Original subtitles

Narrator: THEY'RE WATCHING YOU.

MORE THAN 4,000 SATELLITES CIRCLE THE EARTH.

EVERY DAY, THEY UNCOVER NEW, MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA

THAT DEFY EXPLANATION.

[ BEEPING, DISTORTED MUSIC ]

SEEN FROM SPACE,

WEIRD, RADIOACTIVE HOLES AND STRANGE MONOLITHS.

YOU HAVE THESE BIZARRE CONCRETE STRUCTURES

THAT HAVE JUST BEEN ABANDONED.

Narrator: THE ALIEN SYMBOL

AND THE $100 MILLION SEX CULT.

THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF DEBAUCHERY GOING ON

OUT IN THE OREGON DESERT.

Narrator: AND SPIES IN THE SKY

UNLOCK MYSTERIES OF THE MIGHTY MAYANS.

THIS IMAGE IS SO EXCITING.

AND THIS REWRITES HUMAN HISTORY.

Narrator: BAFFLING PHENOMENA.

MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

[ BEEPING ] [ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

**

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ] [ WHIRRING ]

JULY, 2016 --

AS THE WORLDVIEW SATELLITE PASSES HIGH ABOVE CENTRAL ASIA,

IT CAPTURES AN IMAGE

OF THE REMOTE DESERTS OF NORTHEAST KAZAKHSTAN.

Chamberlain: THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A NATURAL LAKE HERE,

AND THEN A STRANGE, DARK, CIRCULAR LAKE AT THE TOP.

IT LOOKS DEEPER AND JUST OUT OF PLACE.

A PERFECTLY-CIRCULAR LAKE RARELY HAPPENS IN NATURE.

Narrator: ANALYSIS OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE

REVEALS A LANDSCAPE OF DESOLATION.

Kays: WHAT'S STRANGE IS, USUALLY WHERE THERE'S WATER, THERE'S LIFE,

BUT THIS LANDSCAPE IS TOTALLY DEVOID OF ANYTHING GREEN.

Narrator: WHEN SATELLITE IMAGE ANALYST BRONWYN AGRIOS

STUDIES HISTORICAL IMAGES OF THE LAKE,

THE MYSTERY DEEPENS.

THE CIRCULAR LAKE ISN'T BEHAVING LIKE ITS NEIGHBOR.

THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN IN THE YEAR 2000.

THIS IMAGE IS FROM JULY, 2017.

AND YOU CAN SEE, IT'S JUST DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT.

THE ADJACENT LAKE HAS GROWN ENORMOUSLY,

WHILE THE ROUND LAKE HAS STAYED EXACTLY THE SAME.

Narrator: AGRIOS' ANALYSIS CONFIRMS THE LAKE CAN'T BE NATURAL.

STRANGER STILL, THIS BIZARRE, UNCHANGING LAKE

ISN'T THE ONLY ONE IN THE AREA.

Schuttler: IT LOOKS LIKE WHATEVER HAPPENED HERE

WAS REPEATED AGAIN AND AGAIN

ACROSS THIS REALLY LARGE LANDSCAPE.

Narrator: WHEN INVESTIGATORS VISIT THE CIRCULAR LAKE TO RUN TESTS,

THEY DISCOVER SOMETHING HORRIFYING.

THE AREA SURROUNDING THE STRANGE LAKE IS HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE.

THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURE OF THIS PLACE SUGGESTS

THERE IS SOME SORT OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITY GOING ON.

Narrator: ANALYSTS RETURN TO THE SATELLITE IMAGE FOR CLUES.

THEY DISCOVER A SERIES OF STRANGE SHAPES

IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

TO THE NORTH OF THE RADIOACTIVE LAKE.

ON THE GROUND, THEY FIND A LARGE NUMBER

OF STRANGE RUINED MONOLITHS.

YOU HAVE THESE BIZARRE CONCRETE STRUCTURES

THAT HAVE JUST BEEN ABANDONED.

Narrator: DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REVEAL

THAT THESE ARE THE SPOOKY REMAINS OF A SECRET BASE

OPERATING DURING THE DARKEST DAYS OF THE COLD WAR.

THE RUSSIANS HAVE A CODE WORD FOR THIS PLACE.

THEY CALL IT THE POLYGON.

KAZAKHSTAN WAS THE SOVIET UNION'S PLAYGROUND

FOR ATOMIC DETONATIONS.

Narrator: TOWARDS THE END OF WORLD WAR II, COMMUNIST LEADER JOSEPH STALIN

IS DESPERATE TO DEVELOP HIS OWN ATOM BOMB.

SO, HE ORDERS HIS DEPUTY,

LAVRENTIY BERIA TO STEP UP THE SOVIET'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM...

AT ANY COST.

Baker: THE SOVIETS WEREN'T INCLINED TO DO THOSE TESTS

ON THEIR OWN TURF.

KAZAKHSTAN WAS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THAT.

Narrator: BERIA SELECTS HIS TEST SITE,

RECORDING THE AREA AS UNINHABITED,

YET 700,000 PEOPLE LIVE HERE AND IN THE SURROUNDING CITIES.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS REVEAL TESTS BEGIN IN AUGUST, 1949.

TERRIFIED LOCALS WITNESS VAST MUSHROOM CLOUDS

RISING INTO THE SKY.

CHILDREN CONVULSE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS.

NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS AT THE POLYGON ARE SWORN TO SECRECY

UNDER THREAT OF IMPRISONMENT OR EVEN DEATH.

THE SOVIETS CONTROLLED EVERYTHING.

THEY CONTROLLED THE ENVIRONMENT. THEY CONTROLLED THE MEDIA.

THE CONTROLLED THE POPULATIONS.

SO, THAT ALLOWED THEM TO CONDUCT AN AMAZING NUMBER OF TESTS

WITHOUT BEING OVERLY CONCERNED.

Narrator: IN 1963, THE SOVIET UNION, THE U.S. AND GREAT BRITAIN

SIGNED THE PARTIAL TEST BAN TREATY

THAT PROHIBITS THE DETONATION

OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

BUT THE RUSSIANS WILL IGNORE IT AND EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLORE

OTHER STRANGE USES FOR ATOMIC ENERGY.

Pepper: THE IDEA WAS TO USE NUCLEAR BOMBS TO CREATE LAKES,

CANALS AND WATERWAYS.

DO YOU WANT TO SIT THERE AND DIG FOR MONTHS,

OR BOOM, WE GOT AN INSTANT LAKE?

Narrator: THE SOVIETS DEBUT THEIR CRAZY CIVIL-ENGINEERING PROJECT

ON JANUARY 15, 1965.

[ MAN COUNTING DOWN IN RUSSIAN ]

[ EXPLOSION ]

A 140-KILOTON BLAST CREATES A CHASM 300 FEET DEEP.

ENGINEERS CARVE A CHANNEL INTO ITS SIDE SO WATER

FLOWS IN FROM THE NEIGHBORING LAKE.

THOUGH THE CIRCULAR LAKE EXCEEDS RADIATION SAFETY LEVELS

BY A FACTOR OF 100,

THE SOVIETS ENCOURAGE SWIMMING IN IT.

Baker: THE SOVIETS, THEY WERE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE HEALTH

AND WELL-BEING OF THE POPULATIONS OF THE COUNTRIES

THAT WERE UNDER THEIR CONTROL.

Narrator: OVER FOUR DECADES,

THE EQUIVALENT OF 20,000 HIROSHIMA BOMBS

ARE DETONATED HERE,

CREATING THE SMALLER CIRCULAR LAKES SPOTTED

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGES.

AMONG THE LOCALS, CANCER RATES SOAR TO TERRIFYING LEVELS,

AS DO THE NUMBER OF STILLBIRTHS.

AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION,

THE KREMLIN VOWS TO DESTROY ALL EVIDENCE

RELATING TO THE POLYGON NUCLEAR RESEARCH FACILITY.

BUT RECENTLY-DISCOVERED DOCUMENTS

REVEAL THE SHOCKING TRUTH.

IT WAS ALL A SICK EXPERIMENT.

O'Dell: THESE PEOPLE WERE UNKNOWINGLY BEING USED

AS LAB RATS BY THE SOVIETS,

EXPOSING THEM TO HUGE AMOUNTS OF RADIATION,

AND THEN JUST COMING IN TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

IT'S HORRIFYING.

Narrator: TODAY, THE LEGACY OF ONE OF THE CRUELEST

GENETIC EXPERIMENTS OF ALL TIME LIVES ON.

EVEN THOUGH THE TESTING STOPPED OVER 20 YEARS AGO,

THEY'RE STILL HAVING HEALTH PROBLEMS TODAY.

DOCTORS CONFIRM 1 IN 20 CHILDREN

BORN HERE SUFFERS SERIOUS GENETIC ABNORMALITIES.

LESS THAN HALF THE POPULATION REACHES THE AGE OF 60.

THE REST OF THE WORLD, FOR THE MOST PART,

HAS NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO THIS

AND REALLY NEVER HELD ANYBODY ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT THEY DID.

Narrator: WHEN THE SOVIET UNION DETONATED THE NUKES

THAT CREATED THE STRANGE LAKES IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

IT DIDN'T JUST SCAR THE LANDSCAPE.

IT WOUNDED A NATION.

AND HALF A CENTURY LATER,

THE PEOPLE HERE ARE STILL LIVING WITH THE HORROR.

IT'S TERRIBLE THAT YOU CAN SEE THE SCARS OF THESE TESTS

ON THE SATELLITE IMAGES,

BUT THE REAL HORRIFYING STORY

IS THAT THESE PEOPLE STILL HAVE TO SUFFER

WITH THE CONSEQUENCES TODAY.

Narrator: COMING UP, HIDDEN FOR 70 YEARS, THE SECRET NAZI LABYRINTH.

Moran: THE EXTENT OF THESE TUNNELS IS THOUGHT TO BE HUGE.

WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'LL FIND WHEN THEY START

TO REALLY POKE AROUND.

Narrator: AND THE STRANGE STORY OF THE SEX CULT

AND THE OREGON DESERT SYMBOL.

ONE DAY, EMPTY, FLAT DESERT.

THE NEXT DAY, BAM, THERE IT IS.

**

Narrator: AUGUST 10, 1990 -- AN IDAHO AIR NATIONAL GUARD PILOT

CARRIES OUT ROUTINE AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE.

FLYING ALONG HIS REGULAR TRAINING RUN

OVER OREGON'S ALVORD DESERT,

HE PHOTOGRAPHS A STRANGE SYMBOL

ETCHED INTO THE PRISTINE DESERT FLOOR.

ONE DAY, EMPTY, FLAT DESERT.

THE NEXT DAY, BAM, THERE IT IS.

IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE A WATERMARK

IMPRINTED ON THE IMAGE ITSELF,

BUT IT'S ACTUALLY CARVED INTO THE SURFACE

OF THE DESERT REGION.

Narrator: SCALE ANALYSIS REVEALS THERE ARE 13 MILES OF ETCHED LINES --

THE OUTER LINES PARALLEL,

THE INTERIOR, HYPNOTICALLY SYMMETRICAL.

THE SHAPE IS ORIENTED TO TRUE NORTH

AND IS VISIBLE, IN ITS ENTIRETY, ONLY FROM THE AIR.

Krueger: IF YOU WERE JUST WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT,

YOU'LL JUST SEE A BUNCH OF SCRATCHES IN THE DIRT.

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND GIGANTIC GEOMETRIC DESIGNS

IN THE DESERTS SOUTH OF HERE,

THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE MOHAVE AND QUECHAN INDIANS.

SOME SHAPES ARE ESTIMATED TO BE 10,000 YEARS OLD.

BUT INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE THE SYMBOL CAPTURED

IN THE OREGON DESERT

IS TOO DIFFERENT IN STYLE

TO HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE SAME PEOPLE.

WHEN THE IMAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION

OF ARCHAEOLOGIST SHEILA HUFFMAN,

SHE RECOGNIZES ITS INTRICATE SHAPE.

THIS WAS A SRI YANTRA,

WHICH IS A HINDU SYMBOL OF POWER AND MEDITATION.

Narrator: THE SRI YANTRA IS AN EXAMPLE

OF WHAT MATHEMATICIANS CALL SACRED GEOMETRY --

SHAPES AND FORMS REPEATED THROUGHOUT NATURE

THAT HAVE BEEN USED IN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

HINDU SCHOLARS BELIEVE THE ANCIENT SYMBOL

IS DESIGNED TO BRING GOOD LUCK.

THE BIGGER IT IS, THE MORE POWERFUL IT IS,

SO THAT MEANS MORE GOOD LUCK.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE TAKE A HINDU SYMBOL

AND PLACE IT IN OREGON, OF ALL PLACES?

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS SCAN THE SURROUNDING AREA FOR CLUES

AS TO WHO PUT IT HERE.

TO THE NORTH, THEY FIND EVIDENCE OF A GHOST TOWN.

HISTORICAL RECORDS REVEAL IT'S THE FRONTIER TOWN OF ANTELOPE.

YET DURING THE EARLY 1980s,

IT GOES BY A VERY DIFFERENT NAME -- RAJNEESH --

AND HAS A VERY DIFFERENT PURPOSE.

THIS WAS A FULL-ON CULT, LED BY THIS SEX GURU, SHREE RAJNEESH,

AND THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF STORIES OF DEBAUCHERY

AND RITUAL SEX

GOING ON OUT IN THE OREGON DESERT.

Narrator: RECORDS SHOW 7,000 DEVOTED FOLLOWERS LIVE IN THE COMMUNE.

REPORTS FROM INSIDE THE CAMP

REVEAL ALMOST 90% HAVE A SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED DISEASE.

INTERVIEWS WITH FORMER FOLLOWERS

REVEAL DISTURBING TRUTHS ABOUT RAJNEESH.

REPORTEDLY ADDICTED TO VALIUM AND NITROUS OXIDE,

RAJNEESH EXPLOITS HIS FOLLOWERS FOR VAST SUMS OF MONEY.

HE SAID THE APOCALYPSE IS COMING.

THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE IT IS TO COME TO THIS SPOT

AND GIVE HIM YOUR BODY AND SOUL AND WEALTH.

AS RIDICULOUS AS THIS SOUNDS, PEOPLE BOUGHT IT.

THEY GAVE UP THEIR JOBS, THEY MOVED HERE

AND DEDICATED TO THEMSELVES TO HIM.

Narrator: HIS FOLLOWERS ARE COLLEGE-EDUCATED AND RICH.

AS A RESULT, THIS SELF-STYLED GURU OF THE RICH AMASSES

A FLEET OF 93 ROLLS-ROYCES

AND A $130 MILLION FORTUNE.

FOR INVESTIGATORS, RAJNEESH'S OBSESSION WITH MONEY

COULD BE A LEAD TO THE ORIGIN

AND PURPOSE OF THE DESERT PATTERN.

HINDU TEXTS REVEAL THE SRI YANTRA IS THE SYMBOL OF LAKSHMI,

THE GODDESS OF WEALTH.

AND THERE ARE THOSE THAT SAY IF YOU STARE AT THIS SYMBOL

FOR 10 MINUTES A DAY,

TREMENDOUS WEALTH WILL COME YOUR WAY.

PERHAPS THERE COULD BE SOME LINK BETWEEN THE CULT

AND THIS SYMBOL IN THE DESERT.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE ACTIVITIES OF RAJNEESH

AND HIS CULT.

WHAT STARTS AS PLAIN WEIRD SOON BECOMES POTENTIALLY TERRIFYING.

IN 1984, WHEN THE RAJNEESHEES ARE REFUSED BUILDING PERMITS

BY THE LOCAL COUNTY COMMISSION,

THEY TURN AGAINST THE AUTHORITIES

AND SET IN MOTION A SINISTER PLAN

THAT WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO THEIR DOWNFALL.

THEY WERE ABLE TO COLLECT SAMPLES OF SALMONELLA

AND SPRAYED THEM OVER SALAD BARS

IN RESTAURANTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION,

AND 751 PEOPLE GOT VERY SERIOUSLY ILL.

IT'S ACTUALLY KNOWN AS THE LARGEST BIO TERROR ATTACK

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

Narrator: MEDICAL INVESTIGATORS TRACED THE SALMONELLA

BACK TO A RAJNEESH LAB,

WHERE THEY DISCOVER PLANS TO MANUFACTURE TYPHOID

AND EXPLOSIVES.

CHARGES WERE BROUGHT AGAINST THE CULT

AND IT WAS EFFECTIVELY DISBANDED.

IS THIS SOME TYPE OF CLUE

THAT THEY'VE MADE A RESURGENCE PERHAPS?

ARE THEY BACK?

Narrator: BUT WHEN INVESTIGATORS DELVE DEEPER

INTO THE BIZARRE BELIEFS OF RAJNEESH AND HIS DEVOTEES,

THEY DISCOVER THE CULT'S TEACHINGS

DON'T FIT WITH THE SYMBOL IN THE DESERT.

Hoffman: THIS IS A HINDU SYMBOL.

THE CULT WAS DIRECTLY OPPOSED TO MANY OF HINDU'S CORE BELIEFS.

Narrator: IT SEEMS THEY MYSTERY WILL REMAIN UNSOLVED,

BUT THEN A LOCAL RESIDENT IS INTERVIEWED IN A NEWS REPORT.

A LOCAL MAN, BILL WITHERSPOON, CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY,

SAYING THAT HE WENT OUT THERE WITH SURVEY MARKERS AND A PLOW

AND CARVED IT HIMSELF OUT IN THE DESERT.

Narrator: WITHERSPOON CLAIMS HE AND FIVE FRIENDS

CARVE THE ENTIRE DESIGN OVER A PERIOD OF NINE DAYS.

BUT WITHERSPOON'S TIME TABLE DOESN'T CORRESPOND

WITH THE TESTIMONY OF THE PILOT

WHO FIRST SPOTS THE SHAPE.

Kourounis: THE NATIONAL GUARD FREQUENTLY FLIES OVER THIS SPOT,

AND THEY NEVER SAW THIS THING WHILE IT WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Narrator: WIND AND RAIN ERODE THE DESERT FLOOR

AND THE STRANGE SYMBOL VANISHES.

Hoffman: IN THIS DAY AND AGE, WE THINK WE KNOW EVERYTHING,

AND NOW WE'VE GOT ANOTHER MYSTERY ON OUR HANDS.

**

Narrator: COMING UP, WHAT TERRIFYING THING IS HIDDEN IN THE NAZI LABYRINTH?

Moran: THERE'S BEEN ONGOING SPECULATION THAT THE NAZIS

WERE DEVELOPING A NUCLEAR BOMB

IN THE FINAL DAYS OF WORLD WAR II.

Narrator: AND A PROPHECY OF DOOM REVEALED FROM THE SKY.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE MAYANS IS

ONE OF ARCHAEOLOGY'S HOLY GRAILS.

**

Narrator: RESEARCHERS ARE TAKING TO THE SKIES OVER BELIZE

IN CENTRAL AMERICA

TO SOLVE ONE OF ARCHAEOLOGY'S GREATEST MYSTERIES,

THEIR PLANES, EQUIPPED WITH LIGHT-DETECTING

AND RANGING TECHNOLOGY, OR LIDAR.

LIDAR TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS US TO PEEL BACK THE FOREST CANOPY,

LIKE LIFTING UP A CARPET, TO SEE WHAT'S HIDDEN UNDERNEATH.

Narrator: THE PLANES FLY OVER THE MAYAN RUINS OF CARACOL.

SINCE ITS DISCOVERY IN 1937,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN STUDYING THIS SITE,

HOPING IT HOLDS CLUES

TO THE MYSTERIOUS DOWNFALL

OF THE MAYAN EMPIRE.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE MAYANS

IS ONE OF ARCHAEOLOGY'S HOLY GRAILS.

WE HAVE LOTS OF THEORIES, BUT NOTHING TOTALLY DEFINITIVE.

Narrator: AT ITS PEAK IN 800 A.D.,

THE MAYAN EMPIRE HAS OVER 15 MILLION PEOPLE

AND COVERS 120,000 SQUARE MILES.

YET, JUST A CENTURY LATER,

THE ONCE MIGHTY CIVILIZATION COLLAPSES.

THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE CITY OF CARACOL

WAS ABANDONED RIGHT AROUND THE SAME TIME

AS THE FALL OF THE ENTIRE MAYAN EMPIRE.

Narrator: THE AERIAL X-RAY IMAGES TAKEN OVER CARACOL STUN OBSERVERS.

THIS IS MEANT TO BE A MODEST SETTLEMENT,

BUT AS PROJECT LEADER ARLEN CHASE REVEALS,

IT IS A MASSIVE CITY,

HIDDEN FOR CENTURIES BENEATH THE JUNGLE CANOPY.

WHAT LIDAR ACTUALLY SHOWED US IS THAT THE OVERALL SCALE

OF THIS SITE IS ENORMOUS,

OVER 55 SQUARE MILES OF SETTLEMENT

THAT FORMS THE URBAN CENTER OF CARACOL.

THIS IMAGE IS SO EXCITING BECAUSE WE NEVER REALLY KNEW

THAT THE ANCIENT MAYAN CITIES WERE THIS DENSE,

OR THAT THEY WERE THIS BIG.

I MEAN, THIS REWRITES HUMAN HISTORY.

Narrator: THE LIDAR DATA REVEALS THAT CARACOL

WAS ONCE THE LARGEST CITY IN THE MAYAN EMPIRE,

HOME TO AN ESTIMATED 180,000 PEOPLE.

PALACES AND TERRACES LINED THE LAND,

ALL FOCUSED AROUND A HUGE, CENTRAL TEMPLE.

STUDYING THE IMAGES IN DETAIL,

HISTORIAN PATRICK HUNT DISCOVERS A POSSIBLE CLUE

TO THE MAYANS' DEMISE.

Hunt: JUST LOOKING AT THE LIDAR IMAGE, YOU CAN SEE,

WITH THESE EXTENDED TERRACES,

THAT THEY'RE PUSHING OUT INTO THE TERRITORIES OF OTHER STATES.

Narrator: THE LIDAR ALSO SUGGESTS THAT THE MAYAN EMPIRE

WAS DENSELY POPULATED.

HUNT SPECULATES THAT THIS LEADS TO COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES

WITHIN NEIGHBORING KINGDOMS AND CITIES.

IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS CLAIMING

THE SAME TERRITORY,

THAT'S GOING TO LEAD TO WAR.

Narrator: DURING EXCAVATIONS, CHASE FINDS AN INSCRIPTION

CONFIRMING THAT WAR WAS WAGED HERE IN THE PERIOD

LEADING UP TO THE CITY'S COLLAPSE.

Hunt: WARS ARE DEFINITELY IMPLICATED IN TERMS OF THE COLLAPSE.

WE HAVE VIOLENCE AT THE END.

Narrator: HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT THE MAYANS

WERE BY FAR THE MOST DOMINANT MILITARY POWER IN THE REGION.

CHASE DOUBTS THAT WAR ALONE CAN ACCOUNT FOR THE DESTRUCTION

OF SUCH A POWERFUL CIVILIZATION.

Hunt: WAR WAS DEFINITELY A FACTOR IN THE MAYAN COLLAPSE,

BUT WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THE COLLAPSE

IS TIED TO BROADER EVENTS.

Narrator: CHASE'S EXCAVATIONS OF THE LIDAR SITE

REVEAL THAT MANY OF THE BUILDINGS IN CARACOL

ARE COVERED IN STUCCO, A PLASTER MADE FROM LIMESTONE.

BUT TO MAKE STUCCO, YOU NEED FURNACES,

AND TO FUEL THE FURNACES,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THE MAYANS

DENUDED THE REGION OF TREES.

Hunt: THE MORE VEGETATION YOU REMOVE, THE DRIER IT'S GOING TO GET

AND THE GROUND WILL GET HARDER AND DRIER.

Narrator: EVIDENCE THAT THE MAYANS ARE AWARE THEIR CIVILIZATION

IS IN PERIL COMES FROM THE LARGEST STRUCTURE

FEATURED IN THE LIDAR DATA...

...THE 140-FOOT-TALL SKY PALACE.

AT THE TEMPLE, CHASE DISCOVERS THE REMAINS OF TWO CHILDREN

ACCOMPANIED BY RITUALISTIC ARTIFACTS,

EVIDENCE HE BELIEVES OF AN URGENT PLEA TO THE MAYAN GODS.

Hunt: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY BELIEVED IS

THAT IF YOU WERE HAVING POSSIBLY PROBLEMS,

YOU MIGHT SACRIFICE A CHILD.

Narrator: STONE INSCRIPTIONS SUGGEST THAT THE MAYANS

CARRY OUT BLOOD OFFERINGS

AND SACRIFICES TO MANY GODS.

IN TIMES OF PERIL, THEY CALL ON ITZAMNA,

THE RULER OF THE HEAVENS.

BLOOD WAS NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SUN

CONTINUED THROUGH THE SKY,

TO BRING IT UP FROM THE UNDERWORLD EACH DAY.

Narrator: CHASE CONSIDERS IF THE TIMING OF THESE SACRIFICES IS SIGNIFICANT.

EVERY 260 YEARS IN CLASSIC MAYAN SOCIETY,

THERE'S THIS BELIEF THAT EVERYTHING COULD END.

Narrator: THE MAYANS BELIEVE THAT THIS 260-YEAR CYCLE

IS DIVIDED INTO 13 PERIODS, EACH MARKED BY A PROPHECY.

AND ACCORDING TO ONE OF THESE PROPHECIES,

THE EMPIRE WILL END IN AN APOCALYPSE.

CHASE CALCULATES THAT THIS CATACLYSM IS PROPHESIED

TO TAKE PLACE BETWEEN 932 AND 952 A.D.,

AROUND THE TIME WHEN CARACOL

AND THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION COLLAPSE.

WHEN IT CYCLED THROUGH TO THAT TIME,

THEY THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT HAPPEN TO THEM,

AND THEY'D DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER

TO MAKE SURE IT DIDN'T.

Hunt: THE MAYA LORDS ARE IN FACT EXACERBATING THE SITUATION.

THE MORE BLOODLETTING THEY DO,

THE MORE THEY DESTABILIZE THEIR OWN CULTURE.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS SPECULATE THAT RAVAGED BY WAR,

STARVED BY DROUGHT, AND FACED WITH REVOLT,

TRADE COLLAPSES AND MAYAN CIVILIZATION CRUMBLES,

AS FORETOLD BY THEIR PROPHECY OF DOOM

AND CONFIRMED, IT SEEMS, BY LIDAR.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS OFTEN LOOK FOR SINGLE CAUSE

WHY CIVILIZATIONS COLLAPSE.

BUT IN THE MAYA CASE,

IT'S PROBABLY A MORE COMPLICATED EXPLANATION,

LIKE A PERFECT STORM.

[ THUNDER BOOMS ]

Narrator: COMING UP, EXPLORING A BIZARRE, BOILING JUNGLE RIVER...

Nelson: IT'S OVER 200 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

IT REALLY IS ASTONISHING.

Narrator: ...AND THE NAZI LABYRINTH.

RESEARCHERS STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT'S DOWN THERE.

IT MAKES ME WONDER, IF THEY WERE DIGGING FOR SOMETHING,

WHAT DID THEY FIND?

**

Narrator: MAY 16, 1945 -- AN ALLIED SPY PLANE FLIES

OVER THE SMALL TOWN OF SANKT GEORGIAN AN DER GUSEN,

DEEP IN NAZI-CONTROLLED AUSTRIA.

THE PILOT PHOTOGRAPHS SOMETHING ODD,

A HUGE, ANGULAR TRENCH AND SURROUNDING EARTHWORKS.

THERE'S THESE LONG LINES, VERY, VERY LARGE CUTOUTS.

IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY'S BEEN DIGGING HERE.

THERE'S THIS VERY STRANGE V-SHAPED TRENCH

IN AMONGST WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LOAD

OF SORT OF FACTORY WORKINGS.

Narrator: THE PHOTO IS CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET

AND REMAINS HIDDEN IN MILITARY ARCHIVES FOR 70 YEARS.

ONCE RELEASED, IT COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF IMAGE ANALYST

MARC D'ANTONIO

WHO COMPARES IT TO A MODERN SATELLITE PHOTO OF THE AREA.

HE'S SHOCKED BY WHAT HE SEES.

THERE SEEMS TO BE NO EVIDENCE OF THIS MASSIVE UNDERTAKING.

SO, THE QUESTION IS, WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

Pepper: THIS TRENCH LOOKS LIKE IT WAS PROFESSIONALLY DUG.

IT MAKES ME WONDER, IF THEY WERE DIGGING FOR SOMETHING,

WHAT DID THEY FIND?

Narrator: D'ANTONIO SEARCHES THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE FOR CLUES

TO EXPLAIN THE TRENCH.

JUST THREE MILES AWAY IS ONE OF THE LARGEST PRISON CAMPS

THAT WAS EVER OPERATED BY THE GERMANS IN WORLD WAR II.

Narrator: AFTER ANNEXING AUSTRIA IN 1938,

THE NAZIS OPENED THE MONSTROUS MAUTHAUSEN GUSEN LABOR CAMP,

ONE OF THE MOST PHYSICALLY BRUTAL CAMPS IN THE NAZI REGIME.

INSIDE THE REICH, THIS CAMP WAS REFERRED TO AS

"THE BONE GRINDER."

Narrator: RECORDS SHOW PRISONERS TOILED FOR 12 HOURS A DAY,

QUARRYING GRANITE FOR THE THIRD REICH'S GRANDIOSE

BUILDING PROJECTS.

IT'S RELENTLESS BACK-BREAKING LABOR.

MOST ARE DEAD WITHIN FOUR MONTHS.

ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING FEATURES OF MAUTHAUSEN

IS THE NOTORIOUS STAIRCASE OF DEATH.

THIS WAS 186 STEPS THAT LED UP TO A GRANITE QUARRY...

...ALONG WHICH THE PRISONERS WERE FORCED

TO CARRY INCREDIBLY HEAVY LOADS

WEIGHING UP TO 50 KILOGRAMS, MORE THAN THEIR OWN BODY WEIGHT.

Narrator: WHEN PRISONERS ARE TOO WEAK TO WORK,

THEY ARE EXECUTED WHERE THEY STAND.

Walters: WHEN THEY STOOD AT THE TOP, FACING THE QUARRY,

THEY WOULD SOMETIMES JUST BE PUSHED IN TO THEIR DEATHS

OR SHOT IN THE BACK OF THEIR HEAD.

IT'S TRULY REVOLTING.

Narrator: THE NAZIS KEEP RECORDS OF THE NUMBER OF SLAVES

USED AT MAUTHAUSEN.

BUT AS INVESTIGATOR MIKE PAVELEC DESCRIBES,

WHEN THE CAMP IS LIBERATED AT THE END OF THE WAR,

THE NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP.

COULD THIS BE A HORRIFIC CLUE TO WHAT'S IN THE TRENCH?

Pavelec: IN 1945,

WHEN THE ALLIES LIBERATE THIS CONCENTRATION CAMP,

THIS WORK CAMP,

THE ROSTER HAD 90,000 NAMES ON IT,

BUT THE ALLIES ONLY LIBERATE 40,000.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER 50,000 PEOPLE

THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE?

COULD THIS MASSIVE TRENCH BE A MASS GRAVE?

WE CERTAINLY KNOW IN OTHER CONCENTRATION CAMPS,

IN NAZI EXTERMINATION CAMPS,

THAT HUGE PITS WERE DUG TO THROW BODIES INTO.

Narrator: GEOLOGIST MARTIN PEPPER SPOTS

SOMETHING THAT THROWS THE MASS-GRAVE THEORY INTO DOUBT.

Pepper: WHEN YOU LOOK REALLY CLOSELY TO THIS IMAGE,

YOU CAN ACTUALLY MAKE OUT

THIS DECREPIT VENTILATION TOWER IN THE TREES.

SO, IT MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT THEY WERE BUILDING UNDERGROUND

THAT REQUIRED SOME SORT OF AIR SOURCE.

Narrator: AT THE END OF THE WAR, ALLIED TROOPS ARE STUNNED

TO DISCOVER HUNDREDS OF VAST UNDERGROUND FACILITIES

THROUGHOUT GERMANY, AUSTRIA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, AND POLAND,

SOME COVERING MORE THAN 500 ACRES.

RECENTLY-DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

HIDDEN DEEP WITHIN FEDERAL ARCHIVES,

REVEAL THIS SITE IS BEING USED BY THE NAZIS

TO DEVELOP ONE OF THEIR MOST DEADLY

AND SOPHISTICATED WEAPONS.

Pavelec: THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

WAS TO MANUFACTURE THE Me 262, THE MESSERSCHMITT 262,

THE GERMANS' FIRST COMBAT JET AIRCRAFT.

Narrator: THE MESSERSCHMITT 262'S TWIN BMW ENGINES

PROVIDE 5,520 POUNDS OF THRUST.

NICKNAMED "THE SWALLOW,"

IT IS CAPABLE OF REACHING SPEEDS OF OVER 500 MILES PER HOUR.

THE Me 262 WAS OVER 100 MILES AN HOUR FASTER THAN EVEN THE P-51,

THE AMERICANS' BEST FIGHTER.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO ALLIED INTELLIGENCE REPORTS,

THIS SUBTERRANEAN FACTORY

IS ONE OF THE LARGEST WEAPONS FACILITIES IN THE THIRD REICH,

WITH THE CAPACITY TO ASSEMBLE 1,200 JET FIGHTERS A MONTH.

INMATES AT THE NEARBY MAUTHAUSEN GUSEN CONCENTRATION CAMP

ARE FORCED TO PROVIDE LABOR.

THE Me 262 JET AIRCRAFT WAS THE HIGHEST-TECHNOLOGY AIRCRAFT

OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

IT WAS ABSOLUTE MADNESS FOR THE GERMANS

TO TRY TO BUILD HIGH TECHNOLOGY

IN THESE ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE CONDITIONS.

BUT BY 1945, THEY'RE LOSING AND THEY KNOW IT,

AND THEY'RE DESPERATE TO TRY TO FIND A WAY TO WIN.

Narrator: DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS SUGGEST THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE WAR,

NAZI ENGINEERS WERE WORKING ON INCREASINGLY AMBITIOUS PROJECTS,

INCLUDING A SONIC CANNON AND A SOLAR DEATH RAY,

AND MAYBE EVEN THE ULTIMATE WEAPON.

THERE'S BEEN ONGOING SPECULATION THAT THE NAZIS WERE CLOSE

TO DEVELOPING A NUCLEAR BOMB

IN THE FINAL DAYS OF WORLD WAR II.

Narrator: BUT AFTER THE WAR,

BEFORE RESEARCHERS CAN FULLY INVESTIGATE

THIS WEIRD NAZI LABYRINTH,

THE AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT FILLS THE TUNNELS

AND CHAMBERS WITH CONCRETE.

Moran: THE EXTENT OF THESE TUNNELS IS THOUGHT TO BE HUGE,

AND ONLY PARTS OF THEM HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED.

SO, WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE THEY'LL FIND

WHEN THEY START TO REALLY POKE AROUND.

**

Narrator: COMING UP, THE LAKE THAT FORETELLS MANKIND'S DOOM...

WHAT'S ALARMING ABOUT THIS IMAGE IS THAT IT APPEARS

TO BE BOILING.

Narrator: ...AND THE ANCIENT SECRET TO SEEING INTO THE FUTURE.

Hunt: THIS IS A TIME IN THE WORLD WHEN THE SUPERNATURAL

IS THE DOMINANT WORLD VIEW.

Narrator: OCTOBER 19, 2007 --

A SATELLITE FLYING OVER A MOUNTAINOUS AREA

OF CENTRAL ARMENIA CAPTURES AN IMAGE

OF A SERIES OF GHOSTLY GEOMETRIC SHAPES,

SEEMINGLY ETCHED INTO THE GROUND.

THERE LOOK TO BE BURIED, OR PARTIALLY BURIED,

BUILDINGS THAT ARE NOW COVERED IN SOME OF A GRASS.

THIS, TO ME, IS A FINGERPRINT OF AN ANCIENT SETTLEMENT.

Narrator: SCALE ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THE REMOTE HILLTOP SITE

COVERS 350,000 SQUARE FEET,

ENOUGH TO HOUSE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE.

THE FATE OF THESE PEOPLE IS A MYSTERY.

IT'S KIND OF HAUNTING.

WHY WOULD YOU ABANDON A PLACE LIKE THIS?

WHAT SECRETS LURK BENEATH THE SURFACE?

Narrator: FOR ARCHAEOLOGIST JEFF ROSE,

THE LOCATION OF THIS ANCIENT SETTLEMENT IS TANTALIZING.

ARMENIA HAS AN INCREDIBLY RICH ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY,

AND IS ONE OF THE OLDEST OCCUPIED REGIONS OF THE WORLD.

Narrator: AS ROSE SCANS THE SATELLITE IMAGES OF THE WIDER AREA,

HE DISCOVERS CLUES THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE ROLE

THE SETTLEMENT'S INHABITANTS

PLAY IN THIS COUNTRY'S LONG HISTORY.

ONE POTENTIAL CLUE FOR UNLOCKING THIS MYSTERY

IS THE FACT THAT THERE ARE MONASTERIES ON HILLTOPS NEARBY

FROM THE FIRST CENTURIES OF CHRISTIANITY.

Narrator: THE APOSTLE JUDE IS REPUTED TO HAVE BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY

TO ARMENIA IN THE FIRST CENTURY A.D.

SOME HISTORIANS SPECULATE THAT JUDE

IS ONE OF THE FOUR BROTHERS OF JESUS,

AS DESCRIBED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPELS OF MARK

AND MATTHEW.

Krueger: IT POSES THE QUESTION OF,

WHAT EXACTLY COULD BE FOUND AT THIS SITE?

COULD THERE BE IMPORTANT RELICS, ARTIFACTS,

THAT WOULD BE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE

IN THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY?

Narrator: YET WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS DATE THE SITE,

THEY DISCOVER A PROBLEM WITH THE IDEA

THE REMOTE HILLTOP SETTLEMENT IS EARLY CHRISTIAN.

Horton: IT ACTUALLY BELONGS TO THE LATE BRONZE AGE,

WHICH IS AROUND 1500 B.C. TO AROUND 1200 B.C.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATE THE SITE.

THEY UNCOVER THREE CHAMBERS,

WHICH THEY BELIEVE ARE BRONZE-AGE SHRINES.

INSIDE THE SHRINES, THEY DISCOVER ASTONISHING ARTIFACTS.

THEY FIND VESSELS WITH TRACES OF HALLUCINATORY SUBSTANCES,

NOT JUST ALCOHOL,

BUT OTHER WAYS IN WHICH YOU GO TO HALLUCINATIONS.

Narrator: THE VESSELS CONTAIN THE RESIDUE OF A PLANT CALLED EPHEDRA,

WHICH CONTAINS CHEMICALS THAT CAN WARP VISUAL PERCEPTION.

AND THERE'S MORE.

IN ONE OF THE SHRINES, THEY FOUND A BASIN

WHERE THEY THINK THEY WERE PROCESSING FLOUR,

AND THAT FLOUR POSSIBLY WAS USED

FOR A PRACTICE CALLED ALEUROMANCY,

WHICH IS PREDICTING THE FUTURE USING FLOUR.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS ALSO FIND DICE CARVED FROM ANIMAL BONES.

THESE ARTIFACTS CONFIRM THEIR SUSPICION

THAT BRONZE-AGE PRIESTS

GATHER AT THE HILLTOP SHRINE TO USE DRUGS

IN RITUALS TO FORETELL FUTURE EVENTS.

WHAT WE'VE GOT IS CULT UP THERE ASSOCIATED

WITH SPECIALIST DIVINERS

WHO ARE GOING INTO TRANCES,

LEAVING THIS WORLD AND THEN COMING BACK.

THESE PRIESTS WERE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS SHAMANS.

Narrator: SHAMANS ADORN THEIR CLOTHES WITH TUSKS AND TEETH

AS A FORM OF PROTECTION

AND SEEK TO GAIN GUIDANCE FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD.

IN THE MODERN WORLD, WE SORT OF DISCOUNT THE SUPERNATURAL,

BUT HERE, THESE ARE PEOPLE

WHO ARE HIGHLY RESPECTED IN THEIR SOCIETY,

AND THIS IS A TIME IN THE WORLD

WHEN THE SUPERNATURAL

IS THE DOMINANT WORLD VIEW.

Narrator: EXCAVATIONS SUGGEST THAT THE SHAMANS ABANDONED THE SITE

IN 1150 B.C.

EVIDENCE OF THEIR REPUTED

POWERS REMAINS BURIED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

THEY RITUALLY FILLED BACK IN THOSE SHRINES,

COVERING EVERYTHING UP, SO THAT ANYBODY COMING BACK LATER

COULDN'T STEAL THE MAGIC FROM THE SITE.

Narrator: FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS, THE DATE OF THE SITE'S ABANDONMENT

IS INTRIGUING.

IT COINCIDES WITH THE MYSTERIOUS DECLINE

OF SEVERAL OTHER CITIES AND CIVILIZATIONS

ACROSS EUROPE AND BEYOND.

ALL OVER THE ANCIENT WORLD,

CIVILIZATION IS COLLAPSING.

THE GREAT CITIES -- TROY, MYCENAE

TIRYNS, ATHENS --

ALL THESE PLACES ARE COLLAPSING ONE BY ONE.

Narrator: THE DISASTER THAT SEEMS TO STRIKE CIVILIZATIONS

AT THIS TIME STILL PUZZLES HISTORIANS.

FOR ALL THEIR PROFESSED ABILITY TO FORETELL THE FUTURE,

IT WOULD APPEAR THESE ANCIENT MAGIC MEN

FAILED TO PREDICT THEIR OWN DEMISE.

**

COMING UP, THE MYSTERY OF SIBERIA'S BUBBLING LAKES.

THIS LAKE LOOKS LIKE A GIANT JACUZZI IN THE ARCTIC.

Narrator: JUNE 24, 2011 --

THE SENTINEL-2 SATELLITE PASSES

OVER THE FROZEN WASTES OF NORTHERN SIBERIA

AND CAPTURES AN UNUSUAL IMAGE...

...A LAKE DOTTED WITH DARK, CIRCULAR PATCHES.

WHAT SURPRISES SCIENTISTS IS THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THIS LAKE

AND OTHERS THEY'VE SEEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.

Cerveny: THIS IMAGE REMINDS ME OF THE LAKES

THAT I WOULD SEE AT YELLOWSTONE

WHERE I SEE THE HOT POOLS OF BOILING WATER

WITH LITTLE BUBBLES COMING OUT OF THEM.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS CONSIDER IF THE BUBBLING PATCHES

ARE POOLS OF SUPER-HEATED WATER.

Pepper: WHAT'S ALARMING ABOUT THIS IMAGE IS THAT

IT APPEARS TO BE BOILING.

THIS LAKE LOOKS LIKE A GIANT JACUZZI IN THE ARCTIC.

Narrator: THE BOILING LAKES IN YELLOWSTONE

ARE SITTING ON TOP OF A SUPER VOLCANO,

A 45-MILE-WIDE MAGMA CHAMBER CONTAINING ENOUGH MOLTEN ROCK

TO FILL THE GRAND CANYON 11 TIMES OVER.

THE BUBBLING IN THE SIBERIAN LAKE

COULD BE A SIGN OF PRESSURE BUILDUP

WITHIN AN ARCTIC SUBTERRANEAN MAGMA CHAMBER.

THAT MIGHT INDICATE THAT THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT

THERE IS A SIMILAR SITUATION AND WE HAVE A POOL OF MAGMA

THAT IS BUILDING UP UNDERNEATH OF SIBERIA.

Narrator: STUDIES AT YELLOWSTONE SUGGEST THAT THIS PRESSURE BUILDUP

COULD TRIGGER A CATASTROPHIC ERUPTION,

ONE CAPABLE OF DESTROYING ALL LIFE IN THE AREA

AND OF UNLEASHING AN ASH CLOUD THAT WILL BLOCK OUT THE SUN.

BUT ACCORDING TO VOLCANOLOGIST BRITTANY BRAND,

THIS CAN'T EXPLAIN THE BUBBLING LAKE IN SIBERIA.

Brand: THERE'S NO VOLCANISM IN SIBERIA.

THERE'S ANCIENT VOLCANISM,

BUT THAT HAPPENED 250 MILLION YEARS AGO.

Narrator: THE BUBBLING LAKE REMINDS SOME HISTORIANS

OF A 16th CENTURY INCAN LEGEND.

A BOILING RIVER, WHICH, ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT TEXTS,

SITS IN A REMOTE AREA OF THE AMAZON.

Hunt: IT'S THE MOST IMPENETRABLE, HOSTILE PLACE,

COMPLETELY COVERED WITH JUNGLE.

Narrator: THE TEXTS REVEAL THAT THE INCAS LURE THEIR ENEMIES TO THE RIVER

AND BOIL THEM LIKE LOBSTERS.

IN 2011, A PERUVIAN EXPEDITION INTO THE AMAZON

DISCOVERS THE LEGENDARY BOILING RIVER.

Nelson: IT'S OVER 200 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

IT REALLY IS ASTONISHING THE AMOUNT OF HEAT INVOLVED

IN HEATING UP AN ENTIRE RIVER.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT THEY KNOW WHAT COULD BE GENERATING

SUCH VAST AMOUNTS OF HEAT...

THE EARTH'S CORE.

Pepper: AS YOU GO DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH, IT ACTUALLY HEATS UP.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED THE GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT.

Narrator: GEOLOGICAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT WATER HEATED INSIDE THE PLANET

RISES TO THE SURFACE THROUGH A SERIES OF ARTERY-LIKE CRACKS

AND FISSURES TO FEED THE RIVER, CAUSING IT TO BOIL.

SCIENTISTS CONSIDER IF THE SAME HEAT SOURCE

IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BUBBLING LAKE IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IN THE ARCTIC

COULD VERY EASILY BE GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITY.

Narrator: YET WHEN INVESTIGATORS RETURN TO THE SATELLITE IMAGES

OF THE SIBERIAN LAKE,

THEY DISCOVER EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST

THE BUBBLES MAY BE DUE TO SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY.

Pepper: I SEE THAT IT'S NOT JUST THIS ONE LAKE, BUT OVER 200 LAKES.

SO, IT'S ALMOST THIS ENTIRE REGION OF SIBERIA.

Narrator: WEIRDER STILL, THE STRANGE, BUBBLING LAKE PHENOMENON

APPEARS TO BE SPREADING TO OTHER COUNTRIES

AROUND THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

A SURVEY OF ONE OF THE AFFECTED LAKES YIELDS A POSSIBLE CLUE.

BUBBLES OF GAS TRAPPED IN THE WINTER ICE.

Brand: WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THESE SATELLITE IMAGES

COULD BE GAS COMING UP THROUGH THE LAKE.

Narrator: WHEN SCIENTISTS RELEASE THE TRAPPED GAS...

-WHOA! -WHOA!

...THEY DISCOVER THAT IT'S HIGHLY FLAMMABLE

AND CARRIES A VERY DISTINCTIVE ODOR.

THERE'S METHANE BEING RELEASED, BUBBLING UP TO THE SURFACE.

Narrator: THIS HELPS THEM TO IDENTIFY THE ORIGIN OF THE STRANGE BUBBLES.

STUDIES OF ORGANIC MATTER IN THE ARCTIC PERMAFROST REVEAL

IT CONTAINS HIGH LEVELS OF METHANE.

PERMAFROST IS ESSENTIALLY FROZEN SOIL,

AND IN A PLACE AS COLD AS SIBERIA,

THAT FROZEN SOIL CAN EXTEND FOR HUNDREDS OF FEET

INTO THE SUBSURFACE.

THE AMOUNT OF METHANE THAT IS STORED IN THE PERMAFROST

IS INCREDIBLE --

50 BILLION TONS.

THAT WOULD BE MORE THAN 10 TIMES THE CURRENT AMOUNT

THAT WE HAVE IN OUR ATMOSPHERE RIGHT NOW.

Narrator: ANALYSIS OF NEARBY SOIL TEMPERATURES SHOWS

THAT THEY'RE UNUSUALLY HIGH.

TYPICALLY, AN ICY TUNDRA IS FROZEN ALL YEAR.

BUT IF YOU RAISE THAT TEMPERATURE UP

JUST A LITTLE BIT,

IT'LL START TO MELT THE ENTIRE AREA.

Narrator: THE MELTING PERMAFROST MAY BE RELEASING METHANE

WHICH HAS LONG BEEN TRAPPED UNDERGROUND,

CREATING THE BUBBLING LAKES

DISCOVERED IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

THE SCARY PART IS THAT METHANE

IS EVEN MORE DETRIMENTAL TO OUR ATMOSPHERE

HEATING THAN CARBON DIOXIDE.

IF ALL OF THE METHANE FROM THE PERMAFROST

WERE RELEASED INTO OUR ATMOSPHERE,

THE EFFECTS WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE IMAGE HAS CAPTURED A HARBINGER OF DOOM,

A TICKING TIME BOMB THAT COULD HAVE DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES

FOR LIFE ON EARTH.

**