Episode list

Two science students, Daniel Morin and Andrea Hawkes, investigate the sea ice in the Canadian Arctic archipelago. Their theory is that, like a line of demarcation, it separates two worlds as different as two distant planets: the world below, home to whales and other ocean-dwelling creatures, and the world above, home to humans and polar bears. In the heart of this great white desert is a mystery. Why is this vast expanse of ice studded with polynya- stretches of seawater that never freeze? The waters of the polynya, veritable polar oases crawling with life, offer a refuge to many animals. An inquiry into the mystery of these waters that never freeze marks the beginning of a polar odyssey that leads our two protagonists hundreds of miles over the ice surrounding Baffin Island.

In northern Baffin Island, the two young scientists, Daniel Morin and Andrea Hawkes, will investigate how, for thousands of years, the cold has shaped and conditioned the environment of the polar regions. We catch up with them on the ice canopy surrounding Bylot Island, where they set up a new bivouac under the watchful eye of an Arctic fox, which boldly approaches the camp in search of food. Recently proclaimed a national park, Bylot Island is a sanctuary for many species, including birds. In May, the snow geese start to invade the polar skies. They arrive by the hundreds and immediately begin to build their nests in the sodden tundra, unmindful of the presence of snowy owls and Arctic foxes, their major predators. While Daniel investigates the adaptation of snow geese to the polar cold, Andrea embarks with a glaciologist to analyze the partial melting of the permafrost on Bylot Island. Later on, caver Roger Gagnon and glaciologist Luc Moreau take the young geologist on an expedition as dangerous as it is magical: a descent into the heart of a glacier in search of unknown forms of life.

In this episode, Daniel Morin and Andrea Hawkes investigate how life adapts to the extreme conditions of the Far North. Daniel heads for Ellesmere Island, the northernmost island in the Arctic archipelago. Deep in the frozen tundra, he and biologist Christopher Omelon catch an unexpected glimpse of a battle for dominance between two musk oxen. In this desolate wasteland, Chris is looking for evidence of the presence of micro-organisms - a discovery that would shed light on the amazing abilities of these minuscule life forms to withstand the hostile Arctic environment. Later, Daniel joins a team of American scientists led by Ben Lepage, a paleobotanist studying the fossilized remains of a lush forest that covered the Far North fifty million years ago. Today, the only woody plant capable of growing in these high latitudes is the arctic willow. Meanwhile, along with caver Roger Gagnon and glaciologist Luc Moreau, Andrea continues her exploration of the inner workings of a glacier on the ice canopy. She is particularly interested in the phenomenon of cryogenics through which some organisms, such as the amazing tardigrade - or water bear - can remain frozen for years before returning to life.

We're in Igloolik, a small Inuit village lost in the heart of a flat, desolate wilderness. Here, Andrea will investigate the extraordinary relationship between the ice canopy and one of the world's largest mammals: the bowhead whale. The southernmost tip of Igloolik Island is in the migratory path of dozens of bowhead whales that return to the Far North each year to enjoy the short Arctic summer. Andrea joins a team of scientists preparing for the imminent arrival of the whales. In simple rubber dinghies, they set out to harpoon the cetaceans and insert transmitters that will help scientists unravel the mystery of the migration pattern of these majestic mammals. Daniel travels to Somerset Island to witness the arrival of the belugas - the great white dolphins of the polar seas. He wants to find out why they return en masse each year to the estuary of Cunningham Inlet and why they rub their bodies so hard on the gravel along the shore - as if they've all come down with a terrible itch. A little later in the season, Daniel and Andrea set out for Isabella Bay, a regular stop along the migration route of the bowhead whales. On their way to this rich feeding ground, a temporary sanctuary for the whales, there is an unexpected and unforgettable encounter with the King of the Arctic - the polar bear.

Today, Andrea and Daniel are in Churchill, a small village in northern Manitoba just below the polar circle. They plan to study the behaviour of polar bears and, above all, their amazing adaptation to their favourite hunting ground: the ice canopy. It's early fall, and the numerous bears congregated around Churchill are famished. They roam up and down the coast, waiting for the ice to reform so they can hunt seals. Rémy Marion, a French wildlife photographer with a special love for polar bears, guides the investigation of the two young scientists. He explains the behaviour of the bears and the physical characteristics that suit them so well to live on the sea ice. Despite armed patrols, when night falls in Churchill, no one ventures out of doors. The most powerful land carnivore does not hesitate to invade houses in search of food. Along with Scott Sutton, a conservation officer from Wapusk Park, Daniel surveys the region near Cape Churchill where females return to the same dens each year to give birth to their cubs. Meanwhile, Andrea sets up headquarters in an isolated building where, along with Kevin Burke, a ranger born and bred in Churchill, she has a clear view of the bears. Each day, she sets out to explore the region. Andrea is particularly interested in the isostatic phenomenon affecting the entire west coast of Hudson Bay. From the battlements of Prince of Whales Fort overlooking the immense bay, she observes a confrontation between a hungry male and a female ready to risk her life to protect her cub.

Andrea Hawkes and Daniel Morin are headed for Resolute, on Cornwallis Island. For more than thirty years, this small Inuit community has welcomed research teams from around the world. Unfortunately, like many villages in the polar circle, Resolute and many of the neighbouring islands have been hit by a wave of pollution amplified by the climate warming that has swept over the planet in the last decade. The inhabitants risk poisoning from the meat and fat of animals affected by toxic chemicals, the by-products of southern industry. This pollution contaminates water in the lakes surrounding Resolute and threatens the lives of the lakes' inhabitants. Under the guidance of Gunther Koch, an Austrian biologist, Andrea and Daniel test its affects on the Arctic char, a fish commonly found in the Far North. Daniel then heads to Truro Island, where he meets a team of climatologists studying the effects of global warming on the ice canopy. Andrea returns to Bylot Island to quantify those same effects on the glaciers and conduct a comparative study of the melting of two neighbouring glaciers. The results of these studies are worrisome. Climate change is threatening the ice canopy and all its inhabitants. It seems the fate of the Arctic is now in the hands of the human race.