Life on Fire

Whether the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Chile, Italy or Iceland, each of these countries is home to active volcanoes that are a threat to the populations settled at their feet. To avoid disasters, volcanologists are asked to be prophets and to analyze the volcanoes’ slightest tremors. Around the world, these volcano doctors use their tools and knowledge to try and protect those who live beneath the Earth’s fire.

On a remote island of New Britain, animals and plants have learned to live with the sporadic anger of the Earth. In this apocalyptic realm, when the ash created by volcanic eruptions invades their habitat, the choice is simple: leave or… stay and face the unknown.

In the vast emptiness of the Pacific Ocean, tectonic movements construct or destroy islands. In the Tongan archipelago, two little-known animals have learnt to cope with these ephemeral lands: the sooty tern, a seabird that never dares wet its wings for fear of drowning and the Alvin shrimp, a blind crustacean that nonetheless manages to find its way around the abyss. When an underwater volcano becomes an island, the fates of these two living paradoxes are linked.

Following the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, European skies were paralyzed for days. Prominent volcano experts foresee eruptions of much greater magnitude in the near future, not only in Iceland but across Europe. Following scientists in the field, this episode answers in detail questions about the human, social and economic consequences of volcano eruptions. Will Europe be ready to deal with other eruptions in the future?

Central American volcanoes have created a number of rich and varied ecosystems, from the depths of the jungle to the prairies. But when one of these volcanoes awakens, the animals and plants are faced with a situation that they have never confronted before. In a torrent of ash and fire, the animals either die or move to a less volatile volcano to give birth to the next generation.

In Kamchatka and Alaska, many animals share the same volcanic environment. Adapted to survive the merciless winters, these creatures now have to cope with the extreme consequences of volcanic explosions. How do they do this? Not constrained by international borders, many jump from one side of the Pacific Ocean to another.