Forces of Nature

Forces of Nature

• RELEASE: 28 May 2004
• RUNTIME: 45 Mins
• Rating: PG - Parental Guidance

Synopsis

The ground moves, mountains explode, the sky turns black and violent — paradoxically, the natural forces that helped create life on our green planet can also destroy it.

With National Geographic’s trademark combination of scientific excellence, dramatic storytelling skill and human emotion, Forces of Nature will showcase the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes and severe storms as we follow scientists on their quest to understand how these natural disasters are triggered.

VOLCANOES:

On the Caribbean island of Montserrat we meet a volcanologist searching for clues that might foretell volcanic eruptions. Here, volcanoes have been erupting for nearly a decade and captured on the giant screen is the major 1995 eruption that took the lives of 19 people.

EARTHQUAKES:

Halfway around the world in Istanbul Turkey, we meet a geophysicist who is studying the deadliest of all natural disasters: earthquakes. Just a few years ago, residents of Izmit, Turkey, awoke in horror to experience an earthquake 7.4 on the Richter Scale, lasting 48 seconds. With the aid of a simulation, students will experience the violent earthquake, as the floor buckles, the walls begin caving in and dust is exploding everywhere.

TORNADOES AND SEVERE STORMS:

Finally, we join a meteorologist in pursuit of an elusive yet deadly force of nature, tornadoes. Understanding exactly how a tornado is formed may enable meteorologists to predict their occurrence with enough lead-time to save people at risk. For several minutes, we witness a severe tornadoe ripping across the plains of South Dakota. Fortunately, no lives are lost in this occurrence, but several homes lie in the path of the tornado and we experience with humble amazement the extraordinary, destructive power of nature's fury.

To understand the origins of these forces of nature, students will travel back in time to the formation of the Earth four and a half billion years ago, through a very clever computer animation. The Earth, a massive, fiery orange ball, fills the screen, covered with ancient erupting volcanoes and seas of molten lava. As the atmosphere appears on screen, a blanket of sweeping storms and lightning flashes.

We learn that the planet we call Earth, where life flourishes today, is the result of four and half billion years of activity by the immense forces of nature.

For more information, visit: www.destinationcinema.com

Running time 45 minutes.

This film is classified PG.