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Svalbard

A look at some of earth's greatest spectacles. Svalbard spends much of each year in complete darkness but when the sun reappears, the landscape turns into a rich tundra.

Set in three of the most seasonally changeable landscapes on earth - Svalbard, Okavango and New England - this series showcases the stunning transformations that occur each year, revealing the unique processes behind them and showing how wildlife has adapted to cope with the changes.

Svalbard in the Arctic spends many months of the year in complete darkness, an unrelenting frozen winter with temperatures down to -40 Celsius. But when the sun finally reappears, the landscape magically transforms from an ice world into a rich tundra, full of exotic plants, birds, Arctic foxes, polar bears, walruses and reindeers. This film captures the changes in all their glory and reveals how this transformation is only possible thanks to some bizarre microorganisms that feed on ice and the stunning abilities of migrating birds.

59 minutes

On TV

Tue 27 Jan 202616:15

Music Played

  • Alice in Chains

    Stone

  • Phoenix Da Icefire, Iverse and Prophet

    Black Tragedy (Half Past Calm Mix)

Credits

RoleContributor
NarratorDomhnall Gleeson
ProducerAndrew Murray
Series ProducerPaul Bradshaw
Executive ProducerJo Shinner

Broadcasts

  • Fri 12 Feb 201621:00
  • Sat 13 Feb 201617:30
  • Sat 13 Feb 201620:00
  • Sat 13 Feb 201620:30
  • Fri 26 Feb 201600:55
  • Fri 26 Feb 201601:25
  • Sat 7 Jul 201819:00
  • Mon 6 May 201922:00
  • Fri 18 Oct 201916:15
  • Sat 5 Mar 202211:00
  • Tue 14 Feb 202315:30
  • Fri 14 Feb 202516:15
  • Tue 27 Jan 202616:15

The programme's featured locations

The programme's featured locations

Find out more about the locations featured in Earth's Greatest Spectacles.

How Earth's Greatest Spectacles was made

How Earth's Greatest Spectacles was made

Find out how the production team captured such dramatic natural transformations.