Oceans

Unravelling the mysteries of the deep
Hidden within the depths of our oceans are secrets about our past, our planet and life itself. At last, an international team of underwater explorers is ready to dive in and discover them. This spectacular, surprising series combines archeology, geology, marine biology and anthropology with all the energy and excitement of a good thriller. Astonishing footage captures the full beauty of the alien world and video diaries vividly reflect the teams stresses, successes, disappointments and dangers. From discovering the truth behind rumors that the Mediterranean has become a breeding ground for the Great White, to exploring ancient wrecks that tell tales of piracy past and present, the team ventures fearlessly into some of the planet's most challenging environments providing a vital and timely understanding of our oceans.

1. THE SEA OF CORTEZ
Once described as the ‘oceans' aquarium' by Jacques Cousteau in the 1960's, the Sea of Cortez is rich with life. One third of Earth's marine mammal species are found here, alongside more than 800 species of fish. But these waters are in a state of flux. As commercial fishing has increased alongside tourism and industry, this fertile sea is now classified as endangered.
Explorer Paul Rose, environmentalist Philippe Cousteau Jr, maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue and marine biologist and Oceanographer Tooni Mahto examine the impact of humans in the Sea of Cortez and see how it is changing.
Diving in search of one of its apex predators, the Hammerhead Shark, the team discovers one of the winners in the war of change - the Humboldt Squid. Fifty years ago it did not exist in this sea, now there are over 200 million of them. During a treacherous night dive with these aggressive creatures, the team tries to discover what has made them so successful.
Five million years ago the Sea of Cortez was formed when massive tectonic movements created a gulf that flooded with Pacific water. Tooni and Lucy dive in search of a rare shallow hydrothermal vent (usually hydrothermal vents are inaccessible at much deeper depths) and learn that the very forces that created this sea will also destroy it.
Finally, they examine the health of the Sperm Whale population (which is an indication of the health of the sea). Using pioneering research techniques and a miniature helicopter, a sample of a whale's breath is captured as it exhales at the surface. And Tooni and Philippe swim with a group of the whales, witnessing rare behaviour of the social structure of these magnificent animals.

2. THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
Explorer Paul Rose and with him environmentalist Philippe Cousteau Jr, maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue and marine biologist and oceanographer Tooni Mahto travel to the notoriously hostile Southern Ocean. Since explorers first began venturing South, it has been clear that the Southern Ocean is a unique, and harsh, environment. Storm-force westerly winds, huge seas, vast expanses of sea-ice, and mountainous icebergs are characteristics of this vast area.
Often described as the lung of the planet, the Southern Ocean plays a vital role in regulating levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. But parts of it are warming twice as fast as the rest of the world's oceans. The aim is to discover what impact this is having.
The team bases itself in Tasmania, a remote island separated from mainland Australia by one of the roughest bodies of water in the world. Here they explore the iconic kelp forests off the eastern coast to discover how this unique ecosystem is being affected, not only by the rise in sea temperatures, but also by the influx of a new predator. They also go in search of the weedy sea dragon, one of the planet's most curious and enigmatic creatures found only in the Southern Ocean. And they discover that its habitat is under threat.
The team sees one of the thousand shipwrecks in the waters, and risk high winds and currents to explore the tannin-stained waters of the Sunken Valley. They search for mysterious deep-ocean creatures that normally live at inaccessible depths, hundreds of metres below the surface. Here they witness behaviour never filmed before.
Finally, they risk diving in remote sea caves to hunt for evidence of ancient sea creatures that can reveal how our oceans have been shaped and formed over millions of years.

3. THE RED SEA
The Southern Red Sea is a world away from the tourist diving Mecca of the north. A 30-year war devastated parts of the south, and limited access to its waters and this political unrest means that the sea here is still pristine and unexplored. Travelling over 600 miles through the waters of Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan, this expedition to the Southern Red Sea is a voyage through remote and untouched areas. It is a rare chance for the team to explore places where only a handful of scientists have been, and some places that have never been filmed before.
The Red Sea can help answer critical questions about our own past and the future of the oceans. It is one of only two places on the planet where the birth of a new ocean can be dived to discover how all oceans are formed. Archaeological sites along these shores are amongst the oldest on Earth, and the team searches for evidence of one of early modern human's first encounters with the sea.
The Red Sea is one of the warmest seas in the world, yet coral reefs flourish here. In the face of global warming, Oceans sets out to discover whether these waters hold the key to the future health of coral and our world's oceans.
It is also a rich and productive environment that has escaped intensive commercial fishing pressures; 17% of fish here are not found anywhere else in world, so it's a rare chance to explore marine life. This life can offer clues to what the world's oceans used to look like before they were exploited.
For Philippe Cousteau Jr, this expedition is also a more personal mission. This is his first visit to the remains of an ambitious underwater village established by his grandfather, Jacques Cousteau, to discover whether humans could ever live underwater.

4. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
The Atlantic is one of the most influential bodies of water on the planet; it plays a critical role in influencing our climate. And in just one corner of this enormous ocean there is crucial evidence of our oceans' past and clues about their future.
Paul Rose, Philippe Cousteau Jr, Dr Lucy Blue and Tooni Mahto base themselves around the Bahamas, a group of islands in the west Atlantic. Here, on the island of Andros, is a unique marine ecosystem. In one of the most dangerous dives of the series, the team enters a black hole to discover what our oceans would have looked like 350 billion years ago, when they were little more than toxic soup.
The Atlantic Ocean around the Bahamas is one of only two places in the world where stromatolites exist. Over billions of years, they transformed the oceans into the life-giving, oxygenated waters they are today. Here the expedition investigates the oldest living evidence of life on Earth.
The first inhabitants of the Bahamas are thought to have arrived here by drifting on the ocean currents in small boats from South America. The Lucayan people lived here for almost a thousand years until they were wiped out in a single generation by Western migrants. As Dr Lucy Blue becomes the first archaeologist to explore an extraordinary chain of submerged caverns, will she find the remains of the Lucayans, who buried their dead in the island's underwater cave systems?
The team also looks for the lost British warship, the HMS Southampton, which was shipwrecked after winning a battle against an American vessel in 1912. They find a wreck on the stormy eastern edge of the Bahamas. Will it prove to be the lost ship?
The group also tests shark-repellent made out of a metal alloy to see if it protect sharks from people. If it works, scientists hope to make fishing hooks from it and reduce shark by-catch, which kills millions of sharks each year. They also dive into shark-infested waters to test a different repellent - will it be enough to deter the sharks?
Finally, the team investigates how the Atlantic has been invaded by the poisonous lion fish. A few years ago they didn't exist in the Atlantic, but now they are decimating the local fish stocks and have already been seen as far apart as Puerto Rica and New York. Will the team discover why this species has taken over this part of the ocean?

5. THE INDIAN OCEAN
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's major oceans, covering 28 million square miles, almost 15% of the Earth's surface. Its remote corners contain some of the most pristine marine habitats in the world. But it is also surrounded by many of the world's populous nations, so the Oceans team sets out to discover the pressures that are changing this ocean and its resources.
In the Indian Ocean, as elsewhere in the world, shark fishing has been increasing at an alarming rate with tens of millions being caught each year worldwide. Visiting a small community in Mozambique, where shark fishing has only recently become an established practice, the team tries to find out what is driving the trade.
The Indian Ocean's coral reefs are fragile ecosystems under enormous pressure. Fortunately, science is now providing hope, and the expedition visits the only ‘coral nursery' in the Indian Ocean. It is one of the few places in the world where an extraordinary technique is being used to repair damaged reefs.
In a project with the Met (Meteorological) Office an electronic buoy is launched, an ‘argo float', that will travel the Indian Ocean taking real-time ocean data. This data will add to a database of information that will be used to try to understand more about our world's oceans.
The Indian Ocean is home to a remarkable reef where schools of graceful Manta ray - the largest of the oceans' rays - come for a very unusual reason. 70% of the Manta rays visiting this reef have suffered from shark bites. The Oceans team discover how their wounds are treated by the reef's inhabitants.

6. THE INDIAN OCEAN - COASTAL WATERS
Underwater experts Paul Rose, Philippe Cousteau Jr, Dr Lucy Blue and Tooni Mahto explore what happens when the powerful Indian Ocean collides with the edge of a continent.
Much of the coastline of the Indian Ocean is densely populated and the Spice Islands inhabitants can be profoundly affected by devastating weather patterns that cause drought and famine. The team works with scientists to drill out a core from a coral colony, which holds information about hundreds of years of climatic events. By studying the core patterns, scientists hope to predict future weather patterns in this area.
In 1872, a cyclone destroyed a village on the spice island of Mafia. Oceans travels to an uninhabited shoreline to search for the remains of a Medieval Arab town, Ras Kisimani, which was once inhabited by the Arab traders who traded up and down the East African coast.
They dive at the edge of the continent to see how the tides and the power of the Equatorial Ocean Current - which barrels across the Indian Ocean for thousands of miles - has shaped the land around the Island of Pemba.
They also come face to face with one of this area's most mysterious creatures, the sea horse. The team takes part in a race against time to search for and identify one of the ocean's most cryptic animals.
From the smallest to the largest fish in the sea, they have a rare chance to snorkel with and identify whale sharks. Can the Oceans expedition help to unravel the mystery behind where these sharks are travelling to and from?

7. THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Surrounded by Europe, Asia and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea's coastline is one of the most densely populated in the world. Western civilisation developed around these shores, but now human activity is threatening to destroy it. In this episode the Oceans team embarks on an expedition to explore the profound effect that Man has on this endangered sea.
Under cover of night they dive the treacherous Straits of Messina, where they hope to find and film one of the largest predatory sharks in the world, the increasingly threatened six-gill shark. This fish normally lives several hundred metres below sea level and so is rarely seen. But here in the Straits, tides and currents force deep sea water through a narrow, shallow bottleneck, bringing with it the six-gill shark, a living fossil which closely resembles prehistoric sharks from 200 million years ago.
The team dives down to a Roman shipwreck laden with wine vessels en route to Africa. Via an examination of the remains of the cargo, they investigate how the Mediterranean gave rise to Europe's first super-power.
They also explore a perilous network of submerged caves to find rare rock formations, evidence of huge changes to the Mediterranean which changed the coastline and created the ideal conditions for people to spread and settle here.
Atlantic bluefin tuna have been an important part of Mediterranean culture for thousands of years. Today, industrial fishing techniques are having are an enormous impact on this sea. Diving a tuna farm is the only way for the team to get up close to schools of bluefin tuna and observe a once-abundant fish now at risk of extinction.

8. THE ARCTIC OCEAN
The Arctic Ocean may be the smallest and shallowest of the world's great oceans, but it plays an unusually important role. Any changes here will have an enormous impact on the Earth's oceans and on the planet's climate. In one of the world's most hostile environments, the team investigates how the Arctic is changing and the effect this may have on this ocean's ecosystems and the rest of the world.
Paul Rose, Philippe Cousteau Jr, Dr Lucy Blue and Tooni Mahto venture within 600 miles of the North Pole to explore a great mass of drifting ice, a solid seascape that is essential to keeping the Arctic Ocean cold and which helps regulate ocean currents and weather around the globe. It is known that the health and thickness of ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is diminishing. The team dives under the ice and takes measurements on top of the ice floe. The results are sent to NASA to help them discover how fast it is changing.
The polar bear is not the only creature in the Arctic fighting for existence as a result of the retreating ice. The team dives below the frozen, solid ice sheet to collect samples of the tiny creatures living right under the ice. Their findings will contribute to a global census of life in our oceans and will help scientists discover whether life in the Arctic is coping with the changes in its ocean.
As the seas warm, not all life will be threatened in the short term. The Atlantic walrus looks as though initially it will be a global warming winner. To discover why, the team attempts to dive with one of the Arctic's most iconic beasts. They are inquisitive creatures, but dangerous; they have been known to sink inflatable boats after lunging at them with their tusks.

Series Producer Helen Thomas
Executive Producer Anne Laking
The Team: Explorer and expedition leader Paul Rose, maritime archeologist Dr. Lucy Blue, marine biologist Tooni Mahto and conservationist Philippe Cousteau Jr. (grandson of Jacques Cousteau)

A BBC/Discovery Channel co-production

"...stunningly photographed and informative..." James Rampton, Independent

"...a fusion of a reality show (‘Will the crew reach the sharks in time?'), detective story (‘Is that an earbone in the shark's poo?') and cookery programme ... Tooni Mahto, a sexy ‘marine biologist' took eggs down to the ocean floor and boiled them by passing them through hydrothermal vents ... Oceans is a fast-moving and a photographic triumph ... the close-up shot of a dead Humboldt squid is satisfyingly gross and looks like it's straight out of Alien. Alive, however, they have a psychedelic beauty as they perform a sort of Rhinemaidens' dance for each other, suddenly blushing scarlet as if someone has just made an indelicate suggestion. Go to the Oceans website and you can get a shot of a Humboldt squid as wallpaper for your computer desktop. And, if you don't fancy that, Tooni and Philippe are also available." Damian Thompson, Daily Telegraph

"...reminded us why we all pay our licence fee ... This fascinating look at what lies beneath uncovers some gruesome-looking predators ... From close encounters with psychedelic squid and horny sperm whales (they got their name for a good reason, methinks) to super cute sea lions, this was a gripping hour of natural history. And the on-screen talent, including diver Jacques Cousteau's grandson Phillipe, are all easy to relate to, and great fun." Brian McIver, Scottish Daily Record

"There are a myriad reasons to watch this eye-catching marine-life series ... There's superb underwater photography, filmed in HD; the chance to take on board an eco-message without feeling as if you're being lectured; plenty of fun for fact fans ... and a window on the inner workings of the expedition through the eyes of the individual crew members. Once you've seen them attempt to catch a sperm whale's breath using a remote-controlled helicopter, you'll be hooked until the New Year."
Mail On Sunday (5 out of 5 star rating)

"Here's one of those richly detailed nature shows for which HD TV was invented ... looks great."
Mike Ward, Daily Express

"...amazing underwater sea life footage..." Ben Felsenburg, London Lite

"There's some stunning underwater photography, featuring sperm whales and very close encounters with sea lions." Family Choice, Daily Mail

"Engrossing and depressing in equal parts." Pete Clark, London Evening Standard

"Lots to be learned here, as the A-Team of the diving world finds out about the wildlife, history and state of the world's oceans. There's some hyperbolic narration and mini-dramas with the crew that don't add anything, but once you start learning about the disappearance of sharks in the Sea of Cortez, it becomes compelling." Martin Skeg, Guardian

"A beautiful new series that takes an intimate look at the planet's oceans." Daily Star

"Oceans hovers uncomfortably between a lush travelogue, with hot, tanned people going for extended dips with colourful marine life (fine, nothing wrong with that) and a serious examination of the state of the oceans, somewhat lacking the detail and context of what the environmental changes actually are."
Tim Teeman, The Times

"...as a close-up view of how the seas and oceans are changing it's all good stuff..."
Jane Simon, Daily Mirror

Oceans was filmed over one year - changeable weather, unpredictable nature and strong sea currents presented daily challenges for the team, including a close encounter with a polar bear.
Philippe Cousteau started diving at just eight years old, and now at the age of 28, he has logged well over a thousand dives.