Marine Machines

In the North Atlantic, high-tech aircraft and hardy sailors battle against an annual onslaught of icebergs, striving to ensure that the tragedy of the Titanic never happens again. We'll sail with the crew of Canada's Atlantic Eagle as they grapple with a million-ton berg. They'll use all the weapons in their arsenal, from a water-cannon with the power of a jet engine, to a mile-long tow rope

See how we 'see' under the sea and join the man versus machine debate raging in the depths. The latest ROV's, AUV's and small submersibles at work (and play) in the oceans of the world, including Graham Hawkes' Deep Flight Aviator project, the first manned submersible able to 'fly' at high speed to the very bottom of the deepest ocean.

For the last 30 years the most radical boat designs have worked to break the rules of speed, often resulting in high speed lethal crashes. With new technologies innovators have built the fastest, most stable boats in the world, from small leisure crafts to giant military, cargo and passenger crafts.

New military technology means ships are more and more vulnerable from great distances. By using radar absorbing materials and the latest integrated combat system weaponry these ships are both elusive and lethal. With unprecedented access we look at the handful of new ships which represent the first major breakthrough in marine architecture since WWII.

The ocean depths are often more extreme than the outer space environment. Ocean innovators and scientists are leading the development in making undersea communities a reality. This programme looks at the details and scientific capabilities of seafloor habitation. How would our lives change under the sea? Could we survive a nuclear winter under the sea?

SCUBA is one of the greatest inventions of all time. This show will look at the technology that has allowed people to enter the foreign and dangerous world beneath the sea. We delve the deeps of new rebreather technology, breathing oxygenated fluid and diving at high altitudes in mountain lakes where the pressure changes are exaggerated to extreme limits.

Hollywood, ever the ground breaker at exploring new frontiers, have been capturing images beneath the surface and bringing us their vision of life beneath the sea. We'll see the latest technology from Jordan Klein, the groundbreaking creator of underwater filming for Jaws and The Abyss, as well as Pauline Heaton, Hollywood's hottest underwater cinematographer.

Join us and a team of men and women who live life on the very edge, and bear witness as they dive into the danger zone! Follow survival training in its extreme, witness first hand real rescue attempts and tour the largest floating hospital ever built. Join us on a discovery as we learn the physics and the fear of these marine machines.

Harvesting energy from the oceans is an ancient concept, but to gain sufficient power to supply the modern world will take superior technologies never before possible. Looking at the latest technologies being invented to extract energy from the oceans include offshore wind turbines, tidal / current turbines, wave energy converters, thermal energy sub-sea power plants and methane hydrate mining.

Today's governments around the world have committed billions to rediscover the technology of past wars lost or abandoned on the ocean floor. The goal is to use the latest 21st century technology, including the newest sonar and underwater robots, to identify, assess, and alleviate the dangers posed by weapons buried at sea.

Powerful diggers, floating dump trucks and heavy weight dredgers feature in this incredible story of big machines with even bigger muscles. From the Mississippi to the ocean trenches of the offshore oil rigs to New York City suction draggers and ocean dredgers tackle the tough jobs of the water. Join us as we bear witness to the power and finesse of some of the world's most advanced engineering

Today Coastal defense is a major issue for many countries. Strategists believe the frontlines of the future may lie in these coastal oceans where traditional ships and submarines can not go. Undersea jet fighters that are both manned and remotely controlled are being developed from autonomous fighting machines already lurking in the depths.

The life of a commercial diver is sometimes exciting, adventuresome and dangerous. We follow the stories of these remarkable men and women and learn about the important work they do under the sea as well as under our cities and towns. From sunken treasure wrecks and oil rigs, to flooded mine shafts and nuclear reactor cooling shafts.