The Earth

Earth comes to life with stunning clips from the BBC's television archive. There is a lot to watch: See Mount St Helens erupt, the Earth form, and glaciers shrink.

Atmosphere & climate (4)

• Climate

  Climate change has natural and manmade causes.

• Atmosphere

  The atmosphere protects our planet from radiation and asteroids.

Water & ice (6)

• Antarctica

  The Antarctic ice sheet holds about 90% of the fresh water on the planet's surface.

• The Arctic

  The Arctic is home to the second largest ice sheet on Earth.

Surface & interior (16)

• The rock cycle

  Rocks change their form over very long time periods.

• Composite volcanoes

  Composite volcano eruptions are often the most deadly.

Earth timeline (10)

• Glaciers advance and retreat

  We are living during an interglacial period.

• The Moon forms

  A giant impact may have formed the Moon.

Natural disasters (10)

• Forest fires

  Despite the damage they cause, small fires can be good for forests.

• Tsunamis

  Earthquakes can create deadly ocean waves.