Resources by Planet Earth Online

Red Squirrels and a Tropical Antarctica

A podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection. Red squirrels used to be the most common squirrel in Britain. But since the grey squirrel was introduced from the USA as an illegal immigrant in the late 1800s, their numbers have nose-dived.

This is partly...

Rip Currents in Cornwall, and Carbon Capture and Storage

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at why understanding rip currents at Perranporth in north Cornwall could help save lives; and how exactly does carbon capture and storage (CCS) work and how can scientists be sure that CO2 will be stored...

Rockpools and Ocean Acidification

In this podcast from Planet Earth Online and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Sue Nelson visits the Anglesey coast of north Wales to learn what these mini marine laboratories can tell us about the value of biodiversity.

The effects of climate change range from rising temperatures and...

Romans Recycling, Dinosaur Colour, Gravity Mission

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at how the Romans recycled glass, dinosaur colour, and what Europe's gravity mission tells us about ocean currents. The height of the world's oceans can vary by as much as 200 metres. 

These huge...

Satellites and Acid Oceans

In this podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), reporters find out how satellites have revolutionised our understanding of climate change.

They provide a completely different perspective on how planet Earth works, which was impossible before the...

Science From a Plane, and Forecasting Space Storms

This podcast looks at how a specially-designed twin turboprop research plane is helping scientists in a huge range of subjects from archaeology to ecology, and why a violent space storm could spell trouble for communications systems across the world. 

If you want to know how polar ice cover is changing, how...

Searching for Life in Lake Ellsworth, and Dead Whales

This podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection looks at why scientists are planning on drilling three kilometres beneath the Antarctic ice sheet in one of the most ambitious exploration projects ever undertaken; and how worms that feed on dead whale bones at the...

Splitting Earth, Space Weather and Robotic Dolphins

In this podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Sue Nelson hears about the birth of an ocean in the Afar depression in the Horn of Africa. The continental crust is being ripped apart at a phenomenal rate – one metre every year over the last five years. In...

Spreading Aliens, Arctic Experience, and Antarctica *suitable for home teaching*

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at how hikers and walkers could be unwittingly changing the landscape by spreading alien species; what it's like to work as a marine biologist in the Arctic in temperatures of minus 40°C; and exactly how...

Stonehenge, Microscopic Plants, and Baboons

This podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth collection looks at why scientists are working with the National Trust to restore the chalk grasslands around Stonehenge; how scientists are using satellites to study microscopic plants; and the etiquette of dining and bullying in...