female narrator: ITALY.
IT'S A PLACE THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO SO MANY.
THE ART,
THE CULTURE,
THE BEACHES,
THE MOUNTAINS.
ITALY IS A SKINNY BOOT
THRUST INTO THE BLUE OF THE SPARKLING MEDITERRANEAN
WITH THE ISLAND OF SICILY
LIKE A BALL BALANCING AT ITS TOE.
BUT ITALY HASN'T ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE THIS.
IT IS A TURBULENT LAND GEOLOGICALLY
AND HAS CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY OVER TIME.
SINCE THE DAYS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI,
SCIENTISTS HAVE STRUGGLED TO LEARN
WHAT MAKES THIS LAND SO DRAMATIC,
SO UNUSUAL,
SO VIOLENT.
[siren wailing]
THIS IS THE LAND THAT GAVE BIRTH TO THE SCIENCE OF GEOLOGY
IN THE 17TH CENTURY.
EVER SINCE THEN,
GEOLOGIC DISCOVERIES MADE IN ITALY
HAVE ROCKED OUR THINKING ABOUT OUR PLANET.
- [speaks Italian]
narrator: IT'S A SUNNY DAY IN EARLY SPRING.
- [speaking Italian]
narrator: AMERICAN GEOMORPHOLOGIST
FRANK PAZZAGLIA IS WORKING ON THE MUSONE RIVER
IN THE APENNINE MOUNTAINS.
WITH HIM IS AN ITALIAN STUDENT, SANDRO MARIANI.
- [speaking Italian]
- SI, SI. PERFECTO.
narrator: THE GRANDSON OF ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS TO THE U.S.,
FRANK IS INTRIGUED
BY THE COMPLEXITIES OF ITALIAN GEOLOGY.
HE'S WORKING IN ITALY AS PART
OF AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF EARTH SCIENTISTS,
HOPING TO ADD SOME NEW PAGES
TO ITALY'S FASCINATING, UNFINISHED GEOLOGIC TALE.
SPECIFICALLY, THEY WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER A QUESTION
THAT HAS BEEN NAGGING AT GEOLOGISTS FOR YEARS.
ARE THE APENNINES STILL GROWING,
OR ARE PARTS OF THEM NO LONGER ACTIVE?
- THERE IS AN OPINION AMONG MANY GEOSCIENTISTS
THAT THE FRONT OF THE APENNINES ARE DEAD,
THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER GROWING TECTONICALLY.
NOW THIS IS NOT SHARED BY ALL GEOLOGISTS.
SO WE'VE DEFINED FOR OURSELVES HERE
A VERY AMBITIOUS PROJECT TRYING TO UNDERSTAND
THE GROWTH AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE APENNINE MOUNTAINS.
AND IN DOING THIS AND TRYING
TO UNDERSTAND THIS PARTICULAR MOUNTAIN RANGE,
WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO SAY SOMETHING MORE GENERAL
ABOUT HOW MOUNTAINS ARE BUILT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
AND HOW THE LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED HERE TIE IN
TO THE GENERAL THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS
AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES.
narrator: THE GROUNDWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING ITALY'S MOUNTAINS
HAD ALREADY BEEN LAID CENTURIES AGO
BY SCIENTIFIC PIONEERS.
IT WAS HERE IN THE APENNINES DURING THE RENAISSANCE
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI AND LATER, NICOLAUS STENO,
STUDIED FOSSILIZED SEA SHELLS.
THEY REALIZED THAT THESE WERE THE KEY
TO UNDERSTANDING THE GROWTH OF THESE MOUNTAINS.
THE WORD "GEOLOGY" ITSELF WAS INVENTED IN ITALY
IN 1603 BY ULISSE ALDROVANDI.
FOR FRANK PAZZAGLIA AND HIS PREDECESSORS,
ITALY IS A MOST REWARDING PLACE TO STUDY MOUNTAINS.
SOME 75% OF THE LAND IS MOUNTAINOUS.
IN THE NORTH ARE THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS,
THE ITALIAN ALPS.
HEADING SOUTH, THE APENNINES FORM THE BACKBONE OF ITALY.
THEY RUN DOWN THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE PENINSULA
AND INTO NORTHERN SICILY.
WHERE THE MOUNTAINS REACH TO THE COAST,
LIMESTONE CLIFFS RISE STEEPLY FROM THE SEA.
THE COLORFUL TOWNS OF CINQUE TERRE
IN NORTHERN ITALY
ARE STACKED AMONG THESE CLIFFS.
THE APENNINES MEET THE SEA AGAIN IN SOUTHERN ITALY,
MAKING FOR STUNNING SCENERY ON THE AMALFI COAST.
FROM SICILY TO THE ALPS,
ITALY'S MOUNTAINS ARE A STEADY PRESENCE,
AND FOR THE MOST PART,
IT'S OBVIOUS TO GEOLOGISTS THAT THE BULK OF THE MOUNTAINS
ARE ACTIVELY GROWING.
IN FACT, IN SOME PLACES,
AS FRANK PAZZAGLIA AND HIS COLLEAGUES WELL KNOW,
THEY ARE GROWING UNUSUALLY QUICKLY.
ONE OF THE FASTEST-RISING MOUNTAIN RANGES
IS CLOSE TO A CITY KNOWN ALL AROUND THE WORLD
FOR ITS LEANING TOWER, WHICH DATES FROM 1173.
PISA IS ALSO A VIBRANT CENTER OF LEARNING
AND HAS BEEN FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM THE LEANING TOWER,
GIANCARLO MOLLI IS A GEOLOGY PROFESSOR
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PISA,
WHERE GALILEO TAUGHT IN THE 16TH CENTURY.
TODAY GIANCARLO AND HIS STUDENTS ARE DISCUSSING
THE NEARBY MOUNTAINS THAT ARE RISING SO QUICKLY.
THEY ARE CALLED THE ALPI APUANE.
- [speaking Italian]
narrator: MUCH OF THE GEOLOGIC STORY
OF THE ALPI APUANE HAS BEEN PIECED TOGETHER
BY ITALIAN GEOLOGISTS OVER THE YEARS.
- [speaking Italian]
narrator: BUT GIANCARLO IS DETERMINED
TO FILL IN THE BLANKS.
MYSTERIES REMAIN AS TO HOW FAST THESE MOUNTAINS HAVE RISEN.
GIANCARLO WANTS TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW FAST AND WHY.
THESE ARE THE MOUNTAINS THAT BROUGHT UP FROM THE DEPTHS
A VERY RARE AND EXCEEDINGLY BEAUTIFUL ROCK.
THAT ROCK IS THE FAMOUS ITALIAN MARBLE
SHAPED CENTURIES AGO
BY THE SCULPTORS OF THE RENAISSANCE.
IN FLORENCE,
MARBLE ADORNS THE ORNATE CAMPANILE AND DUOMO.
IT WAS HERE IN FLORENCE THAT MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI
BROUGHT TO LIFE HIS UNFORGETTABLE STATUE
OF THE YOUNG DAVID.
THE DAVID STANDS NEXT TO UNFINISHED SCULPTURES
KNOWN AS THE PRISONERS.
THEY ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO COME OUT OF THE ROCK.
MICHELANGELO'S SUBLIME SCULPTURES
ALSO GUARD THE TOMBS OF THE POWERFUL MEDICI FAMILY.
HE FOUND THE PURE MARBLE THAT HE NEEDED FOR HIS WORK
IN THE ALPI APUANE MOUNTAINS NEAR THE TOWN OF CARRARA.
THE ALPI APUANE ARE SO NAMED
FOR THEIR CRAGGY, ALPINE-LOOKING PEAKS.
THEIR DAZZLING WHITENESS CAN EASILY BE MISTAKEN
FOR SNOW FROM A DISTANCE.
BUT THE WHITE IS NOT SNOW.
IT'S MARBLE.
ALL OVER THESE MOUNTAINS ARE QUARRIES,
WHERE HUGE CHUNKS OF MARBLE HAVE BEEN EXTRACTED.
THESE QUARRIES REMAIN
THE WORLD'S LARGEST PRODUCER OF MARBLE.
- [speaking Italian]
narrator: FOR GEOLOGISTS LIKE GIANCARLO MOLLI,
A QUARRY CAN BE AN EXCELLENT PLACE
TO STUDY THE INSIDES OF MOUNTAINS.
THE ROCK LAYERS HAVE BEEN EXPOSED,
MAKING IT EASIER TO TELL HOW THEY'VE BEEN LAID DOWN,
SQUASHED, AND FOLDED.
THE HARD MARBLES WERE CREATED FROM SOFTER LIMESTONE.
IT WAS IN THE LIMESTONE HILLS OF TUSCANY AROUND FLORENCE
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI FOUND FOSSILIZED SEASHELLS.
THIS WAS IN THE EARLY 1500s,
RIGHT AT THE TIME MICHELANGELO
WAS LABORING OVER HIS SCULPTURES.
WHEN LEONARDO FOUND THE SEASHELLS,
IT WAS NOT UNDERSTOOD HOW THEY HAD GOTTEN OUT OF THE SEA
AND INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
BUT OVER THE YEARS,
SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED AN IMPRESSIVE EXPLANATION.
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO, THERE WAS NO ITALY HERE.
INSTEAD, THERE WAS A SHALLOW OCEAN
CALLED THE TETHYS.
- THE GEOLOGIC STORY OF ITALY IS REALLY FASCINATING
BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO SET THE STAGE.
BEFORE THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD RECOGNIZE
AS THE APENNINE MOUNTAINS,
THERE WAS THE SEPARATION OR THE BREAKUP
OF A LARGE SUPERCONTINENT CALLED PANGAEA.
AND IN THE BREAKUP OF THIS CONTINENT,
A NEW OCEAN BASIN WAS CREATED.
WE CALL THIS OCEAN BASIN TETHYS.
narrator: TINY SEA CREATURES LIVED
IN THE ANCIENT TETHYS OCEAN.
OVER TIME, AS THEY LIVED AND THEN DIED,
THEIR REMAINS DRIFTED TO THE OCEAN FLOOR.
THESE DEPOSITS BUILT UP LAYERS OF SEDIMENT MILES THICK
AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SEA.
EVENTUALLY, THE LAYERS HARDENED INTO LIMESTONE.
IN THE CASE OF THE CARRARA MARBLES,
THE LIMESTONE WAS THEN BURIED DEEPLY
BY TECTONIC FORCES OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.
EXTREME HEAT AND PRESSURE BAKED IT INTO MARBLE.
- THIS CUT OF MARBLE IS SPECIAL, A PURE WHITE MARBLE.
THAT IS A--THAT IS THE REASON WHY IT WAS USED BY THE ROMAN
AND THEN DURING RENAISSANCE, FOR EXAMPLE BY MICHELANGELO,
UP TO NOW FOR MONUMENTS
AS WELL AS FOR BUILDING STONE.
AND THE FACT THAT IT IS SO PURE IS DUE TO THE FACT
THAT THE ORIGINAL SEDIMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT WAS SPECIAL.
narrator: THAT SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT WAS
A WARM, CALM, SHALLOW OCEAN,
SOMETHING LIKE THE CARIBBEAN SEA OF TODAY.
BUT TO PRODUCE MARBLE THAT IS SO PURE AND WHITE,
THE ORIGINAL SEA FLOOR
HAD TO BE WELL AWAY FROM BEACHES AND SAND.
BUT HOW DID ITALY'S LIMESTONES, FORMED IN THE SEA,
END UP AS RUGGED MOUNTAINS,
RISING FAR ABOVE SEA LEVEL TODAY?
THIS QUESTION PUZZLED GEOLOGISTS FOR CENTURIES.
THE PLACE WHERE THE PUZZLE FINALLY BEGAN TO FIT TOGETHER
WAS IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES,
THE ALPS.
A PARTICULARLY DRAMATIC PART OF THIS MAJESTIC RANGE
GUARDS ITALY'S NORTHERNMOST BORDER.
PIECING TOGETHER THE STORY OF THE ALPS
WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT
PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE VERTICAL TERRAIN
AND PARTLY BECAUSE THE ROCKS OF THE ALPS SEEMED ALL WRONG.
THEY WERE TOPSY-TURVY.
IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 1960s
AND THE ADVENT OF THE THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS
THAT THE ALPS BEGAN TO MAKE SENSE.
ABOUT 80 MILLION YEARS AGO,
GLOBAL TECTONIC FORCES CAUSED
THE CONTINENTS OF AFRICA AND EUROPE
TO APPROACH EACH OTHER.
IN BETWEEN THEM, THE SEA FLOOR OF THE TETHYS,
INCLUDING A SPECIAL PIECE OF CRUST, OR MICROPLATE,
CALLED ADRIA,
DOVE OR SUBDUCTED BENEATH EUROPE.
AS THIS HAPPENED,
GREAT SLABS OF THE EARTH'S CRUST
AND SEDIMENTS FROM THE SEA FLOOR
WERE PILED UP INTO MOUNTAINS
AT THE EDGE OF THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT.
IN SOME PLACES,
OLDER ROCKS WERE SHOVED OVER YOUNGER ONES,
OBSCURING THEIR ORIGINS.
GEOLOGISTS CLIMBING HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS
EVEN FOUND A PIECE OF THE EARTH'S MANTLE,
WHICH IS NORMALLY BURIED
20 MILES BENEATH THE EARTH'S CRUST.
THE ALPS WERE A GEOLOGICAL MESS, BUT A BEAUTIFUL ONE.
AND FROM THE UNRAVELING OF THIS MESS,
GEOLOGISTS ANSWERED THE QUESTION OF HOW SEASHELL FOSSILS
COULD END UP IN MOUNTAINS.
WHEN THE CONTINENTS COLLIDED,
ANCIENT LIMESTONES FROM THE TETHYS OCEAN
WERE THRUST HIGH IN THE AIR.
ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC EXAMPLES OF THIS ACTION
CAN BE SEEN IN ITALY'S DOLOMITES.
HERE, HUGE LAYERS OF LIMESTONE,
ONCE RESTING FAR BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE SEA,
ARE NOW STANDING AT GREAT HEIGHTS
DRAPED IN HIGH MOUNTAIN GLACIERS.
GLACIERS ALSO CARVED OUT SPECTACULAR LAKES,
LIKE LAKE COMO DURING THE ICE AGES.
ARMED WITH THE STORY
OF THE CATACLYSMIC BIRTH OF THE ALPS,
GEOLOGISTS BEGAN TO EXPLORE WHETHER THIS FANTASTIC TALE
COULD ALSO EXPLAIN THE BIRTH
OF ITALY'S OTHER GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGE,
THE APENNINES.
WERE THESE ALSO PUSHED UP BY COLLIDING PLATES?
THE STORY FIT IN MANY PLACES,
BUT IN SOME, IT DIDN'T.
THE ALPI APUANE RANGE
WAS ONE OF THOSE PLACES WHERE IT DIDN'T.
GEOLOGISTS COULD SEE THAT SOMETHING FAR DIFFERENT
MUST HAVE MADE THESE MOUNTAINS.
BUT WHAT WAS IT?
IT WASN'T UNTIL MANY YEARS LATER
THAT THIS MYSTERY WOULD BE SOLVED.
THERE WAS ANOTHER PLACE IN ITALY
THAT LOOKED VERY STRANGE TO GEOLOGISTS.
IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CALABRIA AT THE TOE OF THE BOOT,
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGIST NANO SEEBER IS EXPLORING
HOW THIS GEOLOGICALLY PERPLEXING AREA CAME TO BE.
ON THE MAP, CALABRIA FORMS A LINK
BETWEEN THE APENNINES
AND THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SOUTH IN SICILY.
BUT THE APENNINES AND THE MOUNTAINS OF SICILY
ARE MOSTLY COMPOSED OF LIMESTONE AND OTHER SEDIMENTARY ROCKS.
IN CONTRAST, CALABRIA'S MOUNTAINS ARE MADE
OF GRANITE AND METAMORPHIC ROCK,
TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM LIMESTONE.
OVER THE YEARS, ITALIAN GEOLOGISTS PUZZLED
OVER THE STRANGE ROCKS OF CALABRIA,
MUCH AS NANO SEEBER IS DOING TODAY.
- IN GEOLOGY, THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
YOU NEED TO LOOK AT A MOUNTAIN AND THINK OF WHAT'S IN IT.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THINK HOW IT CHANGES
THE SHAPE OF THE ROCKS INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN.
narrator: IT SOON BECAME APPARENT TO ITALIAN GEOLOGISTS
THAT THE ODD ROCKS OF CALABRIA EXTENDED INTO SICILY.
- IT'S CONTROLLED BY THIS FORCE.
narrator: THERE WAS A PART OF SICILY,
THE NORTHEASTERN CORNER,
THAT WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE ISLAND.
HERE AT MESSINA,
THE ROCKS ARE MORE LIKE CALABRIA'S ROCKS
AND NOTHING LIKE THE REST OF THE APENNINES.
CLOSE BY, THE SICILIAN COASTAL RESORT OF TAORMINA
IS ALSO BUILT ON ROCKS LIKE CALABRIA'S.
THE ROCKS OF THE REST OF SICILY
FIT WITH THE APENNINES ON THE MAINLAND.
WHAT COULD EXPLAIN THESE DIFFERENCES?
IT TOOK A NEW TWIST TO THE THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS
FOR GEOLOGISTS TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THESE ROCKS HAD COME FROM.
AND WITH THAT TWIST
CAME A DRAMATIC NEW UNDERSTANDING
OF ALL OF ITALY.
IT TURNS OUT THAT THE ROCKS OF CALABRIA AND NORTHERN SICILY
STRONGLY RESEMBLED THOSE OF THE ALPS.
AND IN FACT, AS FRANK PAZZAGLIA LEARNED
FROM HIS ITALIAN COLLEAGUES,
THESE ROCKS HAD ONCE BEEN PART OF FRANCE.
- ITALY AT ONE TIME WAS ACTUALLY CONNECTED TO FRANCE.
AND OVER THE PAST SEVERAL TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS,
IT HAS BEEN SWINGING TO THE EAST.
narrator: CHUNKS OF ROCK THAT WOULD BECOME ITALY
ALONG WITH CORSICA AND SARDINIA
SEPARATED FROM FRANCE ABOUT 30 MILLION YEARS AGO.
ITALY, STILL UNDERWATER,
PLOWED INTO THE ADRIA MICROPLATE,
WHICH SUBDUCTED BENEATH IT.
IN THE PROCESS, PIECES OF ADRIA WERE SCRAPED OFF
AND A NEW MOUNTAIN RANGE BEGAN TO GROW.
THE APENNINES WERE BORN.
INITIALLY THE MOUNTAINS WERE BELOW SEA LEVEL.
FINALLY, BETWEEN 5 AND 10 MILLION YEARS AGO,
ITALY EMERGED FROM THE SEA.
THE SUBDUCTION PROCESS CAUSED A GROWING WEDGE OF MATERIAL
THAT RAN DOWN THE WHOLE LENGTH OF THE ITALIAN PENINSULA.
- SO ITALY LOOKS LIKE A BOOT
POSITIONED TO KICK TO THE WEST,
BUT IN FACT, IT IS MOVING BACK TOWARDS THE EAST
SWINGING AND CONSUMING THE ADRIA MICROPLATE
IN ITS WAKE.
narrator: THE SWINGING ITALIAN BOOT THAT EMERGED FROM THE SEA
SOLVES LEONARDO DA VINCI'S MYSTERY
ABOUT HOW THE FOSSILIZED SEASHELLS
GOT INTO THE APENNINES.
BUT THIS FASCINATING TALE
OF THE BIRTH OF ITALY AND THE APENNINES
WAS NOT YET THE WHOLE STORY.
THERE WERE SOME VERY FAMOUS MOUNTAINS IN THE SOUTH
THAT DID NOT FIT THIS PICTURE AT ALL.
OR DID THEY?
IN SOUTHERN ITALY
ABOVE THE FAST-MOVING FOOT OF THE ITALIAN BOOT
LOOMS THE LEGENDARY MOUNT VESUVIUS.
MOUNT VESUVIUS IS THE ONLY ACTIVE VOLCANO
ON MAINLAND EUROPE.
PEOPLE COME TO SEE IT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
DURING RECORDED HISTORY,
VESUVIUS HAS BEEN KNOWN TO ERUPT HUNDREDS OF TIMES.
THE MOST FAMOUS ERUPTION
BURIED THE PROSPEROUS ROMAN TRADING CITY,
POMPEII, IN 79 A.D.
VESUVIUS IS STILL ACTIVE AND COULD ERUPT AT ANY TIME.
FARTHER SOUTH ON SICILY, AT THE TOE OF THE BOOT,
IS THE MASSIVE MOUNT ETNA.
LIKE MOUNT VESUVIUS,
ETNA IS A VERY ACTIVE AND FAMOUSLY DESTRUCTIVE VOLCANO.
FOR YEARS, GEOLOGISTS COULD NOT EXPLAIN
WHAT THE TWO VOLCANOES WERE DOING HERE.
BUT AROUND THE TIME PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE 1960s,
GEOLOGISTS CAME TO A SURPRISING CONCLUSION
ABOUT MOUNT VESUVIUS AND MOUNT ETNA.
THEY ARE VOLCANOES AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
FROM THE APENNINES OR THE ALPS.
BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY CAUSED BY THE SAME PROCESS,
SUBDUCTION.
AS THE SUBDUCTING PLATE SINKS DOWN,
IT SLIDES UNDER THE OTHER AND HEATS UP.
THIS HEATED MATERIAL BECOMES MAGMA,
WHICH RISES UP THROUGH THE TOP PLATE
TO BUILD ACTIVE VOLCANOES.
THE ITALIAN VOLCANOES FIT THIS PICTURE WELL.
IN FACT, GEOLOGISTS COULD TRACE A VOLCANIC ARC
THAT FOLLOWS THE SUBDUCTING PLATE.
STARTING AROUND ROME,
WHERE THERE ARE SOME DORMANT VOLCANOES,
AND CURVING DOWN PAST STROMBOLI
AND THE VOLCANIC AEOLIAN ISLANDS
AND CONTINUING PAST ETNA FARTHER SOUTH.
BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING PECULIAR ABOUT ETNA.
[all speaking Italian]
ON A BRIGHT JUNE MORNING,
NANO SEEBER AND GRADUATE STUDENT MARGARET REITZ
HAVE COME DOWN FROM CALABRIA
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PECULIAR FEATURE.
- [speaking Italian]
- YEAH, THERE ARE-- THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FAULTS.
ACTUALLY WE'VE GOT A NORTH, NORTHEAST TREND
FROM THE STRAIT OF MESSINA.
narrator: ETNA'S ERUPTIONS CONTAIN
A RARELY SEEN MIXTURE OF LAVA AND ASH.
USUALLY, A VOLCANO PRODUCES ONE OR THE OTHER.
WHY DOES ETNA PRODUCE BOTH?
NANO AND MEG HAVE A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING OUT,
BUT THEY MOST GET THE PERFECT LAVA SAMPLE.
THEY HAVE TO WORK FAST.
THE VOLCANO HAS BEEN ERUPTING FREQUENTLY,
AND THE SCIENTISTS ARE SEIZING THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY
TO FIND A SAMPLE BEFORE IT ERUPTS AGAIN.
THE GOING IS DIFFICULT AND EVEN DANGEROUS.
LEADING THE WAY IS BORIS BEHNCKE OF THE I.N.G.V.,
ITALY'S NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GEOPHYSICS AND VULCANOLOGY.
- A PART OF THIS VENT ERUPTED ON THE TENTH OF MAY.
narrator: BORIS KNOWS ETNA AS WELL AS ANYONE ALIVE.
- THE MOUNTAIN IS QUITE A LARGE VOLCANO
AND ALSO ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES ON EARTH.
IT'S CURRENTLY 3,330 METERS TALL.
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN 11,000 FEET.
IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES ON EARTH,
MAYBE THE SECOND MOST ACTIVE AFTER KILAUEA ON HAWAII.
- IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES
ON THE PLANET.
AND IT'S VERY YOUNG, ACTUALLY.
IT'S ONLY HALF A MILLION YEARS OLD.
narrator: HOW IT GOT SO BIG SO FAST
IS PART OF THE RIDDLE OF ETNA.
HOW DID SO MUCH LAVA ACCUMULATE SO QUICKLY?
- ETNA SITS IN A PLACE WHERE THERE ARE LOTS OF FAULTS
AND CRACKS RUNNING THROUGH THE CRUST OF THIS PLANET.
IN THIS VERY AREA,
MANY OF THESE FAULT SYSTEMS INTERSECT IN THAT PLACE.
SO IT'S A PLACE OF PARTICULAR INSTABILITY,
AND THUS IT IS MUCH EASIER
FOR THE MAGMA TO COME IN THAT PLACE.
THERE SEEMS TO BE NO OTHER VOLCANOES ON EARTH
WHERE WE HAVE A SIMILAR GEODYNAMIC SITUATION.
- THAT LOOKS GOOD.
BEAUTIFUL.
- NOW WE CAN BREAK THAT DOWN FURTHER.
- YEAH, YEAH.
narrator: FINALLY THE TEAM FINDS THE PERFECT SAMPLE.
- YUP.
THERE. - IT'S HARD ROCK.
narrator: THEY WILL TAKE IT TO THE LAB FOR ANALYSIS
AND FIND OUT THAT, INDEED, ETNA'S LAVA IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL.
IT OFTEN COMES FROM VERY DEEP IN THE EARTH,
WORKING ITS WAY UP THROUGH CRACKS.
NANO'S TEAM TIME THEIR EXPEDITION PERFECTLY.
SHORTLY AFTER THEIR CLIMB, ETNA EXPLODED.
IT'S BECAUSE ETNA IS SO ACTIVE
THAT A HUGE NETWORK OF SEISMIC STATIONS,
GAS-MONITORING DEVICES,
AND OTHER HIGH-TECH MONITORING INSTRUMENTS
HAS BEEN SET UP TO WARN OF IMPENDING ERUPTIONS.
THIS WARNING SYSTEM,
ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED,
KEEPS THE MILLION PEOPLE LIVING CLOSE BY SAFER.
THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LIVING HERE BECAUSE,
AS IT TURNS OUT,
THERE ARE MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES TO LIVING ON A VOLCANO.
- THERE ARE LOTS OF BENEFITS TO LIFE ON A VOLCANO
BECAUSE WE'VE GOT VERY FERTILE SOILS
DUE TO THE WEALTH OF MINERALS IN THE VOLCANIC PRODUCT,
ESPECIALLY IN THE ASH.
AND EVERYTHING THAT GROWS ON ETNA
IS A LITTLE BIT BIGGER AND A LITTLE BIT MORE TASTY.
THERE ARE IMPORTANT RESOURCES LIKE TOURISM.
THEN THE VOLCANO PROVIDES BUILDING MATERIAL
BECAUSE LAVA IS VERY RESISTANT ROCK,
MUCH BETTER THAN CONCRETE.
AND FINALLY, ALSO,
THE VOLCANO STORES INCREDIBLE QUANTITIES OF WATER
BECAUSE IT'S ALL POROUS ROCK,
AND THAT IS CERTAINLY AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT
IN A PLACE LIKE SICILY
WHERE THERE ARE ELSEWHERE PROBLEMS WITH DROUGHT.
IF THE SOUTHEAST QUAKE ERUPTS AGAIN,
IT'LL THROW OUT A LOT OF OLD MATERIAL.
narrator: AS THESE SCIENTISTS LEARN MORE
ABOUT MOUNT ETNA AND VOLCANOES,
THEY'RE ALSO GETTING INSIGHTS
INTO AN INTIMATELY RELATED GEOLOGIC PROCESS
ALSO CAUSED BY PLATE MOVEMENTS AND SUBDUCTION:
EARTHQUAKES.
PEOPLE HERE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN
THE MASSIVE MESSINA EARTHQUAKE OF 1908,
WHICH CAUSED WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION
IN BOTH SICILY AND CALABRIA.
- THERE'S BEEN TERRIBLE EARTHQUAKES
IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
AND UNDERSTANDING HOW CALABRIA WORKS TECTONICALLY
IS GONNA HELP TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT KIND OF EARTHQUAKES WE CAN EXPECT.
narrator: THE PEOPLE OF CALABRIA AND THE REST OF SOUTHERN ITALY
ARE WELL AWARE THAT EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES
ARE THE GEOLOGIC SIGNATURES OF THEIR LAND.
BOTH ARE DRIVEN BY THE CRUSHING TECTONIC FORCE OF SUBDUCTION.
BUT IS SUBDUCTION AT WORK FARTHER TO THE NORTH?
IS IT A MAJOR FORCE THERE?
- ENTIRE BLOCKS OF BUILDINGS COLLAPSED
AS A POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE STRUCK CENTRAL ITALY
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SAYS
THE QUAKE MEASURED 6.3 ON THE RICHTER SCALE.
narrator: IN 2009, A LARGE EARTHQUAKE
STRUCK THE CENTRAL ITALIAN TOWN OF L'AQUILA,
KILLING MORE THAN 300 PEOPLE.
ABOUT 100 MILES AWAY IN THE REGION OF UMBRIA,
THE 13TH CENTURY BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED
AND FOUR PEOPLE PERISHED
WHEN AN EARTHQUAKE STRUCK IN 1997.
OBVIOUSLY THE EARTH'S CRUST IS VERY ACTIVE IN CENTRAL ITALY.
REGIONS LIKE UMBRIA AND TUSCANY
ARE FREQUENTLY JOLTED BY EARTHQUAKES.
BUT UNLIKE THE SOUTH, CENTRAL ITALY HAS NO VOLCANOES.
THE LINE OF SUBDUCTION-DRIVEN VOLCANOES ENDS NORTH OF ROME.
IS A PROCESS OTHER THAN SUBDUCTION
BUILDING THE MOUNTAINS
AND TRIGGERING THE EARTHQUAKES IN CENTRAL ITALY?
UNTIL RECENTLY, GEOLOGISTS THOUGHT THAT SUBDUCTION
WAS LONG DEAD TO THE NORTH OF ROME.
APPARENTLY, ANOTHER PROCESS,
THE STRETCHING OF THE EARTH'S CRUST,
HAD TAKEN OVER--
OR SO THEY THOUGHT.
BUT EARTH SCIENTISTS WORKING IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ITALY
HAVE BEGUN TO WONDER.
ONE OF THEM IS MARK BRANDON,
AN OLD FRIEND AND ADVISOR OF FRANK PAZZAGLIA.
THEY ARE MEETING IN THE MEDIEVAL TOWN OF ELCITO,
FROM WHICH THEY CAN SEE A LONG WAY OFF.
- SO WE'RE LOOKING ALONG THE ENTIRE ADRIATIC COAST HERE.
- EXACTLY, WE'RE LOOKING OUT OVER THE TOP OF CINGOLI RIDGE,
AND FROM CINGOLI RIDGE,
THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE LIMESTONE RIDGE.
narrator: MARK HAS BEEN TRAVELING AROUND TUSCANY,
WHERE SIGNS OF THE STRETCHING OF THE EARTH'S CRUST
ARE MUCH IN EVIDENCE TO GEOLOGISTS.
- WE SEE THE ROCKS AT THE SURFACE PULLING APART.
AND A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THAT IF WE GO
INTO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE LANDSCAPE
LIKE AROUND FLORENCE,
WHAT WE SEE ARE THERE ARE BIG GRABENS OR STRETCH MARKS
WHERE THE EARTH IS PULLING APART AT THE SURFACE.
IN FACT, MANY OF THE EARTHQUAKES WE SEE
ARE DUE TO A LARGE PART OF THE CRUST AT THE SURFACE
BEING STRETCHED APART.
narrator: THE LOVELY LANDSCAPE OF TUSCANY NEAR FLORENCE
IS A FAMILIAR ONE,
OFTEN USED AS THE BACKGROUND IN RENAISSANCE PAINTINGS.
ONLY A CLOSER LOOK BY GEOLOGISTS REVEALS THE WRENCHING APART
OF THIS GENTLE LANDSCAPE.
- SO, I MEAN, WE THINK MASSA COULD GO UNDER HERE.
narrator: TRAVELING ONWARD FROM CENTRAL ITALY
AND HEADING TO THE NORTHWEST,
MARK BRANDON AND HIS COLLEAGUE DARRYL COWEN
CAN TELL THAT MUCH MORE THAN STRETCHING
IS OPERATING TO BUILD ITALY'S MOUNTAINS.
ONE PLACE WHERE THEY'RE HOPING TO FIND THE MISSING LINK
IS IN MICHELANGELO'S MARBLE QUARRIES
IN THE ALPI APUANE MOUNTAINS.
WAITING FOR HIS AMERICAN COLLEAGUES
AT THE STATION IN CARRARA
IS GIANCARLO MOLLI WITH STUDENT GABRIEL CAZALLI.
- HOW ARE YOU? - CIAO.
narrator: GIANCARLO IS TAKING THE GROUP
TO HIS RUGGED, MOUNTAINOUS FIELD AREA.
GEOLOGISTS HAVE WORKED OUT THAT THE FAMOUS MARBLES HERE
HAVE RISEN UP VERY QUICKLY FROM DEEP IN THE EARTH.
AND THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD'VE RISEN UP SO RAPIDLY
IS IF THE ROCKS AROUND THEM WERE BEING STRETCHED APART
BY A VERY POWERFUL AND MYSTERIOUS FORCE.
THAT STRETCHING WOULD HAVE OPENED A GAP FOR THE ALPI APUANE
TO RISE QUICKLY TO THE SURFACE.
- THE ALPI APUANE EXPOSES THE DEEPEST METAMORPHIC ROCKS
IN THE APENNINES.
WHAT WE MEAN BY THIS,
THESE ARE ROCKS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN DEEP INTO THE CRUST
AND HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED
BY HIGH TEMPERATURES AND HIGH PRESSURES
INTO ENTIRELY NEW ROCKS.
AND FOR MANY YEARS NOW,
THERE'S BEEN THE RECOGNITION THAT THE APUANE AREA
AND THE METAMORPHIC ROCKS THAT UNDERLIE IT
HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TO THE SURFACE
BY THIS OVERALL STRETCHING PROCESS.
SO IT'S A MANIFESTATION OF THIS EXTENSION OR STRETCHING PROCESS,
THE DEEPEST OR MOST PRONOUNCED MANIFESTATION OF THAT.
narrator: WITH THE FAMOUS MARBLES
OF THE ALPI APUANE FRESH IN HIS MIND,
MARK IS IMPRESSED
BY WHAT THE STRETCHING OF THE EARTH'S CRUST CAN DO.
BUT WHAT IS THE FORCE BEHIND THE RAPID STRETCHING APART
OF TONS OF ROCK IN THE ALPI APUANE?
AND WHY IS IT THAT THE EARTH'S CRUST IN ITALY
IS BEING PULLED APART IN SOME AREAS
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME,
IT'S BEING SQUEEZED UP IN OTHER AREAS?
FORTUNATELY, MARK HAS STUDIED MOUNTAIN BELTS AROUND THE WORLD,
AND ONE THEORY HAS EMERGED THAT MAKES SENSE TO HIM.
IT'S CALLED ROLLBACK.
IN THIS SCENARIO,
THE APENNINES ARE BEING SQUEEZED UP INTO MOUNTAINS
ABOVE THE DOWN-GOING SUBDUCTING PLATE.
MEANWHILE, THE SUBDUCTING PLATE DRAWS BACKWARD
AT THE POINT WHERE IT CURVES DOWNWARD.
THIS IS CALLED ROLLBACK OF THE PLATE.
AS IT ROLLS BACK,
THE SUBDUCTING PLATE
SUCKS THE COLLIDING PLATE TOWARDS IT,
STRETCHING IT APART.
ON TOP OF THAT PLATE,
THE CRUST ALSO STRETCHES AND DEFORMS,
RISING UP IN SOME PLACES AND SINKING DOWN IN OTHERS,
CREATING A LANDSCAPE OF HILLS AND VALLEYS,
AS IN TUSCANY.
BUT ROLLBACK HAS BEEN HARD TO PROVE,
AND THERE ARE OTHER THEORIES THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN
THE OBSERVATIONS ON THE SURFACE.
THIS DEBATE IS WHAT HAS BROUGHT MARK BRANDON TO ITALY.
- ITALY IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PLACE
TO STUDY THIS PROCESS OF COLLISION OF PLATES
AND OVERALL STRETCHING AT THE SURFACE.
WE SEE THIS GOING ON IN DIFFERENT MOUNTAIN BELTS,
SUCH AS THE HIMALAYA, THE ANDES.
WE ALSO SEE IT GOING ON IN SUBMARINE SUBDUCTION ZONES,
LIKE THE MARIANA IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC.
BUT MANY OF THOSE SETTINGS,
EITHER THE PROCESS HAS BEEN ARRESTED
OR IT'S DIFFICULT TO STUDY DIRECTLY
BECAUSE THE TOPOGRAPHY IS TOO HIGH
OR WE CAN'T GET DIRECTLY TO THOSE AREAS.
narrator: THE ACCESSIBLE TOPOGRAPHY
OF ITALY'S APENNINES WITH ITS NETWORK OF GOOD ROADS
OFFERS ONE OF THE BEST HOPES
OF SOLVING THIS IMPORTANT GEOLOGIC MYSTERY.
GEOLOGISTS GENERALLY AGREE THAT THE COLLISION OF THE PLATES
FOLLOWED BY THE SUBDUCTION OF THE ADRIA MICROPLATE
PUSHED UP THE APENNINES SOME 5 TO 10 MILLION YEARS AGO.
BUT IN ONE PART OF THE APENNINES AROUND THE CITY OF BOLOGNA,
MANY GEOLOGISTS WERE CLAIMING
THAT THE MOUNTAINS WERE NOW DEAD;
THEY WERE NO LONGER BEING PUSHED UP BY SUBDUCTION.
IF THAT WERE TRUE, THEN THE ROLLBACK THEORY,
WHICH HINGED IN PART
ON SUBDUCTION STILL BEING ACTIVE IN NORTHERN ITALY,
WAS ALSO DEAD.
- 40,000 OR SOMETHING.
AND RIGHT HERE IT SAYS THAT--
- HEY, HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON?
- WELL, SHE'S GOT THESE REALLY,
REALLY INTERESTING OFFSETS IN THE TERRACES.
- YOU GUYS ARE WORRYING TOO MUCH ABOUT THE GEOLOGY.
TODAY'S--TODAY'S THE FEAST OF SAN GIUSEPPE
AND IT'S VERY--IT'S TRADITIONAL IN MANY PARTS OF ITALY
TO HAVE BREADS MADE ON THE FEAST OF SAN GIUSEPPE.
- BELLISSIMA.
- FESTE DEL PAPA.
AND THIS IS A SERPENTONI.
WE STUFFED IT WITH APPLES.
AND THIS IS JUST A REGULAR BRAID BREAD.
- DID YOU MAKE THAT TOO?
narrator: FRANK AND MARK HAVE ENLISTED EXPERTS
FROM VARIOUS FIELDS OF EARTH SCIENCE
TO FIND OUT IF THE APENNINES ARE STILL ALIVE OR NOT.
- WE'RE DIPPING TOWARDS THE BASE...
narrator: THIS IS PERHAPS THE BIGGEST GEOLOGICAL MYSTERY
REMAINING IN ITALY
AND SOLVING IT WILL NOT BE EASY.
THE SCIENTISTS ARE MEETING TO STRATEGIZE
AT THE GEOLOGIC OBSERVATORY OF COLDIOGIOCO,
A TINY VILLAGE IN THE NORTHERN APENNINES.
A NUMBER OF THE SCIENTISTS ARE CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS
AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE
TO DETERMINE IF IT'S LIFTING UP AND DEFORMING.
OTHERS ARE IMAGING THE DEEP INTERIOR OF THE EARTH.
STILL OTHERS ARE MAPPING THE BENDS AND TURNS
IN ROCK LAYERS BROUGHT UP FROM FAR BELOW.
- THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE...
narrator: ONE MEMBER OF THE COLLABORATION
IS GEOLOGIST VINCENZO PICOTTI.
VINCENZO HAS BEEN WORKING ON THE RENO RIVER
AT A TOWN CALLED MARZABOTTO, NOT FAR FROM BOLOGNA.
HERE A NOVEL TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN USED
TO CALCULATE THE AGES OF THE TERRACES ABOVE THE RIVER.
ON TOP OF THESE TERRACES
ARE ARTIFACTS OF THE ANCIENT ETRUSCANS
THAT ONCE LIVED HERE.
ON ONE WIDE, FLAT RIVER TERRACE
ARE THE RUINS OF AN ANCIENT ETRUSCAN TOWN.
SINCE ARCHAEOLOGISTS KNOW EXACTLY
WHEN THE ETRUSCANS LIVED ON THIS TERRACE,
VINCENZO CAN USE THAT DATE TO ESTABLISH
THAT THE RIVER TERRACE IS AT LEAST THAT OLD.
THIS WILL HELP HIM SEE
IF THE MOUNTAINS ARE STILL GROWING.
- THIS IS A VILLAGE OF ETRUSCAN AGE.
AND THOSE WALLS WE CAN SEE NOW
ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE HOUSES
OF THIS HIGHLY-CIVILIZED PEOPLE.
THE AGE OF THIS VILLAGE
IS MORE OR LESS 2,500 YEARS.
AND SO WE CAN HAVE A MINIMUM AGE
FOR THE RIVER TERRACE.
narrator: SOIL GEOMORPHOLOGIST MISSY EPPES
IS USING A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE.
SHE IS ESTABLISHING THE AGES OF RIVER TERRACES
THAT MAY BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD
BY LOOKING AT THE SOIL ON TOP OF THEM.
- SOILS WORK MUCH LIKE PEOPLE WORK
IN TERMS OF THE OLDER THEY GET,
THEY HAVE CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS
THAT ENABLE YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW OLD THEY ARE,
JUST LIKE A MOM MIGHT BE ABLE TO LOOK AT ANY CHILD
AND KNOW THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, 15 WEEKS OR A YEAR AND A HALF,
OR, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS,
AND YOU USE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT CHILD
TO SAY HOW OLD IT IS.
WE DO THE SAME THING WITH SOILS.
THE OLDER SOILS GET, THE REDDER THEY GET,
THE DEEPER THEY GET, THE MORE CLAY THEY HAVE IN THEM.
WELL, ACTUALLY, I MEAN--
SO THAT I CAN GO UP TO AN OUTCROP
AND LOOK AT A NICE EXPOSURE OF A SOIL AND SAY,
"YOU KNOW, THIS MUCH REDDENING, THIS MUCH CLAY,
"IT MUST BE 10,000 YEARS OLD.
"THIS SOIL IS REALLY THICK. IT HAS A LOT OF CLAY.
IT MUST BE 100,000 YEARS OLD."
THIS IS WHERE I WAS HAVING ALL THAT TROUBLE.
IF THIS WERE THE QT-6 DRAFT, THEN THEY'RE BE A LOT OF OFFSET.
SO IF WE COULD FIND A SOIL RIGHT THERE,
THEN WE WOULD REALLY KNOW.
ONCE MISSY AND GRADUATE STUDENT RYAN BEERMA
FIND AGES FOR THE RIVER TERRACES,
THEY CAN LOOK TO SEE IF THERE ARE TERRACES OF THE SAME AGE
BUT OF DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS.
IF THEY FIND THOSE MISMATCHED TERRACES,
IT MEANS THE EARTH'S SURFACE IS DEFORMING HERE.
OR IN OTHER WORDS, THE APENNINES ARE STILL ALIVE AND GROWING.
- YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. - OKAY, WOW.
narrator: MEANWHILE, THE SCIENTISTS HAVE FOUND
YET ANOTHER WAY TO LEARN FROM THE RIVERS
IF THE MOUNTAINS ARE RISING OR ARE NOW DEAD.
- ONE VERY CRITICAL DATA SET THAT WE ARE COLLECTING
IS RELATED TO THE RATE AT WHICH RIVERS
ARE CARVING THEIR VALLEYS
AND VERTICALLY INCISING INTO THE APENNINES.
BECAUSE THE RATE THAT RIVERS INCISE INTO MOUNTAINS
IS RELATED TO THE RATE THAT THE ROCKS ARE COMING UP.
narrator: THAT IS, IF THEY ARE COMING UP.
WHILE FRANK IS WORKING ON UNDERSTANDING VERTICAL MOTIONS,
ELSEWHERE HORIZONTAL MOTIONS ARE BEING MEASURED.
IN THE TINY INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO,
SCIENTISTS ARE MEASURING HOW THE EARTH'S TECTONIC PLATES
ARE MOVING IN NORTHERN ITALY.
- YOU CAN'T BE AFRAID OF HEIGHTS AND RUN THIS NETWORK.
- NO.
narrator: HERE GEODESIST RICK BENNETT
AND HIS ITALIAN COLLEAGUES
HAVE INSTALLED ONE OF THEIR GPS ANTENNAS.
- IN THIS PROJECT, WE'RE INSTALLING ANTENNAS,
SUCH AS THIS ONE,
IN AS MANY LOCATIONS AS WE CAN FIND
THROUGHOUT NORTHERN ITALY.
THE IDEA IS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DETERMINE
THE MOTION OF ALL OF THESE INSTRUMENTS.
AND FROM THAT INFORMATION WE'LL BE ABLE TO LEARN
ABOUT HOW THE ITALIAN PENINSULA
IS RESPONDING TO THE RELATIVE MOTION
BETWEEN THE AFRICA PLATE, THE EURASIA PLATE,
AND THE ADRIATIC PLATE.
narrator: IN THE COURSE OF A YEAR OR TWO,
THE GPS ANTENNAS SHOULD DETECT MOVEMENT,
EVEN A TINY MOVEMENT,
IF THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN ITALY
ARE STILL GROWING AND PULLING APART.
IT MAY EVEN BE POSSIBLE TO TELL IF THE ENTIRE PENINSULA,
THE BOOT, IS STILL SWINGING BACK,
GETTING READY TO KICK.
- SHALL WE TRY? - TRY, YEAH, SURE.
- JUST TAKE UP.
narrator: BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO FIND THE BEST SPOT
TO INSTALL THESE ANTENNAS.
FORTUNATELY FOR THIS ONE,
A COLLEAGUE HAS VOLUNTEERED HIS ROOF.
- SURVEY ANTENNA, SEE?
- IT'S BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND GOOD LOCATIONS
TO PUT THESE INSTRUMENTS.
THEY REQUIRE SKY VISIBILITY
SO THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE SATELLITES.
THEY REQUIRE SOLID BEDROCK SO THAT WE CAN BE CONFIDENT
THAT THEY'RE FIRMLY ATTACHED TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
AND THERE ARE NOT MANY PLACES IN NORTHERN ITALY
WITH THOSE CHARACTERISTICS.
SO WE'VE HAD TO RESORT TO SOME RATHER UNCONVENTIONAL WAYS
OF ATTACHING THE ANTENNAS TO THE EARTH.
IN SOME INSTANCES,
WE'VE ACTUALLY PUT THE ANTENNAS ON ANCIENT CASTLES
THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR 800 YEARS OR SO
WHICH ARE NOW POSSIBLY PART OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
narrator: ALL OF THESE GEOLOGIC STUDIES
GENERATE HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA.
MOST OF IT IS A PILE OF NUMBERS
HIDDEN IN COMPUTERS AND NEVER SEEN,
EVEN BY THE SCIENTISTS WORKING ON THEM.
BUT THAT DATA WILL FORM
THE BASIS OF IMPORTANT NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
AND OCCASIONALLY SOMETHING ELSE:
MUSIC.
[both speaking Italian]
AT COLDIOGIOCO, SANDRO MONTANARI,
THE DIRECTOR OF THE GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY,
HAS BUILT A RECORDING STUDIO
WITH THE HELP OF COMPOSER GABRIELE ROSSETTI.
THE TWO COLLEAGUES ARE TAKING GEOLOGIC DATA
AND TURNING THEM INTO NOTES AND MUSIC.
ONE OF THEIR COMPOSITIONS IS BASED ON DATA
FROM A WORLD-SHATTERING EVENT DISCOVERED IN SOME ROCKS
NOT FAR FROM COLDIOGIOCO.
HERE A THIN LAYER IN THE ROCKS GAVE SCIENTISTS THE FIRST CLUE
THAT IT WAS A GIANT METEOR STRIKING THE EARTH
THAT SPELLED THE END FOR THE DINOSAURS.
[both speaking Italian]
TODAY SANDRO AND GABRIELE ARE WORKING ON ANOTHER PIECE
CALLED GOCCE DE TEMPO, DROPS OF TIME.
- THIS IS OUR PLOTS OF CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES.
THEY'RE BEING TAKEN FROM THE FRASASSI GORGE.
AND THE VARIATION OF THESE VALUES
TELL US HOW THE ENVIRONMENT WAS CHANGING THROUGH TIME
FOR THE PAST 100,000 YEARS.
narrator: THIS MUSIC REFLECTS THE CHEMISTRY OF FORMATIONS
IN A SERIES OF MAGNIFICENT CAVES,
THE FRASASSI CAVES.
THESE CAVES ARE MADE OF LIMESTONE
WHICH WAS BORN 100 MILLION YEARS AGO
IN THE TETHYS OCEAN.
TINY DROPS OF WATER HAVE DISSOLVED AWAY THE LIMESTONE
TO SCULPT MORE THAN 100 CAVES AT FRASASSI.
BESIDES BEING A WONDERFUL SOURCE OF MUSICAL COMPOSITION,
THE FRASASSI CAVES HOLD IMPORTANT GEOLOGICAL CLUES
ABOUT THE GROWTH OF THE APENNINES.
SANDRO MARIANI,
WHO'S BEEN WORKING WITH FRANK PAZZAGLIA
AT THE MUSONE RIVER,
IS AN ACCOMPLISHED CAVE EXPLORER.
HIS NICKNAME IS SPIDERMAN.
SANDRO IS USING A LEVELING INSTRUMENT
TO SEE IF THE ROCK LAYERS IN THE CAVE HAVE BEEN TILTED.
TILTING WOULD MEAN THAT THE ROCKS WERE BENT
AS THE MOUNTAINS GREW.
AND SURE ENOUGH, SANDRO FINDS BENT ROCKS IN THE CAVES.
THIS IS EVIDENCE THAT THE MOUNTAINS
HAVE BEEN SLOWLY GROWING THROUGH THE EONS.
GOING DEEPER STILL,
SCIENTISTS ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT'S HAPPENING
FAR BELOW THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
TO SEE MANY MILES DOWN INTO THE EARTH,
SEISMOLOGIST SILVIA PONDRELLI AND JEFFREY PARK
ARE INSTALLING SEISMIC INSTRUMENTS IN THE MOUNTAINS.
- I THINK THAT SEISMOLOGY IS GOING TO BE PIVOTAL
IN DETERMINING THE BEST EXPLANATION
FOR THE NORTHERN APENNINES
BECAUSE IT'S SEISMOLOGY THAT ALLOWS US
TO SEE BENEATH THE SURFACE, BENEATH THE CRUST,
AND INTO THE MANTLE WHERE THE ACTION IS.
narrator: THEIR BIGGEST QUESTION IS THIS:
IS THE ADRIA MICROPLATE STILL SUBDUCTING,
CAUSING THE APENNINES TO GROW?
OR ARE OTHER PROCESSES INVOLVED
IN BUILDING THE APENNINES?
JEFF AND SILVIA WILL USE WAVES GENERATED BY EARTHQUAKES
TO SEE IF THEY CAN FIND THE ANSWER
IN THE DEEPEST ROOTS OF THE MOUNTAINS.
WHILE SILVIA, JEFF, AND THEIR COLLEAGUES
WORK TO FIND OUT WHETHER NORTHERN ITALY
IS STILL ALIVE GEOLOGICALLY,
IN THE SOUTH THERE IS NO DOUBT.
STRIKING EVIDENCE FOR THIS IS FOUND AT THE ADRIATIC COAST
IN AN AREA CALLED APULIA.
HERE AT THE HEEL OF THE ITALIAN BOOT,
INSTEAD OF MOUNTAINS,
THERE IS A MOSTLY FLAT LEVEL COASTLINE.
SEASIDE RESORT TOWNS LIKE TRANI
LINE THE LONG CURVING BAYS OF THE COAST
AND LOOK OUT UPON THE GENTLE WAVES
OF THE ADRIATIC SEA.
DOTTING THE COUNTRYSIDE
ARE ROUND STONE HUTS CALLED TRULLI.
THERE IS A CONCENTRATION OF TRULLI
IN THE TOWN OF ALBEROBELLO,
A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.
THESE WHITEWASHED HUTS ARE BUILT OF LIMESTONE,
WHICH FORMS THE BEDROCK OF THIS UNUSUAL PART OF ITALY.
LIMESTONE HAS BEEN MORE
THAN THE STUFF OF BUILDING BLOCKS IN APULIA.
IN THE TOWN OF MATERA,
PEOPLE ONCE ACTUALLY LIVED INSIDE THE LIMESTONE,
CARVING THEIR DWELLINGS
INTO THE LIMESTONE CLIFFS RUNNING BELOW THE CITY.
THESE DWELLINGS, DATING FROM MEDIEVAL TIMES,
ARE KNOWN AS SASSI.
BUT WHY IS APULIA SO DIFFERENT FROM MOUNTAINOUS CALABRIA?
IT TURNS OUT THAT IN THE COMPLEX GEOLOGY
OF SOUTHERN ITALY,
APULIA IS YET ANOTHER MICROPLATE
THAT WAS ONCE A PART OF AFRICA.
- ABOUT 10 MILLION YEARS AGO,
CALABRIA AND SARDINIA WERE TOGETHER,
AND CALABRIA DECIDED TO GO ALONE,
SO IT TOOK OFF FROM SARDINIA AND MOVED SOUTHEAST.
AND IN DOING SO, IT CREATED THE TYRRHENIAN SEA
AND COLLIDED WITH AN OLD PIECE OF AFRICA
WHICH IS CALLED APULIA.
narrator: ORIGINALLY APULIA WAS UNDER THE SEA,
A GENTLE SEA FLOOR MADE OF LIMESTONE.
IT WAS PUSHED UP ABOVE SEA LEVEL
BY ITS COLLISION WITH CALABRIA.
APULIA AND CALABRIA SIT ON OPPOSITE SIDES
OF THE GREAT SUBDUCTION ZONE THAT CREATED ITALY
WHERE THE AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN PLATES COLLIDE.
THE COLLISION ZONE SWEEPS RIGHT THROUGH THE HEART OF SICILY.
- SEE THERE, ANOTHER VOLCANIC...
narrator: MARK BRANDON AND HIS COLLEAGUE KARL WEGMANN
HAVE COME DOWN TO SICILY TO SEE IF THE SUBDUCTION ZONE HERE
CAN TELL THEM SOMETHING ABOUT SUBDUCTION IN THE NORTH.
THEY ARE GUIDED BY ONE OF THE LEADERS
OF SICILIAN GEOLOGY, FABIO LENTINI.
- INTERESTING. - YOU SEE HERE.
- YEAH. - OH, LOOK AT THOSE CORALS.
- THESE ARE COLONIAL CORALS.
[speaks Italian]
narrator: THEY START THEIR RECONNAISSANCE
IN NORTHERN SICILY.
THIS PART OF THE ISLAND IS DEFINED BY MOUNTAINS.
THEY HUG THE COAST AND PROTECT ANCIENT CITIES
LIKE CEFALU AND THE SICILIAN CAPITAL PALERMO,
ONCE THE GREATEST CITY IN EUROPE.
THE GEOLOGISTS STOP FREQUENTLY TO STUDY THE LIMESTONE MOUNTAINS
PUSHED UP BY THE POWER OF SUBDUCTION.
AS MARK AND HIS COLLEAGUES REACH CENTRAL SICILY,
THE MOUNTAINS THIN OUT,
BECOMING ISOLATED SKY ISLANDS TOPPED BY TOWNS
LIKE ENNA AND IT'S MEDIEVAL RIVAL ACROSS THE VALLEY,
CALASCIBETTA.
- I DON'T, UH-- ENNA IS THE PLACE.
narrator: A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH,
THE LANDSCAPE FLATTENS SUDDENLY.
THIS IS THE AFRICAN PLATE,
AND HALF OF SICILY SITS ON THIS PLATE.
THE SOILS AND BEDROCK OF SOUTHERN SICILY
ARE BEST SEEN ALONG ITS BREATHTAKING COAST.
THEY COME IN SHADES OF WHITE.
RAGGED LIMESTONE TERRACES MAKE
FOR COZY ALCOVES AND SECRET HARBORS.
THIS ONE, NORTH OF SYRACUSE, WAS ONCE A PIRATE HANGOUT.
SALT AND GYPSUM MINES ARE EVERYWHERE.
THESE MINERALS SPEAK OF A REMARKABLE TIME
ABOUT 6 MILLION YEARS AGO
WHEN TECTONIC FORCES BLOCKED THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR.
THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN SEA
WAS CUT OFF FROM THE WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC,
LEADING TO WHAT GEOLOGISTS CALLED
THE MESSINIAN SALINITY CRISIS.
- THE WHOLE MEDITERRANEAN DRIED UP.
IT WAS A BIG DEEP HOLE WHERE WE NOW HAVE WATER.
AND AS IT DRIED UP,
ALL OF THE SALT AND OTHER DISSOLVED CONSTITUENTS
CAME OUT AS THICK, EVAPORITE UNITS.
narrator: THE DEPOSITS PILED UP ON THE DRIED-OUT SEABED.
LATER, OCEAN WATER FLOODED BACK IN AGAIN
AND COVERED THEM UP.
NOW AS THE AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN PLATES CONTINUE TO COLLIDE,
THOSE SEABED DEPOSITS ARE SLOWLY RISING OUT OF THE SEA.
FARTHER SOUTH,
AT THE SOUTHERNMOST PART OF SICILY,
STAND THE SPECTACULAR GREEK TEMPLES
OF AGRIGENTO.
NEAR AGRIGENTO, THE COASTAL ROCKS CLEARLY SHOW
THE EFFECTS OF THE INCOMING AFRICAN PLATE.
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THIS PART OF ITALY
IS GEOLOGICALLY ALIVE AND KICKING.
- YOU CAN SEE THE OCEAN OUT TO THE SOUTH OF US,
AND FURTHER ON IS AFRICA-- IN FACT, TUNISIA.
AND IN THIS AREA, WE'RE LOOKING AT
THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE COLLISION
BETWEEN ITALY AND AFRICA.
AND IN THIS COLLISION ZONE,
THERE ARE A BUNCH OF ROCKS THAT ARE CRUMPLED UP.
YOU CAN SEE THEM FOLDED IN THE BACKGROUND OVER HERE.
AND THEY REPRESENT MARINE SEDIMENTS IN PART
THAT WERE ORIGINALLY IN THE OCEAN TO THE SOUTH OF US
AND HAVE BEEN SQUISHED
AS ITALY HAS COME COLLIDING WITH AFRICA.
narrator: TUNISIA IS CLOSE TO SICILY,
ONLY 60 MILES AWAY.
SO MARK AND KARL HAVE COME DOWN TO EXPLORE THE COLLISION ZONE
FROM THE AFRICAN SIDE.
TUNISIAN GEOLOGIST SAMI KHOMSI TAKES THEM ON A TOUR
OF THE MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRYSIDE.
GEOLOGISTS HAVE WORKED OUT THAT THESE ROCKS IN NORTHERN TUNISIA
ARE ACTUALLY AN EXTENSION OF THE APENNINES.
THEY WERE CREATED BY THE SAME SUBDUCTION ZONE
THAT CREATED ITALY.
THE SUBDUCTION ZONE CURVES DOWN FROM SICILY
TO BUNCH UP THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS IN TUNISIA.
THE ROCKS HERE ANNOUNCE THE COLLISION SITUATION
LOUD AND CLEAR.
THEY ARE TIGHTLY FOLDED AND BROKEN UP IN MANY PLACES.
BUT IN NORTHERN ITALY, IN FRANK PAZZAGLIA'S FIELD AREA,
THERE ARE NO SUCH OBVIOUS CLUES.
[both speaking Italian]
SO SCIENTISTS ARE PATIENTLY PLYING THEIR TRADE,
GATHERING DATA.
- BRIAN, IF YOU NEED A HAND GETTING THAT--THAT...
narrator: FINALLY A BREAKTHROUGH COMES NEAR BOLOGNA.
- THEY'RE ALL FASTENED DOWN THERE.
narrator: IT COMES UNEXPECTEDLY FROM THE DETAILED MAPPING
OF THE RIVER TERRACES AND THE SOILS ON TOP OF THEM.
THE SCIENTISTS FIND FAULTS
CAUSED BY EARTH MOVEMENTS BREAKING UP THE TERRACES.
FINDING FRESH, ACTIVE FAULTS HELPS PROVE THAT THE APENNINES
ARE INDEED STILL ALIVE AND GROWING.
FRANK'S NAGGING QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED.
- IT'S DOWNSTREAM, ACTUALLY STRATIFIED...
- A VERY EXCITING RESULT
THAT'S EMERGING FROM OUR COLLABORATION
IS THAT IN FACT THE MOUNTAIN FRONT AT BOLOGNA
IS TECTONICALLY ACTIVE AND IS CONTINUING TO GROW.
- OH, LOOKIT THERE.
- THE DATA ARE VERY COMPELLING,
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED BY THIS CONCLUSION.
narrator: OTHER RESULTS TAKE A FEW YEARS LONGER.
ROCK SAMPLES FROM THE ALPI APUANE
REVEAL THAT HERE THE MOUNTAINS HAVE RISEN UP FROM THE DEPTHS
WITH UNUSUAL RAPIDITY,
ABOUT 1/3 OF AN INCH PER YEAR.
THIS IS VERY FAST GEOLOGICALLY
AND PROBABLY COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED
IF THE CRUST WERE NOT BEING PULLED APART SO STRONGLY
IN NORTHERN ITALY.
TO TOP OFF THESE FINDINGS,
GPS STUDIES ALSO SHOW THAT THE APENNINES ARE INDEED ALIVE
AND MOVING HORIZONTALLY IN SOME AREAS.
THE DATA INDICATE THAT IN SOME PARTS OF TUSCANY,
THE EARTH'S SURFACE IS SPLITTING APART
ABOUT A 1/6 OF AN INCH PER YEAR.
THE DATA ALSO SHOW THAT THE ITALIAN BOOT
IS STILL SWINGING BACK AS IF TO KICK.
- EMERGING DOWNSTREAM HERE?
- YEAH, I THINK THAT IT COMES THROUGH WHERE THIS FAULT RUNS.
narrator: ALL OF THIS EVIDENCE FITS WELL WITH THE THEORY
THAT ROLLBACK IS OCCURRING IN ITALY.
THE SEISMIC STUDIES CLEARLY SHOW THAT THE ADRIA MICROPLATE
HAS SUNK DEEP INTO THE MANTLE.
THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,
BOTH SQUEEZING THE APENNINES UPWARD
AND PULLING THEM APART.
IT'S A PROCESS THAT BALANCES TWO OPPOSING FORCES,
AND LIKEWISE, ITS IMPACT ON PEOPLE
CAN BE SEEN AS BOTH BENEFICIAL AND HARMFUL.
EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES CAN CAUSE TREMENDOUS DAMAGE,
BUT THEY ALSO MAKE FOR A BEAUTIFUL BOUNTIFUL LAND.
WITHOUT TECTONICALLY ACTIVE GROWING MOUNTAINS,
THE GREAT MARBLE OF CARRARA
WOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY
AND THE ART OF THE RENAISSANCE
MIGHT HAVE TURNED OUT VERY DIFFERENTLY.
- STREAM THIS POINT OF ROCK COMES RIGHT OUT HERE...
narrator: MEANWHILE, FRANK PAZZAGLIA
AND HIS COLLEAGUES
HAVE BEEN ADDING THEIR OWN BRUSHSTROKES
TO ITALY'S COMPLEX GEOLOGIC PORTRAIT.
IT'S AN ELEGANT AND UNUSUAL PORTRAIT,
AND LIKE MICHELANGELO'S UNFINISHED PRISONERS,
IT'S NOT YET COMPLETE.
[gentle orchestral music playing]
WORKING ON ITALIAN GEOLOGY IS A CHALLENGE, CERTAINLY,
BUT DELIGHTFUL, LIKE SO MUCH ELSE IN ITALY.
- I ALWAYS LAUGH BECAUSE NO ONE EVER FEELS SORRY FOR YOU
WHEN YOU TELL THEM THAT YOU HAVE TO GO DO WORK IN ITALY.
- IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE TO WORK.
IT'S GOT BEAUTIFUL WEATHER, BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.
- IT'S VERY FERTILE BECAUSE IT'S ACTIVE.
IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE IT'S ACTIVE.
THE REASON THAT ITALY IS WHAT IT IS
IS BECAUSE TECTONICALLY IT'S AN ACTIVE PLACE.
female announcer: ITALY'S MYSTERY MOUNTAINS
IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.
TO ORDER, VISIT: