All language subtitles for What.on.Earth.S03E08.1080p.DSCP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
They're watching you.

More than 4,000
Satellites circle the earth.

Every day, they uncover
New mysterious phenomena.

Some defy explanation.

Bam. This sticks out
Like a sore thumb.

What could do that?

Narrator:
Tanks face off against

An unidentified object
In the antarctic snow.

Four vehicles that are
Pointing toward something

That fell out
Of the sky.

L.A.'s largest reservoir
Mysteriously changes color.

L.A. Is in trouble.

They're gonna have
To start pumping water

From somewhere else.

Narrator: and an unseen force
Tears through northern mexico.

Lorenz: if this wasn't just
The quake,

What else could be causing the
Earth to tear apart like this?

Narrator: baffling phenomena,
Mysteries from space,

What on earth are they?

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Narrator:
Six miles from the northern

Syrian village
Of ghassaniyah stands

An oddly shaped
Hill known as tell qarqur.

It looks like
An ordinary hill,

Albeit in the middle of nowhere.

But it is so much more.

It's an absolute gold mine
For archaeologists.

Tell qarqur is one of the most
Important sites in syria.

It's actually not
A natural mountain.

It's built up through time

And human occupation
As the buildings

Are built one on top of another.

The mound contains
The remains

Of 10,000 years
Of human history.

There is nowhere else
In the world like it.

Narrator:
In 2011, a violent uprising

Against the syrian
Government escalates

Into civil war.

Archaeologists on the site
Are forced to evacuate.

Sadly, tell qarqur is no longer
An archaeological site.

Uh, it's a battlefield.

Narrator:
The only way the archaeologists

Can monitor the site
Is by satellite.

When the pull up
The satellite images,

What they see
Is alarming.

What we were looking
At is a series of tanks,

Um, standing guard.

Narrator:
The images give no clue

To who owns the tanks

Or what they're looking for.

Who is actually
Occupying the site?

Could it be assad's forces?

Could it be isis?
We just don't know.

So you have to ask yourself,
What are they doing there?

Narrator: the immediate fear
Of archaeologists

Is that tell
Qarqur is being looted.

One of the great tragedies
Of this civil war

Is that it has provided

An unprecedented
Opportunity for looters.

Narrator: this are is in the
Grip of extremists

Who have turned looting
Into an official business.

They grant permits to looters.

The monies received
From the sale

Of these looted antiquities

Is going straight back
To fund further atrocities

By these extremist groups.

Narrator: the presence of tanks
In the image suggests

Whoever's looting the site

Isn't looking
For a few trinkets.

So if they're looking
For historical artifacts,

And they have tanks,

You've got to think that
What they're looking

For must be pretty important.

Narrator: some believe that
The strange activity

At tell qarqur could be related
To a legend born

In the nearby city
Of ancient antioch.

Tuttle:
Antioch plays a major role
In the development of myths

And legends and power

Throughout much
Of western history.

Narrator: the people in the
Tanks could be searching

For an archaeological
Treasure believed by many

To have changed
The course of history --

The fabled spear of destiny.

The spear of destiny,
Sometimes referred to

As the holy lance,
Was believed to be the spear

That pierced the side of jesus

When he was being
Executed on the cross.

Because it touched
The savior's blood,

It became imbued
With the ability

To grant its possessor
Unlimited power.

Narrator: the spear of destiny
Vanished from sight

Until 1098,
When the city of

Antioch was besieged
By the saracens.

An army of crusaders

Trapped inside
Was near to death.

Krueger: they had been there
For several months.

And they were s--
Starving.

They were thirsty.

And they were really desperate.

Narrator:
On the verge of defeat,
One crusader,

A peasant by the name
Of peter bartholomew

Received a vision
From st. Andrew.

It told him that the spearhead

Of the holly lance
Was buried nearby.

So the crusaders began
To dig around.

And they created
This big hole.

Peter bartholomew
Comes up to the hole,

Reaches his hand in

And pulls out
The holy lance.

Inspired by the spearhead,

Peter bartholomew
Led the crusaders

Out of the city
To break the siege.

Ever since then,
The spear is rumored

To render invincible
Whoever wields it.

Narrator: the spear of destiny
Became one of christianity's

Most sacred
And important holy relics.

But its whereabouts
Are a mystery.

Since the time of the crusades,

Uh, holy relics have been

An essential
Component of christianity.

Fragments of bones of saints,
Whether it's a finger bone

Or a skull or fragments
Of the original cross

Have literally
Criss-crossed europe

And the middle east
For the last 1,000 years.

Objects appear, they disappear,
They move around,

They -- they crop up as --

As far away as persia.

And they move.

Narrator:
Some believe the spear

Could still be hidden somewhere
In the holy land,

Perhaps at a site
Like tell qarqur.

There's been all sorts
Of people looking for it,

Especially among
Military leaders

And political leaders in
The middle east and elsewhere.

Hitler himself became obsessed

With obtaining the spear.

And during the early years
Of world war ii

Actually dispatched
A team of scientists

To try and locate it
In the holy land.

It's not impossible
To think that, uh,

Military and religious fanatics

Might have a special interest
In that place

In the hopes of finding

This legendary weapon
Of invincibility.

Invincible jihadists --

Now, that
Is the stuff of nightmares.

Narrator:
No one knows if the forces

In the image are actually
Looking for the spear.

The only thing that is certain

Is that the syrian conflict
Is putting tell qarqur

And countless other
Archaeological sites at risk.

Altaweel: it's devastating to me
On many levels.

You're seeing the damage
That's occurring.

And you know deep down
That this is affecting

What we're gonna know
About the ancient past.

Narrator:
Satellite surveillance records
A massive underground

Blast in north korea.

The rogue nation claims

It's detonated a hydrogen bomb.

[ foreign ]

If north korea has access
To a hydrogen bomb,

That raises the stakes in
Northeast asia exponentially.

At atom bomb can wipe out
A couple of blocks.

A hydrogen bomb,
We're talking about

Wiping out an entire city.

Narrator: november 3, 2015,

The pleiades
Satellite photographs

Highly suspicious activity
At a remote

Weapons test site
In north korea.

Driscoll:
This is one of the most
Secure locations in north korea.

Could be equivalent
To their area 51.

What happens here
Has ramifications

Not just for east asia,

But for the rest of the world.

Narrator:
On january 6, 2016,

Just weeks after the disturbing
Satellite image was taken,

North korean state
Tv broadcasts

A triumphant statement.

Hansen:
In the initial press releases,

The north koreans claimed
That it was a hydrogen bomb

That they tested.

Narrator: observers in the west
Doubt that north korea

Has the know-how
To make a hydrogen bomb.

Can satellite images

Of the test site help
Establish the truth?

It looks like a big,
Huge mountain

With a whole bunch
Of tunnels going into it.

Narrator: the site, known as
The punggye-ri complex,

Is hidden in the mountains
In the north of the country,

33 miles from
The sea of japan.

North korea claims
To have conducted at least

Three atomic bomb
Explosions here.

The photograph taken
Just prior to the claimed

H-bomb test
Shows evidence

That a new tunnel
Is being built.

Image analyst melissa hanham
Looks for signs

Of weapons of mass destruction.

One of the really
Important things

We track are what
Are called spoil piles.

Here's an example
Right here.

The spoil piles
Are essentially dirt

That's being pulled
Out of the mountain.

And so whenever
We see the dirt pile

Increasing and growing in size,

We know they're
Building a new tunnel.

And we know that they're
Potentially getting ready

For a new location to test.

Narrator:
The scale of the activity
Implies that the new tunnel

Is deeper than previous ones,

Suggesting preparation
For a bigger bomb.

If you're going
To all the trouble

To upgrade a test site,

Why would you be doing that
If you weren't about

To test something new?

Narrator:
If north korea has mastered
The technology required

For a hydrogen bomb,

It represents a quantum leap

In the rogue nation's
Destructive capabilities.

The most powerful
H-bomb explosion

In history took place in 1961,

When the soviets tested
The tsar bomba hydrogen bomb.

It was almost 4,000
Times more powerful

Than the hiroshima
Nuclear blast.

An atomic bomb
Is a kiloton weapon --

Thousands of pounds of tnt.

A hydrogen bomb
Is megaton weapon,

Which is millions of pounds
Of tnt equivalent, much,

Much more devastating.

Narrator: if north korea does
Have h-bomb capability,

The terrifying prospect is that
They might actually use it.

The country has
A reputation

For unpredictable
Demonstrations of power.

And its leader, kim jong-un,

Is as ruthless as he
Is determined to join

The nuclear big league.

I'm very concerned.
I'm concerned for our future.

I'm concerned because
We have an unstable head

Of that north korean government

Who doesn't seem to have
Much of a conscience.

Narrator: if the koreans had
Exploded an h-bomb,

Observers would expect to see
The telltale earth tremors

Caused by its shock waves.

So within minutes of the north
Korean tv announcement,

Analysts check seismic data.

An underground nuclear test
Is like an earthquake.

Seismic data tells
You a lot.

Hansen:
You can locate the center

Within a range
Of a few kilometers

Where the test
Actually took place.

Narrator: figures reveal a large
Disturbance beneath punggye-ri,

Measuring 5.1 on
The richter scale,

Strong enough to be felt
As far away as china.

Moran: seismographs actually
Detected massive tremors

Coming from north korea,

Which is consistent

With the testing
Of nuclear weapons.

Narrator:
Seeking more precise evidence,

Intelligence agencies send
A satellite equipped

With state-of-the-art
Sensor technology

To survey punggye-ri.

We can use what's called
Synthetic aperture radar.

Uh, this radar
Would take advantage

Of very minute
Differences in the terrain.

Uh, and they've used it before

To find the epicenter
Of earthquakes.

You'd expect the testing
Of an h-bomb to leave

Some sort of visible mark

On the surface, even though
It's happening underground.

Narrator: the satellite
Makes its pass.

Analysts cannot see any
Major damage in the pictures.

Moran: you'd think a bomb
Of this power

Would lead to landslides
Or rock falls.

But if we look at images

Just taken 40 minutes
After the alleged test,

We see nothing of the kind.

Narrator: the combined evidence
Suggests the explosion

Was not an h-bomb,

But rather an ordinary nuke
With a small hydrogen booster.

One possible explanation
Is the activity at punggye-ri

Could be an elaborate bluff
To fool western observers.

It's not even about
Nuclear ambition, per se.

It's threat level.

Their need is to create
A credible threat.

If north korea tells
Their state television

To run another image
Of a big hydrogen bomb

Explosion, people in japan
Notice that.

Narrator:
Most observers dismiss

North korea's hydrogen
Bomb claim.

But later inquiries reveal
Worrying new information.

The test at punggye-ri

Was conducted more
Than twice

As deep underground

As original assessments
Indicated,

The right depth
For an h-bomb.

A satellite takes
An alarming picture

Of l.A.'s largest reservoir.

It's completely black.
This is really bizarre.

Narrator: has the water somehow
Been contaminated?

If that's what's happening here,
Then l.A. Is in trouble.

Narrator: july 2015.

The worldview-2 surveillance
Satellite passes

Almost 480 miles above
Southern california.

From orbit, it captures

A startling image
Of l.A.'s largest reservoir.

It's completely black.
This is really bizarre.

It actually looks a little bit

Like it's being filled
With black ink.

Black water's not desirable.

Wonder if something
Bad is going on here.

Narrator: earlier images
Of the reservoir show

That the water
Turned black in 2015.

I mean, here,
You're talking about

3.3 billion gallons of water
Turning from blue to black.

What could do that?

Narrator: satellite analyst
Amanda marchetti

Takes a look at the image.

As an image scientist,

I think this could
Just be related to the angle

At which the satellite
Took the picture.

So you might get a different
Type of reflection bouncing

From the water
Back to the satellite,

Just slight enough to make it
Look visually different.

Narrator: but while a change
In camera angle

could alter the color
Of the water,

The change is not
Usually so drastic.

Typically, if something
Looks different,

It looks slightly different.

But what we're seeing
Is a dramatic difference --

From blue to black.

Narrator: there are all kinds
Of other reasons

Why water could turn black --
None of them good.

The most obvious
Is contamination.

When you see black
On top of water,

One of the questions
That comes to mind

Is whether this is oil.

Was there an oil spill?

If you look at a satellite
Image of an oil spill,

It's jet black.

Uh, so this is
Very similar to that.

Maybe it's oil.

Narrator: it sounds crazy
That oil could

Contaminate a reservoir
Of drinking water

In such a public area.

But l.A.'s unique geology
Poses very real dangers.

Just 18 miles from where
The image was taken,

Black oil bubbles to the surface
Of a dark turgid pool.

Muller-karger: los angeles has
A very famous place

Called the la brea tar pits.

It's an area where oil bubbles
Up to the surface naturally.

They're famous because
A lot of prehistoric animals

Were trapped in them.

And so they're a rich source
Of fossils and bones to study.

Narrator: this tar is actually
Asphalt-rich oil,

Trapped in 15-million-year-old

Rock that stretches for miles

Beneath the city
Of los angeles.

L.A.'s infamous earthquakes
Cause these rocks to crack,

Pushing the asphalt
To the surface,

Raising the disturbing
Possibility

That something similar has
Happened beneath the reservoir.

Mike: did an earthquake cause
Some cracks below the surface

That allowed oil or tar

To flow from those pits

Into this reservoir?

Narrator: it's possible.

But there's an obvious
Flaw in the theory.

Only problem with that is that
if it was an oil spill

That contaminated
3.3 billion gallons

Of l.A.'s drinking water,

Everybody would know about it.
It'd be top news.

It has to be something else.

Narrator: amanda marchetti
Examines previous

Satellite images
Searching for clues

To what might be
Contaminating the reservoir.

She spots something
Running along

The edge of the water
That might provide an answer.

What we're looking
At here is just

A blue california reservoir.

But if you look around
The circumference,

You'll see a large amount
Of algae starting to accumulate.

The later image
Goes pitch black.

That might lend a say

That that algae grew expansively

To cover the full reservoir.

Narrator:
Biologists have observed
Algae transforming water

Color elsewhere.

Rob: in 2002, there was
A giant body

Of water off the coast
Of florida

That turned black.

Satellites tracked a mass
Of black water

Over 60 miles wide
In the gulf of mexico.

The dark stain
Was a perfect storm

Of toxic algae mixing

With brown swamp water
From the everglades

To create a killer combination.

Muller-karger: when the two met,
You end up

With a mass of water
That absorbs

Almost all the light
That falls onto it.

And it looks black.

Satellite images charted
The deadly black water

Spreading along
The florida coast.

It killed millions of fish

And devastated the coral reefs.

If that's what's happening here,
Then were in trouble.

L.A. Is in trouble.

You have harmful algal blooms.

They're gonna have
To start pumping water

From somewhere else.

Narrator: but there's one
Crucial difference

Between l.A.'s black pool

And florida's dark water.

Fortunately, these deadly
Black-water-forming harmful

Algal blooms
Occur in salt water.

And the reservoir is freshwater.

So it's highly unlikely
That this perfect storm

Would be occurring here.

Narrator: it's not algae.

But no less alarming

Is the possibility
That scientists

Could have turned the reservoir
Black in the process

Of conducting
A bizarre experience

With l.A.'s drinking water.

Scientists will use dye
In a body of water

When they want to find out
Which way the water flows

Or how water enters
Into a system.

Narrator: so has black dye been

Added to the sylmar reservoir
Intentionally?

Mike: dyes could be used to
Detect leakage from a reservoir.

But black seems an unlikely
Choice for that purpose.

A red dye would be
Much more visible.

The amount of dye
That you would need to color

An entire lake

That is just an enormous
Amount of chemical

That you would have to dump
Into a public water system.

Narrator: if dye was visible
In the water system,

There would be a public outcry.

Mike: you can imagine if someone
Turns on the kitchen faucet,

And black water comes out.

There would be a call to
The water company immediately.

And in los angeles, there would
Be thousands of calls.

I don't think this is dye
In this water.

Narrator: meteorologists believe
That what's happening

Is a man-made response

To an environmental crisis
That is burning l.A.

Over the last 4
To 5 years in california,

They have experienced
One of the most severe droughts

They've ever had on record.

This is something
That has concerned

The populations of that area.

And one of
The unfortunate things,

Of course, is that
That population is growing.

If we can't make more rain,

We've got to be able
To protect water

That is actually already there.

And so a lot of scientists
Have come up with different ways

To try to protect the water.

Narrator: l.A.'s water authority
Spent $34.5 million

To come up with
A unique solution.

They dumped 96 million
Black plastic balls

Into the reservoir,

Turning it from blue to black.

This is a 4-inch plastic ball

That we're actually using
To protect the water

From the sunlight
To stop evaporation

And protect the water
Quality in the reservoir.

Narrator:
The balls shade the water,

Reducing evaporation
By 90%.

But a reservoir like
We're out here

In the san fernando valley,

This reservoir on a hot
Summer month can evaporate

16 inches of water in 1 month.

This virtually stops that.

So it'll save close
To 300 million gallons

Of water a year.

Narrator: but why are
The balls black?

Adams:
The reason it's black is

Because black helps absorb
The ultraviolet light.

And so it doesn't degrade
In the sunlight

Like normal plastic would.

Rob:
Ninety-six million black balls?

That's a lot of balls.

Narrator: cruising almost
480 miles above the south pole,

A satellite captures
A chilling image

That causes
A global controversy.

Moran:
Four tanks in the antarctic?

There aren't supposed to be
Any tanks down there.

There are all
Kinds of theories

About what this image
Is showing.

Narrator: 2015, a startling
Image of an antarctic snowfield

Makes worldwide news.

Four perfectly rectangular
Shapes all lined up

In the antarctic wilderness.

That's really strange.

It looks as if there are
Four structures or four vehicles

That are pointing
Towards something

That looks suspiciously
Like it fell out of the sky.

So what is this object
That they're pointing towards?

Narrator:
Online speculation into what
Might have crashed in antarctica

Goes into overdrive.

Social medias had
A really fun time

Suggesting that maybe this is
Some kind of a crash,

Maybe of a ufo.

Maybe this is, uh,
An example of first contact.

Narrator: to dismiss rumors
Of a ufo crash site,

Analysts have to identify
What this really is.

To many, the possibility

That these shapes
Could be tanks

Is more frightening
Than any imagined ufo.

Well, it -- it looks like tanks,

Especially the one
On the far right

And the one on the far left

'cause you think
You see turrets.

Four tanks in the antarctic?

There aren't supposed to be
Any tanks down there.

Narrator: tanks are banned
From antarctica

By international treaty.

There's an antarctic treaty

Which states that
All the countries

That send researchers
And scientists to antarctica

Cannot bring military
Equipment with them.

Narrator: some nations
Do still maintain

A strong military presence
In antarctica.

Pavelec: officially, the
Military personnel on antarctica

Are only there to support
The scientific teams

And make sure that
They're taken care of.

Narrator: so if these are
Modern battle tanks,

Something sinister
Must be going on.

Pavelec: if you look closely,

They look like
They could be

Potentially pointing
Towards something.

Moran:
The way they're positioned looks
Almost threatening,

Almost as if they're lined up
To attack something.

Narrator:
The image arouses fears

The satellite has spied
A covert military operation.

Moran: there's plenty worth
Fighting for in antarctica.

The mineral deposits
Could be worth billions.

Carlin: if I told you there
Was 10 trillion gallons

Of oil underneath there,

And it's the next saudi arabia,

Nothing you do is going to stop
Somebody from going in there

And trying to take that.

Narrator: the freezing cold war
To secure polar riches

Has already begun.

In recent years, russia has
Moved thousands of troops

And armored vehicles into
The arctic circle,

Near the north pole.

The nightmare scenario is that
The resurgent former superpower

Could be trying to stake a claim
In antarctica, as well.

If russia is trying
To put troops in antarctica,

There's not gonna be much
Anyone can do to stop them.

No treaty is going
To stand in the way.

It's a piece of paper.
It's ice.

Who cares?
No, it's oil.

Well, now, we -- we invade
The whole middle east for oil.

Narrator: the lack of
Any obvious explanation

For the image fuels
Online speculation

Of cover-ups and ufos.

Could it be possible this thing

Really did crash
From outer space?

Maybe we don't need
Any crazy conspiracy theories.

We've got four vehicle,
Or maybe four structures,

Facing something that looks
Like it fell out of the sky.

So what could that be?

Antarctica is actually
The best hunting ground

In the world for meteorites
That are fallen to the earth.

Cerveny: if you suddenly see a
Black rock sitting on white ice,

The odds are that rock might
Have come from the sky.

So it's easier
To find meteorites

In a place like antarctica.

Narrator: meteorite
Hunters use snowmobiles

Spaced 100 feet apart

To scan the ice
For extraterrestrial rocks.

In the image,

The vehicles are approximately
100 feet from each other.

Cerveny: if that trench is a
Meteorite,

Maybe those are
Four vehicles of scientists

That have come out
To investigate a meteorite.

These objects, however, look as
If they're covered with snow,

As if they've been there
For a long time.

So if it's
A meteorite-hunting party,

They would tend
To move around a lot.

So it's probably
Not that either.

Narrator: it's only when they
Get a wider image

That investigators begin

To realize what they're
Actually looking at.

Cerveny: if we expand out
From this particular area,

What we're gonna find
Is that this image was taken

Right next to the main

U.S. Base in antarctica,
Mcmurdo station.

Narrator: mcmurdo station is
On the southern

Tip of ross island
In west antarctica.

During peak activity,

It's home to over 1,000
Scientists and support staff.

Brunt: mcmurdo's
A really large place.

You can imagine that
When you set up a base

In a really remote area,
You need everything.

You need power,
Water, food, lodging.

Narrator:
Everything in mcmurdo gets flown

In via the base's
Permanent ice runway.

Located more than 4 miles

From the base
On a vast ice sheet,

It just so happens
This location

Is exactly where
The mystery image was taken.

You actually land planes
Out on a frozen ice shelf.

This is probably
Some equipment

That was associated
With that airport.

Narrator:
The tentative answer to the
Mystery poses another question,

Why have these vehicles been
Abandoned to the snow?

Cerveny: in a place like
Mcmurdo, even a fairly minor

Blizzard can dump
A few inches of snow.

And that's gonna be
Enough to cover, uh,

Vehicles so that you would have
To go a few days later

After the storm
And dig them all out.

Narrator:
The story of the tanks

Facing off against
The crashed ufo

Is a stark reminder
Of the dangers

Of taking such images
At face value.

In a place as sensitive
As antarctica,

A simple satellite photograph

Has the power
To shake the world.

A mysterious crack tears

Across the land
In northern mexico.

First thing you might
Think of is an earthquake.

Narrator: but no earthquake
Has been recorded here.

What else could be
Causing the earth

To tear apart like this?

Narrator:
August 16, 2014.

A drone capturing images
In hermosillo, northwest mexico,

Reveals shocking footage
Of a crack in the earth

That seems to have
Appeared overnight.

The earth has literally
Ripped itself apart.

Narrator: sixteen feet wide
And 25 feet deep,

The gaping chasm has devastated
Everything in its path,

Including farmland
And a link road to highway 26,

A vital artery
Which connects hermosillo

To the rest of mexico.

I think the crack
Near hermosillo, mexico,

Is sort of shocking
In its abruptness.

You've got the desert landscape.

And then all of a sudden,
Very crisp clean walls

And a deep fissure into
The earth. It's kind of weird.

A crack of that
Magnitude indicates

That something is moving
In the earth

On a rather large scale.

Narrator: this part of mexico
Is one of the world's

Most seismically active areas.

First thing you might think
Of is an earthquake.

This area of
Northwest mexico is --

Is really earthquake country.

You have the north american
Plate and the pacific plate,

Which are rubbing
Past each other

In what we call
A transform boundary.

Narrator: the tectonic plate
Movement creates cracks

By displacing the earth.

In fact, an earthquake occurred

Nearby just a few days
Before the crack appeared.

There was a magnitude 5.5
Earthquake in baja, california,

Which isn't that far
From hermosillo.

Narrator: shocks in this region
Have caused devastation,

Blocking roads,
Destroying buildings

And leaving hundreds injured

And trapped under rubble.

But the amount of time that
Passed between the earthquake

And the appearance of the crack

Makes it look like
Some other unknown force

Is at work on the land.

Typically,
When cracks are formed

By earthquakes,
They're instantaneous.

As soon as
The earthquake occurs,

The ground ruptures
And breaks open.

After the crack was spotted,
It continued to grow,

Which tells me
That it was something

Going on locally
Under the ground

That was controlling the size,

Shape and evolution
Of this particular feature.

Narrator:
The crack is still growing.

That suggests whatever
Is causing the earth

To split open
Is still happening.

Lorenz: something
Special caused the crack.

If this wasn't just a quake,

What else could be
Causing the earth

To tear apart like this?

Narrator: experts consider
Whether mineral exploitation

Could be having a disastrous
Impact on the landscape.

One possible explanation
For the appearance of a crack

At the surface might be
To do with fracking,

Which is a relatively
Controversial way

Of extracting natural gas.

Narrator: fracking involves
Injecting jets of water

At high pressure into the ground

To force open cracks
Beneath the surface.

But fracking is not
Intended to create

Such huge fissures in the rock.

The whole point of fracking

Is to increase
The permeability of the rock

To have lots and lots

Of little microcracks,
Microfractures.

The last thing you want
Is a big honkin' crack.

Petford: damage of the earth's
Surface

From something
Which is taking place

2 or 3 miles below the earth
Is not impossible,

But is incredibly unlikely.

Narrator: geologists
At the nearby university

Of sonora theorize
That the terrifying crack

Could have been created
By vast quantities of water

Being sucked out of the ground,

Leaving the surface
To crack apart.

One of the first things
Geologists think

Of when they hear about,
Uh, holes or cracks

Opening up, uh, is --
Is groundwater.

In the agricultural industry,

They rely on groundwater to --
To water their plants.

And essentially,
What they do

Is they drill holes
Into the ground.

And they suck
The water out.

Narrator:
In this arid landscape,

Farmers need a vast amount

Of water to irrigate
All their crops.

They extract water from
Below the earth's surface,

Which could inadvertently
Lower the water table

And create cracks
Where the land has dried out.

Could groundwater have dropped
Or been removed?

The place where
That water was collapses.

It leaves some kind of a void.

And that can very
Frequently result in cracks.

Narrator: nasa scientists have
Recently warned that the problem

Might not be confined to mexico.

Widespread
Groundwater losses could create

A wave of similar collapses
All over the world.

You don't need to completely
Remove the groundwater

For the ground to subside.

And in fact, we saw,
At the bottom of the crack,

That there was a stream
Of water flowing.

You only need to remove
Some of the groundwater

For subsidence to occur.

Narrator: if this monstrous
Crack truly

Is caused by
Extreme agriculture,

The disturbance won't
Go away any time soon.

And the crack
Is getting wider.

A remarkable
Satellite photograph

Causes a frenzy
Of online speculation.

It kind of looks
Like a ghost.

That would actually have
To be the ghost of a giant.

Narrator:
An investigation uncovers

A disturbing truth
Behind the hype.

Everybody in that
Village had to leave.

They were forced
Out of their homes.

It was a complete nightmare.

There's something
Strange going on here.

Narrator: bristol, england.

Amateur historian fiona powell

Browses satellite images

Of the nearby filton airfield.

She's searching for signs
Of a long-lost village,

Destroyed in the aftermath
Of world war ii.

After looking at the outlines

Of the buildings
That possibly were there.

And I zoom in.

And I can see a dark,
Shadowy figure.

It looks like a man
With a cap on.

It's, like, what is that?

Narrator:
Curious to see what others
Make of the ghostly figure,

Fiona shares the image
On social media.

Everyone online is talking about
The image that was posted.

Fletcher:
It's picked up by major
International news outlets.

And all of a sudden, we have
This viral ghost story.

Blasina: if you post a photo of
Something you think is a ghost,

And kim kardashian retweets you,

I mean, that's it.

It's over.

Narrator: the viral photograph
Attracts the attention

Of satellite image
Analyst amanda marchetti.

Marchetti:
When I look at this image,

You can't help but notice

That it does look slightly
Like a human form.

Right around here, I can see
What might be a human head.

I can see what might
Be shoulders.

And I can see
What might be legs.

However, I think
It's too tall of a shadow

To actually be a human.

I have to conclude this is most
Likely related to shadowing.

Modern footage of
Filton airfield

Should reveal whatever is
Casting this man-shaped shadow.

The really strange thing is that
When you look on the ground,

There isn't anything
To produce a shadow.

That's really weird.

Fletcher: there's nothing we can
See that looks like it

Could create this dark patch.

So then maybe there's
Something we can't see.

Narrator: image analysts
Consider other ideas

For what could be creating
The phantom image.

This could just be an area
That's just wet

And saturated on the ground

Because when the ground
Gets wet,

It actually absorbs more light
And gets a little darker.

So could this pattern be an area
That's just wet and saturated?

Narrator:
This area of southwest england

Has a history
Of extreme flooding.

Whole communities can be
Cut off by heavy rains.

But there's a problem
With this idea.

Since I'm aware that this area
Is an airfield,

This area is gonna be
Kept very dry.

You don't want airplanes
Landing in a swamp.

Runways always have
Infrastructure for drainage.

So I think we can pretty
Much rule that one out.

Narrator: the image could be
The haunting legacy

Of another sad chapter
In this area's history.

This airfield was the birthplace

Of one of the world's
Largest airliners,

The bristol brabazon.

First call is at filton airport

At bristol for the christening
Of the world's largest aircraft,

The 126-ton brabazon 1.

Narrator:
The bristol brabazon was one of
The first civilian aircraft

Designed to carry passengers
Across the atlantic.

Fletcher: this plane was meant
To be the future of aviation.

It was huge.
It had a wingspan of 230 feet.

And it was gonna totally
Change aviation.

Narrator: the brabazon could
Carry 100 passengers

In unprecedented luxury.

Each had a private room
About the size of a small car.

It was even supposed to contain
A small movie theater,

Although the idea
Was swiftly abandoned.

The giant brabazon was so huge,

That to take off
And land safely,

The runway had to be extended
By over a mile.

But in the way was the small
Country village of charleton.

Robertshaw:
Something has to go.

It's not the airfield.
It's the village.

The village is
Just simply emptied,

Compulsory purchased,
Gone, bulldozed.

And then they
Extend the runway.

Powell: everybody in that
Village had to leave.

They were forced
Out of their homes.

It was a complete nightmare.

Narrator:
Local, oliver dearden, knows

The history of the village well.

Well, I stood here at the heart
Of the old village.

And you can see there
Is nothing here at all now.

It was quite a pretty
Village actually.

It had a nice pub called
The carpenter's arms.

And next to that was
The village shop

And the post office.

It must have been
Devastating, really,

Because they did live
In a village community.

And the whole village
Was destroyed.

And, uh, they were
Moved into what was,

To them,
Was a very strange world.

Narrator:
To make matters worse,

The prototype brabazon flew

Just a handful of times
Before being scrapped.

Robertshaw: it's a white
Elephant. It's a turkey.

And you really would
Have been a very,

Very unhappy person
To see that happen

To your house
And your village.

And there's one farmer,
In particular,

As you could imagine,

That was not
Very happy about it.

Narrator: records indicate that
A farmhouse stood exactly

Where the ghostly figure appears
In the satellite image.

I like the idea that it was
A ghost coming back

To visit its house.

I really -- I think that's
Lovely and kind of romantic.

I mean, if I had a house there,

And it got bulldozed,
I'd be so angry

That I would probably
Haunt this place

For the rest of eternity also.

Narrator: but for image
Analyst marc d'antonio,

The ghostly explanation
Just doesn't stand up.

I'm sorry to say to all those
That are looking

For some type
Of paranormal thing,

This is actually
Just a shadow.

Narrator: d'antonio has tracked
Down a drone image

Taken at the same time
As the ghost image.

D'antonio: this is the photo
That gives it away.

It's an oblique angle
Taken from downrange.

And it shows this is actually
Just a shadow of a tower.

And it shows the actual
Tower itself very clearly.

Sorry.

Narrator: the explanation
Appears conclusive

Except for one thing.

Sounds good until you
Go to the site.

And there is
No communications tower.

I mean, there's nothing there.

That is weird. It really is.

Narrator:
It's only when investigators

Dig into the history
Of the image fiona

Discovered that they realize
What's going on.

When you finally do the analysis
On something like this, you --

You realize that this image

Was taken some
Number of years ago.

Narrator: the photo was
Taken in 2003,

12 years before a group
Of developers bought the site.

After that, the airfield
Was demolished.

Narrator: the radio tower
Was taken down.

But the ghost image
Remained online for fiona

To find in 2013.

Took a little digging.

But I think I figured
Out what's going on.