY CRISIS.

- THE WHOLE MEDITERRANEAN
DRIED UP.

IT WAS A BIG DEEP HOLE
WHERE WE NOW HAVE WATER.

AND AS IT DRIED UP,

ALL OF THE SALT AND OTHER
DISSOLVED CONSTITUENTS

CAME OUT AS THICK,
EVAPORITE UNITS.

narrator: THE DEPOSITS PILED UP
ON THE DRIED-OUT SEABED.

LATER, OCEAN WATER FLOODED
BACK IN AGAIN

AND COVERED THEM UP.

NOW AS THE AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN
PLATES CONTINUE TO COLLIDE,

THOSE SEABED DEPOSITS ARE
SLOWLY RISING OUT OF THE SEA.

FARTHER SOUTH,

AT THE SOUTHERNMOST PART
OF SICILY,

STAND THE SPECTACULAR
GREEK TEMPLES

OF AGRIGENTO.

NEAR AGRIGENTO,
THE COASTAL ROCKS CLEARLY SHOW

THE EFFECTS OF THE INCOMING
AFRICAN PLATE.

THERE IS NO DOUBT
THAT THIS PART OF ITALY

IS GEOLOGICALLY ALIVE
AND KICKING.

- YOU CAN SEE THE OCEAN
OUT TO THE SOUTH OF US,

AND FURTHER ON IS AFRICA--
IN FACT, TUNISIA.

AND IN THIS AREA,
WE'RE LOOKING AT

THE VERY BEGINNING
OF THE COLLISION

BETWEEN ITALY AND AFRICA.

AND IN THIS COLLISION ZONE,

THERE ARE A BUNCH OF ROCKS
THAT ARE CRUMPLED UP.

YOU CAN SEE THEM FOLDED
IN THE BACKGROUND OVER HERE.

AND THEY REPRESENT
MARINE SEDIMENTS IN PART

THAT WERE ORIGINALLY
IN THE OCEAN TO THE SOUTH OF US

AND HAVE BEEN SQUISHED

AS ITALY HAS COME COLLIDING
WITH AFRICA.

narrator:
TUNISIA IS CLOSE TO SICILY,

ONLY 60 MILES AWAY.

SO MARK AND KARL HAVE COME DOWN
TO EXPLORE THE COLLISION ZONE

FROM THE AFRICAN SIDE.

TUNISIAN GEOLOGIST SAMI KHOMSI
TAKES THEM ON A TOUR

OF THE MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRYSIDE.

GEOLOGISTS HAVE WORKED OUT THAT
THESE ROCKS IN NORTHERN TUNISIA

ARE ACTUALLY AN EXTENSION
OF THE APENNINES.

THEY WERE CREATED
BY THE SAME SUBDUCTION ZONE

THAT CREATED ITALY.

THE SUBDUCTION ZONE
CURVES DOWN FROM SICILY

TO BUNCH UP THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS
IN TUNISIA.

THE ROCKS HERE ANNOUNCE
THE COLLISION SITUATION

LOUD AND CLEAR.

THEY ARE TIGHTLY FOLDED
AND BROKEN UP IN MANY PLACES.

BUT IN NORTHERN ITALY,
IN FRANK PAZZAGLIA'S FIELD AREA,

THERE ARE NO SUCH OBVIOUS CLUES.

[both speaking Italian]

SO SCIENTISTS ARE PATIENTLY
PLYING THEIR TRADE,

GATHERING DATA.

- BRIAN, IF YOU NEED
A HAND GETTING THAT--THAT...

narrator: FINALLY A BREAKTHROUGH
COMES NEAR BOLOGNA.

- THEY'RE ALL FASTENED
DOWN THERE.

narrator: IT COMES UNEXPECTEDLY
FROM THE DETAILED MAPPING

OF THE RIVER TERRACES
AND THE SOILS ON TOP OF THEM.

THE SCIENTISTS FIND FAULTS

CAUSED BY EARTH MOVEMENTS
BREAKING UP THE TERRACES.

FINDING FRESH, ACTIVE FAULTS
HELPS PROVE THAT THE APENNINES

ARE INDEED STILL
ALIVE AND GROWING.

FRANK'S NAGGING QUESTION
HAS BEEN ANSWERED.

- IT'S DOWNSTREAM,
ACTUALLY STRATIFIED...

- A VERY EXCITING RESULT

THAT'S EMERGING
FROM OUR COLLABORATION

IS THAT IN FACT
THE MOUNTAIN FRONT AT BOLOGNA

IS TECTONICALLY ACTIVE
AND IS CONTINUING TO GROW.

- OH, LOOKIT THERE.

- THE DATA ARE VERY COMPELLING,

AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED
BY THIS CONCLUSION.

narrator: OTHER RESULTS
TAKE A FEW YEARS LONGER.

ROCK SAMPLES
FROM THE ALPI APUANE

REVEAL THAT HERE THE MOUNTAINS
HAVE RISEN UP FROM THE DEPTHS

WITH UNUSUAL RAPIDITY,

ABOUT 1/3 OF AN INCH PER YEAR.

THIS IS VERY FAST GEOLOGICALLY

AND PROBABLY
COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED

IF THE CRUST WERE NOT BEING
PULLED APART SO STRONGLY

IN NORTHERN ITALY.

TO TOP OFF THESE FINDINGS,

GPS STUDIES ALSO SHOW THAT
THE APENNINES ARE INDEED ALIVE

AND MOVING HORIZONTALLY
IN SOME AREAS.

THE DATA INDICATE
THAT IN SOME PARTS OF TUSCANY,

THE EARTH'S SURFACE
IS SPLITTING APART

ABOUT A 1/6 OF AN INCH PER YEAR.

THE DATA ALSO SHOW
THAT THE ITALIAN BOOT

IS STILL SWINGING BACK
AS IF TO KICK.

- EMERGING DOWNSTREAM HERE?

- YEAH, I THINK THAT IT COMES
THROUGH WHERE THIS FAULT RUNS.

narrator: ALL OF THIS EVIDENCE
FITS WELL WITH THE THEORY

THAT ROLLBACK IS OCCURRING
IN ITALY.

THE SEISMIC STUDIES CLEARLY SHOW
THAT THE ADRIA MICROPLATE

HAS SUNK DEEP INTO THE MANTLE.

THIS HAS HAPPENED
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,

BOTH SQUEEZING
THE APENNINES UPWARD

AND PULLING THEM APART.

IT'S A PROCESS THAT BALANCES
TWO OPPOSING FORCES,

AND LIKEWISE,
ITS IMPACT ON PEOPLE

CAN BE SEEN AS BOTH BENEFICIAL
AND HARMFUL.

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES
CAN CAUSE TREMENDOUS DAMAGE,

BUT THEY ALSO MAKE
FOR A BEAUTIFUL BOUNTIFUL LAND.

WITHOUT TECTONICALLY ACTIVE
GROWING MOUNTAINS,

THE GREAT MARBLE OF CARRARA

WOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN
THE LIGHT OF DAY

AND THE ART OF THE RENAISSANCE

MIGHT HAVE TURNED OUT
VERY DIFFERENTLY.

- STREAM THIS POINT OF ROCK
COMES RIGHT OUT HERE...

narrator: MEANWHILE,
FRANK PAZZAGLIA

AND HIS COLLEAGUES

HAVE BEEN ADDING
THEIR OWN BRUSHSTROKES

TO ITALY'S COMPLEX
GEOLOGIC PORTRAIT.

IT'S AN ELEGANT
AND UNUSUAL PORTRAIT,

AND LIKE MICHELANGELO'S
UNFINISHED PRISONERS,

IT'S NOT YET COMPLETE.

[gentle orchestral music
playing]

WORKING ON ITALIAN GEOLOGY
IS A CHALLENGE, CERTAINLY,

BUT DELIGHTFUL,
LIKE SO MUCH ELSE IN ITALY.

- I ALWAYS LAUGH BECAUSE
NO ONE EVER FEELS SORRY FOR YOU

WHEN YOU TELL THEM THAT
YOU HAVE TO GO DO WORK IN ITALY.

- IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE
TO WORK.

IT'S GOT BEAUTIFUL WEATHER,
BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.

- IT'S VERY FERTILE
BECAUSE IT'S ACTIVE.

IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL
BECAUSE IT'S ACTIVE.

THE REASON THAT ITALY
IS WHAT IT IS

IS BECAUSE TECTONICALLY
IT'S AN ACTIVE PLACE.

female announcer:
ITALY'S MYSTERY MOUNTAINS

IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.

TO ORDER, VISIT: