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Antarctic Extremes
Exploring Antarctica's Threatened Glaciers (with a Robot)
Season 1
Episode 5
Researchers hope they can better understand how climate change is affecting Antarctica’s vulnerable glaciers. Caitlin and Arlo meet with scientists & engineers at the 8-mile-long Erebus Glacier Tongue to discover how a 12-foot-long robot named Icefin might help save the world. Then, they head to the Florida-sized Thwaites glacier on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet - the front line of climate change.
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14:04
When in Antarctica, meeting penguins is an absolute must. But it’s not always easy.

7:28
Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth.
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12:50
How do the scientists and support personnel stay fed?

12:01
How do Antarctica’s fish survive in waters below their freezing point?

13:14
What happens to all the garbage—and human poop—in Antarctica?
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9:41
Arlo and Caitlin meet the people who find themselves in Antarctica year after year.

10:01
Antarctica has a glacier that bleeds red. (At least, that’s what it looks like.)

10:50
Hosts Caitlin and Arlo travel to an Antarctic Weddell seal colony during pupping season.
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14:10
It’s the most remote natural lab on Earth, which means getting there is no easy feat.