1: Avalanche | Dangerous Earth

Duration: 29'21''

Synopsis

Dr Helen Czerski looks at the anatomy of an avalanche. From shocking eyewitness footage from within an avalanche to detailed CT scans showing the microscopic changes that cause them, we can now capture exactly what happens as snow transforms into a deadly and unpredictable danger.

Further Information

More clips from Dangerous Earth

2: Volcano | Dangerous Earth

2: Volcano | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 29'14''

Dr Helen Czerski looks at volcanoes. With shocking eyewitness footage of eruptions, and new thermal imagery and ultra high-speed photography, we...

3: Lightning | Dangerous Earth

3: Lightning | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 29'13''

Dr Helen Czerski examines the hottest natural phenomenon on the planet - lightning. High-speed cameras show the secrets of upward lightning th...

4: Aurora | Dangerous Earth

4: Aurora | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 29'36''

Dr Helen Czerski looks at the latest scientific insight into the aurora - dancing lights in the night sky that have fascinated cultures throughou...

5: Tornado | Dangerous Earth

5: Tornado | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 29'14''

Dr Helen Czerski peers into the heart of the storm to find out how advances in technology are giving new insight into tornadoes - the fastest wi...

6: Iceberg | Dangerous Earth

6: Iceberg | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 29'12''

The latest scientific insights into icebergs, from side-scanning sonar scrutinising the edge of glaciers to pictures that give us a unique glimp...

Climate change | Dangerous Earth

Climate change | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 1'33''

Dr Helen Czerski explains the impact that climate change is having on ice melting and sea levels rising.

Effusive and Explosive eruptions | Dangerous Earth

Effusive and Explosive eruptions | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'10''

Dr Helen Czerski demonstrates the differences between effusive and explosive eruptions.

Eyjafjallajökull ash | Dangerous Earth

Eyjafjallajökull ash | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 4'32''

Faraday cage | Dangerous Earth

Faraday cage | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 2'20''

Dr Helen Czerski explains how planes are protected from lightning.

Glacier submarine melting | Dangerous Earth

Glacier submarine melting | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 2'39''

How glacier submarine melting is causing more icebergs to separate.

Iceberg B-31 | Dangerous Earth

Iceberg B-31 | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 2'05''

Dr Helen Czerski explores how Iceberg B-31 separated from the Pine Island Glacier.

Iceberg colour and shape | Dangerous Earth

Iceberg colour and shape | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 2'22''

Dr Helen Czerski explains why icebergs are white.

Iceberg sediment | Dangerous Earth

Iceberg sediment | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'22''

Dr Helen Czerski discusses the important properties of the sediment contained in icebergs.

Lightning slowed down | Dangerous Earth

Lightning slowed down | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 1'49''

Meteorologist Tom Warner films lightning at up to 100,000 frames per second.

Microburst | Dangerous Earth

Microburst | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 1'27''

Dr Helen Czerski explains the final stage in the creation of a tornado.

Mount Nyiragongo lava | Dangerous Earth

Mount Nyiragongo lava | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 5'03''

Dr Helen Czerski investigates the distinctive qualities of the lava from Mount Nyiragongo.

Phreatic eruption - Mount Ontake | Dangerous Earth

Phreatic eruption - Mount Ontake | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 2'58''

Dr Helen Czerski examines the 2014 phreatic eruption of Mount Ontake, Japan and why it was hard to predict.

Rhyolite eruption - Puyehue-Cordón Caulle | Dangerous Earth

Rhyolite eruption - Puyehue-Cordón Caulle | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'50''

Supercell | Dangerous Earth

Supercell | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 4'16''

Dr Helen Czerski discusses the particular weather conditions that produce a supercell thunderstorm.

The threat of icebergs | Dangerous Earth

The threat of icebergs | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'24''

Dr Helen Czerski explains how icebergs float and what makes them so dangerous.

More resources about Geology and the rock cycle

1: Building Britain | Britain Beneath Your Feet

1: Building Britain | Britain Beneath Your Feet

BBC One | 2015 | 58'06''

Dallas Campbell reveals how we can only understand the world around us by discovering the hidden wonders beneath our feet.

1: Deep Time | Men of Rock

1: Deep Time | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'05''

Iain Stewart tells the story of James Hutton, the founding father of geology. This Scottish thinker overturned ancient beliefs about how and when ...

1: Three Billion Years in the Making | British Isles: A Natural History

1: Three Billion Years in the Making | British Isles: A Natural History

BBC One | 2004 | 58'49''

Alan Titchmarsh travels Britain to discover why our islands are so diverse, peeling back the layers o...

2: Deserts, Dinosaurs and Volcanoes | British Isles: A Natural History

2: Deserts, Dinosaurs and Volcanoes | British Isles: A Natural History

BBC One | 2004 | 48'20''

Alan Titchmarsh uncovers how the British Isles were formed and looks back to a time when dinosaurs roa...

2: Moving Mountains | Men of Rock

2: Moving Mountains | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'54''

Iain Stewart finds out how gung-ho geologist Edward Bailey discovered that Scotland was once home to super volcanoes. Plus the story of uns...

3: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

3: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'52''

In the final episode of the series, Iain Stewart finds out about daredevil scientist Louis Agassiz, who first imagined the world had been gri...

4: Highlands | The Great British Countryside

4: Highlands | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 58'32''

Hugh Dennis and Julia Bradbury are in the Highlands of Scotland, Britain's wildest and oldest landscape. They explore a landscap...

5: Human Planet | How Earth Made Us

5: Human Planet | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'16''

Series in which Professor Iain Stewart looks at how geology has shaped human history. He explores the newest force, humans, whose impact ...

Beneath the Yorkshire Dales | The Great British Countryside

Beneath the Yorkshire Dales | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 5'25''

Hugh Dennis ventures into Gaping Gill, a cave produced by limestone erosion.

Chalk cliffs | The Great British Countryside

Chalk cliffs | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 3'35''

High Dennis climbs the chalk cliffs on the South East coast of England.

Cliffhanger | Men of Rock

Cliffhanger | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 2'05''

Dr Iain Stewart climbs a coastal sea stack and explains its geology.

Coastal Erosion | From Above

Coastal Erosion | From Above

BBC News | 2024 | 9'32''

Crumbling into the sea - the Isle of Wight, from above.

Dartmoor granite tors | The Great British Countryside

Dartmoor granite tors | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 2'10''

Hugh Dennis explains the geological processes that caused the granite tors on Dartmoor.

Deep Down & Dirty: The Science of Soil

Deep Down & Dirty: The Science of Soil

BBC Four | 2014 | 58'31''

Documentary in which gardening expert Chris Beardshaw delves into the micro-world of soil to reveal what it is, how it works and why w...

Disruption to the ice age cycle | How Earth Made Us

Disruption to the ice age cycle | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 4'36''

Professor Iain Stewart explains how humans prevented the next stage of the ice age cycle.

Geology of the North and South Downs | The Great British Countryside

Geology of the North and South Downs | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 1'13''

Geological demonstration of how the North and South Downs were created over millions of years.

Geology of the Yorkshire Dales | The Great British Countryside

Geology of the Yorkshire Dales | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 4'33''

Julia Bradbury explores the geology of the limestone pavement in the Yorkshire Dales.

Giant Ravines | From Above

Giant Ravines | From Above

BBC News | 2024 | 10'48''

Giant ravines are swallowing whole neighbourhoods. Watch the dramatic impact from above.

Hardraw Force | The Great British Countryside

Hardraw Force | The Great British Countryside

BBC One | 2012 | 2'52''

Hugh Dennis visits a waterfall in the Yorkshire Dales that has created a gorge in the landscape.

Hinduism in Bali | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

Hinduism in Bali | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 4'10''

Iain Stewart tours the Pacific Rim to discover how the rocks beneath our feet have shaped history. He visits awesome volcan...

More from Helen Czerski

Energy and climate change | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Energy and climate change | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

BBC Four | 2020 | 4'45''

Dr Helen Czerski demonstrates how climate change is impacting the ocean.

Chladni experiment | Sound Waves: The Symphony of Physics

Chladni experiment | Sound Waves: The Symphony of Physics

BBC Four | 2017 | 1'59''

Dr Helen Czerski investigates the science behind the sounds and how Chladni used sand to see the shape of sound vib...

Rhyolite eruption - Puyehue-Cordón Caulle | Dangerous Earth

Rhyolite eruption - Puyehue-Cordón Caulle | Dangerous Earth

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'50''

How hurricanes are formed by Earth's rotation | Learning Zone

How hurricanes are formed by Earth's rotation | Learning Zone

BBC Two | 2012 | 5'20''

Physicist Helen Czerski explains that hurricanes happen because the earth is rotating. She shows how, because t...

Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey

Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey

BBC Two | 2012 | 58'23''

Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth's voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, travelling first from July to the Dece...