In this high-altitude adventure, author Jon Krakauer and world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker lead an expedition to the top of Antarctica’s tallest peak, Vinson Massif. Along the way, their experiences are contrasted with those of Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Falcon Scott who in 1911 raced to be the first to reach the South Pole.
Subjects: Earth Science
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Tsunami – The Wave that Shook the World (DVD)
On December 26, 2004, a series of tidal waves killed hundreds of thousands and devastated communities around the Indian Ocean. With around 100 tsunamis striking the world’s coastlines each decade, NOVA investigates what made the recent event so powerful and catastrophic. In a special report shot within days of this shocking disaster, NOVA’s Tsunami: The Wave That Shook The World presents a clear explanation and analysis of the tragedy, revealing exactly how these deadly waves were triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded this century.
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Secrets of Lost Empires Set – 1
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to five archaeological sites where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Stonehenge watches a band of experts move, raise and cap a structure like the mysterious Stonehenge– armed with Stone Age tools. Inca explores magnificent mountainside citadels– and marvels as villagers create a 150-foot suspension bridge using nothing but grass. Obelisk faces the challenge of quarrying, chiseling, hauling and mounting an obelisk— using stones, ropes, logs and dirt. Colosseum tries out two possible designs for the canopy that once covered the Colosseum– one of them borrowed from ancient ships. Pyramid joins the race to erect an 18-foot stone pyramid in three weeks– while testing out some clever construction theories.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions. 300 min on 3 DVDs -
Secrets of Lost Empires – Colosseum and Stonehenge
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to an archaeological site where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Watch a band of experts move, raise, and cap a structure like the mysterious Stonehenge– armed with Stone Age tools.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions. 120 min on 1 disc -
Secrets of Lost Empires – Inca
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to an archaeological site where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Explore the magnificent mountainside citadels– and marvel as villagers create a 150-foot suspension bridge using nothing but grass. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions.
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Secrets of Lost Empires – Pyramid and Obelisk
Uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations as NOVA journeys to an archaeological site where teams of experts use traditional techniques to test their hypotheses. Face the challenge of quarrying, chiseling, hauling, and mounting an obelisk– using stones, ropes, logs, and dirt.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, access to the NOVA Web site, scene selections and closed captions. -
Killer Quake!
Metropolitan Los Angeles is sitting on ground zero. Slicing under the highrises of downtown is a network of potentially deadly faults which could trigger the nation’s most devastating natural disaster. On January 17, 1994 a previously unknown fault convulsed beneath Northridge. It was the most destructive earthquake in modern Los Angeles history. NOVA takes viewers from urban trench sites to the top of the Santa Susanna Mountains, in search of clues to where nature will strike next.
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In the Path of a Killer Volcano
The Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo is about to blow big. Is there enough time to evacuate the hundreds of thousands in its raging path? Stay with the scientists who remain behind- and see some astonishing footage of the world’s largest volcanic eruption in 80 years. Local tribespeople were the first to see the signs. “There was a flash of light from the sky,” said one. “I thought it was my time to die.” The Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo was acting restless- and the volcanologists at Clark Air Force Base were starting to sweat. An angry mountain is highly unpredictable. If they misread its fits and starts, a violent explosion could send pyroclastic flow- hot, dense avalanches- roaring down its sides at 100 miles per hour, burning everyone and everything in its path. But if they ordered an evacuation and nothing happened, these experts could lose their credibility for good. With a typhoon headed in their direction, the stakes are even higher. Torrential rains turn ash and rock into hot mud flows that can bury a town in minutes. Is it time to issue a Level 4 alert- ordering hundreds of thousands to flee their homes? Stay with the courageous scientists who remain behind- and see some astonishing footage as the world’s biggest eruption in 80 years really starts to blow.
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Earth Science
This DVD set including Killer Quake, In the Path of a Killer Volcano, Tsunami: Wave that Shook the World, and Everest: The Death Zone.
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MARS Dead or Alive
Go inside NASA’s risky field trip to the red planet in this tense and dramatic behind-the-scenes chronicle of the $820 million Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project. Beginning a year before launch, NOVA’s cameras follow MER scientists and engineers through a gauntlet of potentially fatal problems. Then, seven months later, experience the final nail-biting minutes of the journey, as Spirit successfully lands on Mars and begins sending back its first spectacular images of the Martian landscape. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; closed captions; and video descriptions.