[Barack Obama] A great current rises slowly from the abyss
into the middle of the world's largest ocean,
where it soothes an exhausted humpback whale
who has just become a mother.
[delicate, enchanting music playing]
She's traveled across 3,000 miles of open ocean to give birth...
[lows]
...in these calm, tropical waters.
[low, rumbly grunting]
Humpbacks are intelligent and sensitive.
Here, they have the peace and time they need
to establish the vital mother-calf bond.
[enchanting music continuing]
A hug helps affirm one of nature's strongest connections.
But they can't stay here.
If they get hit by a storm in the open ocean,
it could separate them.
So, they're swimming for the only shelter in this part of the Central Pacific,
the islands of Hawai'i.
Getting there is dangerous.
[menacing music building]
[bubbles burbling]
Male humpbacks patrol the island's approaches...
[jarring whale song clashing]
...knowing that every adult female coming here will soon be ready to breed,
and worth the chase.
[menacing music intensifies, trails off]
Her two-ton newborn is unaware of the dangers.
But babies can be killed or separated in the crush of 40-ton males.
[graceful, lilting music playing]
So, Mom communicates in a whisper, trying not to be overheard.
[furtive murmuring]
Protecting her son is her priority.
But he wants to play.
His innocent splashes give them away.
[ominous, keening whale song]
Now, the race is on.
They accelerate to 15 miles an hour.
[tense, resounding music playing]
A dozen rivals start competing for her
in a heat run.
[agitated lowing]
With her calf in tow, Mom can't outrun them.
She's caught.
And all she can do now is try to protect her calf
as the males fight to be by her side.
[resounding thud]
Eighty tons of blubber and muscle collide.
[music intensifies, trails off]
Mom uses her 15-foot-long pectoral fin to fend off a male who gets too close.
[tense music playing]
[plaintive whale song]
[frenetic lowing]
She does everything she can to shield her baby.
He's tiring fast.
But shallow water is ahead.
Then, the biggest male closes in again
and releases a barrier of bubbles.
[forceful burbling]
It's a display of dominance,
showing that he's got energy to spare.
Forcing away any rival that comes too close.
Giving Mom and calf the chance to dive out of sight.
[tense music crescendos, trails off]
[gentle, enchanting music playing]
She allows him to escort them both to safety.
[whale huffs]
With his protection, they can rest.
And if he's patient enough, she may, in time, choose to mate with him.
But her calf remains her top priority.
Now, he can suckle in peace...
and safely play...
splashing around as much as he wants.
In just a few months, Mom and her calf,
along with the rest of Hawai'i's humpbacks,
will begin their trek north
to their rich summer feeding grounds,
half an ocean away.
[sweeping, majestic music building]
Our oceans are so vast that they define the color of our planet.
Throughout human history, they've been a gateway to the unknown.
Even today, the surface of the ocean is a portal to another world.
One of mystery...
and drama...
populated by creatures so intelligent
and rarely seen
that we are only just beginning to get to know them.
[crackly crunching]
[gentle huffing]
But as the world goes through unprecedented change...
so too do our oceans.
We'll witness incredible ways to survive...
[quavering clicking]
...as we face this fast-changing world together.
We'll experience their challenges...
[sprightly tinkling]
...reveal their secrets,
and discover lives more like ours...
[bear cub whimpers]
...than we could have ever imagined.
[sweeping music intensifies]
Never has there been a more important time for us to explore the wonders...
surprises...
and joys of life across our oceans.
Our voyage begins in the expanse of blue that covers almost a third of our planet.
Of all our oceans, the Pacific is the largest and the deepest.
Many currents swirl around this mighty ocean,
but one unites them all.
[current whooshing]
It's part of the most powerful circulation of water on Earth.
We call it the global ocean current...
and it brings the Pacific to life in astonishing ways.
[music subsides]
Like on the reefs of the West Pacific,
where it helps support
the greatest variety of sea life found anywhere.
It's home to the world's most famous fish.
A clownfish.
And his family.
They live in an anemone beside the drop-off,
with ocean views.
[delicate, enchanting music playing]
The great current refreshes the corals that built this world...
allowing them to thrive...
by bringing clean, oxygenated water
from the open ocean right to their doorstep.
Just what this little guy needs.
Because soon, he'll become a first-time parent.
Mom has laid over 100 precious eggs, and it's now Dad's job to look after them.
Which means keeping them tidy...
[cheeky music playing]
...brushing away dirt and sand...
and providing round-the-clock care.
The reef is full of predators...
and a well-tended anemone will protect the family with its stinging tentacles...
providing Dad does his chores...
and keeps everything spic and span.
[whimsical music playing]
But staying on top of the housework
and keeping the eggs clean is a tall order.
Especially today.
[music trails off]
[menacing music building]
[jarring stinger]
[menacing music continuing]
A raft of floating stones.
It's a sign of elemental forces at work.
Because somewhere far away,
an undersea volcano has erupted,
creating pumice...
billions of gas-filled volcanic rocks,
which can be carried for thousands of miles
on the global ocean current.
[whimsical music resumes]
It's a new dad's worst nightmare.
But in the long term,
this mess could actually be good news for the whole neighborhood.
Because pumice will slowly dissolve,
releasing nutrients that support development and growth.
Turns out, a little dirt really doesn't hurt.
[music trails off]
Wherever it flows, the great current delivers extraordinary riches,
and in the Pacific, its path is guided by a colossal force.
[clamorous rumbling]
[explosion reverberates]
[tense, haunting music playing]
One with the power to make mountains.
A 25,000-mile chain of active volcanoes, known as the Ring of Fire,
surrounds this ocean.
From the West Pacific, they form a mountainous coastline
that guides the great current on a loop northwards,
carrying over 50 million tons of tropical water every second
towards the islands of Japan...
[music trails off]
...where it warms the surrounding water to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just enough to sustain tropical coral reefs
further north than anywhere else on Earth.
[enigmatic, entrancing music playing]
A young broad club cuttlefish...
is looking for romance.
Because today marks the start of the annual Cuttlefish Ball,
held each spring when the warming water helps trigger their urge to find a mate.
Cuttlefish have the astonishing ability
to communicate their feelings through their skin.
But this superpower can also be a weakness.
Especially if you're a little anxious about your first date.
One particular female has caught his eye.
[quirky, buoyant music playing]
Deep breath.
Here goes.
As he approaches,
his brain connects directly with thousands of pixels in his skin,
to say,
"Hi. I'm cool, calm and relaxed."
Just what she is looking for.
[foreboding music playing]
But here comes trouble.
These tough guys are making their aggression clear.
Their swagger and zebra stripes mean they're angry...
[intense, aggressive music playing]
...and not afraid to throw their weight around.
The young male is cut out.
[wily, mysterious music playing]
But like Hulk, they shouldn't make him angry.
They won't like him when he's angry.
Instantly he displays his own intense zebra stripes.
With his temper unleashed...
he scares off a rival.
And he returns to the female.
But she's not interested in a tough guy.
[subtle, quirky music playing]
To win her over, he'll need to keep his cool.
So, in an incredible display,
he appears to split his personality.
[enigmatic, entrancing music playing]
With his relaxed tones, he shows the female he's calm,
while showing his rivals his macho stripes.
At last, with a little anger management, his superpower has become an advantage.
Showing he's the strong yet sensitive type.
And finally, she's impressed.
Things move fast in the cuttlefish world.
And in no time, they're starting a family.
[bright, buoyant music playing]
She lays their eggs
where they'll be kept warm and oxygenated by the current.
[music trails off]
From here, the great current also transforms its character,
becoming rich with minerals as it passes the active volcanoes
that mark the northern boundary of the Ring of Fire.
So that when it arrives off Alaska three years later...
[willowy music playing]
...it helps fuel an annual feast.
Humpbacks.
They've traveled all the way from Hawai'i in anticipation of this seasonal bounty.
But the fishing isn't what it used to be.
[ship's horn blares]
Because these days, our fishing fleets often get there first.
Our appetite for fish means
that marine predators must compete with us.
But these two shady characters have a secret spot.
And a plan...
to outsmart the humans.
By stealing fish...
[groovy, funky music playing]
...from a salmon hatchery.
These nets contain 14 million young salmon
that will soon be released to help repopulate the wild.
Why go up against the fishing fleets when you've got an all-you-can-eat buffet?
[muffled footsteps]
But it's a fisheries Fort Knox.
You can't sneak past security when you're 50 feet long.
[taut percussive beat playing]
Unlike some petty thieves.
It seems like an impossible mission.
[funky, furtive music playing]
But this crafty duo have been scoping the joint for years.
And they've got a plan...
to strike the moment the hatchery releases the young salmon.
Step one, get your timing right
and keep a low profile.
[fishery gate creaking]
With the coast seemingly clear,
the vault is unlocked.
[chains rattling]
The sound of chains is like a dinner bell...
alerting the whales that the prize is on the move.
[furtive, circumspect music intensifying]
Step two, break in before the young salmon get out.
It's a smash-and-grab job...
[music swells, trails off]
...but most of the fish break free and start scattering out to sea.
So, the final step is to blow a net of bubbles...
[dramatic music building]
...which conceals a new feeding trick...
using their pectoral fins to herd the fish into an even tighter ball.
These criminal masterminds have pulled off the perfect heist...
although enough salmon do escape to boost numbers in the wild.
In the end, there's nothing the humans can do...
[slick, triumphant music playing]
...to stop the ocean's 40-ton thieves.
[music trails off]
[somber, majestic music playing]
As it begins to follow the coastline south,
the cold, fertile current enriches the volcanic west coast of North America...
supporting forests of giant kelp,
some towering 180 feet above the seabed...
home to an astonishing variety of life.
Every level is inhabited.
[graceful, mysterious music playing]
Sea lions soar through the branches.
Sea otters rest in the canopy...
and feed on the forest floor,
which shelters an enchanting world of invertebrates.
The current's influence even transforms life beyond the ocean.
It sustains thousands of miles of coastal rainforest,
including the tallest trees on Earth.
They can only grow here, where the current chills the air,
bathing them in sea mist and delivering soft rain...
[ship's horn blares]
...helping keep this entire coastline cool.
When the current reaches Los Angeles,
it slows,
and on a few calm summer days,
the surface layer warms just enough...
to set the stage for a great spectacle.
[enchanting, spirited music playing]
This incredible light is called bioluminescence,
the glow of billions of microscopic plankton.
As each one is disturbed, it emits a glimmer.
[excited barking]
And it's what these California sea lions have been waiting for.
As shoals of sardines feed on the plankton,
they light up...
turning the spotlight on themselves.
All this activity draws dolphins to the feast.
[enchanting music continuing]
The natural fireworks create so much light that even daytime predators are drawn in.
[splash]
Who'd have thought?
One of nature's greatest light shows,
hiding in plain sight,
just beyond the bright lights of LA.
[music trails off]
As the great current flows toward the tropics,
some diverts into a desert sea.
Mexico's Gulf of California.
By constantly replenishing its waters,
the current helps keep the Gulf fertile and cool.
It's been called the world's aquarium...
for the sheer diversity of fish.
But not all fish are content to hang with a crowd.
Beneath the shoals,
there is a miniature world that's providing a more private venue.
This female signal blenny is on the lookout for a partner.
[bold, vibrant music playing]
Several two-inch-long males are keen to compete for her attention.
[castanets clacking]
But she's only interested in the fittest...
largest...
and best-dressed.
So, what better way to choose...
[jazzy, exuberant music playing]
...than to host a dance-off...
and see who has the best rhythm...
style
and stamina.
Each blenny adds their own dance moves,
trying to outdo each other.
Great extension.
Smooth move.
But what's the verdict?
Do the fish have talent?
Hmm.
It's a "no" from her.
But there's no need for murder on the dance floor.
Here's another female.
[exuberant music continuing]
The party can go on all day...
here in Mexico's most exclusive ballroom.
[music fades out tinnily]
[majestic music playing]
The global ocean current powers away from the Americas
and into the Central Pacific.
In this wilderness,
voyagers need to cover huge distances to find food.
[dolphins clicking, trilling]
And where they can, they travel with the current.
Like these spinner dolphins.
It would be easy to lose each other out here.
So, they perform pirouettes up to ten feet in the air.
[loud splash]
The noisy splashes help keep them together.
So, they can cruise in super pods up to 5,000 strong.
[majestic music subsides]
Out here, far beneath the waves,
the Ring of Fire gives birth to undersea volcanoes and deep-sea vents...
that change the structure of the seabed itself...
with consequences for those swimming far above.
[somber, contemplative music playing]
A manta ray hitching a ride with the current.
Her 26-foot wingspan allows her to travel the ocean with ease.
She's heading for a secret rendezvous in the big blue.
A seamount rising from the abyss.
One of over 30,000 peaks hidden beneath the surface of the Pacific.
Built from lava, each one has a unique magnetic signature
from the earth's metals hidden within...
which she can detect using a sense she shares with her relatives.
[uneasy music playing]
Sharks.
This allows seamounts to become a meeting place.
And a rare opportunity for solitary ocean wanderers to socialize.
[somber, contemplative music continuing]
[jarring stinger]
But humans have exploited many of these seamounts...
and fished them out.
In the past 50 years,
the number of sharks have declined by 90% in some parts of the Pacific,
breaking fragile webs of life.
[somber, thoughtful music playing]
Only by protecting these seamounts
can we glimpse how they enrich life across the Central Pacific.
Reminding us how abundant our oceans can be
when we choose to safeguard them.
Three-quarters of the world's volcanic activity remains submerged.
But every few years, volcanoes break the surface...
[harsh, alien music playing]
...creating new islands as lava escapes from the earth's crust.
When lava flows into the sea, it cools rapidly, building jagged coasts.
Six hundred miles off Ecuador,
a chain of volcanic islands that has risen in the path of the global ocean current.
The Galápagos.
The island's active volcanoes create an intricate shoreline...
and an opportunity for a trailblazing predator.
[warm, cheerful music playing]
The Galápagos sea lion...
[pup bays]
...and his family.
Their pup is still too young to catch her own food.
So, it's up to Mom and Dad...
to do the hunting.
[bays]
They've chosen to make their home on these harsh volcanic rocks
for a good reason.
It's protected from the open ocean by a maze of gullies and shallow bays.
And yet, they can also reach
some of the most abundant fish-filled seas in the Central Pacific.
As the great current collides with these volcanic islands,
it forces food-rich water up...
[shoals rustling]
...fertilizing the surface...
and fueling an explosion of life just offshore.
But for the sea lions,
bringing any of this back to the youngster won't be easy.
[foreboding music playing]
Because they have got competition.
Blacktips.
The upwelling attracts yellowfin tuna, one of the fastest fish in the sea...
[tense, staccato music building]
...reaching speeds of 40 miles an hour.
[music intensifies]
There's no way the sea lions could catch them out here.
Tuna normally avoid shallow water.
So, the bull blows a wall of bullets,
which cuts off their escape and forces them towards the shore.
Working together, the sea lions drive the tuna into an old lava flow...
leading them into a trap.
Now, the sea lions have the edge.
But the scent of blood alerts their rivals.
The bull has his catch, but is surrounded by sharks.
One bite could leave him wounded and unable to support his family.
When it's all over, the bull is unharmed.
But he's lost his prize.
Still, their pup's got to eat.
[barks inquisitively]
So Mom isn't giving up.
[steely, determined music playing]
And the sharks know it.
So, the sea lion's only chance is
to drive the tuna where the sharks can't follow.
Straight out of the ocean.
[triumphant music playing]
At last, their young pup has all the food she could want,
thanks to the unique hunting skills of her parents,
seen nowhere else but here...
in the Galápagos.
The global ocean current continues to bring the entire Pacific to life,
taking just four years to cross
the greatest stretch of open ocean on Earth.
Over 12,000 miles wide, the South Pacific.
Where a green sea turtle is hoping to find food.
She's listening out for the sound of distant surf.
[distorted, slowed-down whooshing]
[pensive surf rock music playing]
Huge swells, driven by winds, break on the shallows,
unleashing some of the most powerful waves in the world.
It's no place for the fainthearted.
Because beneath all these Polynesian waves...
it's gnarly...
as hundreds of tons of seawater can crash down with every barrel.
[rowdy surf rock music playing]
People have been riding the waves here for centuries...
but the turtle's ancestors have been charging the breaks since long before us.
She knows how to manage herself in the waves.
Unlike some.
Besides, she's not here to surf.
She's here for the turf.
She knows the best algae grows where the coral can't,
in the impact zone, right where the waves break.
And thanks to her skills, she has the best grazing all to herself.
Everyone in the South Pacific has to cope with nature's most powerful forces.
[full, rolling rumbling]
When a volcano exploded in Tonga in 2022...
it released energy equivalent to 1,000 atom bombs...
[muffled explosion]
...sending shock waves around the planet.
But it's in chaos like this that we see the Ring of Fire's most surprising role.
[graceful music playing]
Over millions of years,
eruptions have created a legacy of more than 20,000 paradise islands.
Each one, a stepping stone for life...
helping creatures spread across the vast distance of the South Pacific.
And once in a rare while,
the Ring of Fire combines with the great current
to throw these long-distance travelers an extra lifeline
by carrying rafts of pumice...
which offer safe passage to hitchhikers.
Even as far as Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
And back to where we started our journey, the coral reefs of the West Pacific.
A new home, where the drifters can finally settle.
If they can find a place among the locals.
On our journey around the Pacific Ocean,
the global ocean current has helped transform
the Ring of Fire's destructive nature
into a powerful force for life.
But its epic, one-thousand-year-long voyage...
through all our oceans...
is only just beginning.
[majestic, soaring music playing]
Next...
the current flows into the Indian Ocean.
Vibrant...
and spectacular...
but highly competitive.
When faced with the increasing impact of our world,
it's the cleverest...
who will find new ways...
to survive.
[sparkling, pensive outro music playing]