Global change media

We have contributed to a range of media exploring the changes happening on our planet, including Sir David Attenborough's 'The Truth About Climate Change'.

Highlights

We have provided some highlights under each of the drop-down menus below.  

  • Duration: two one-hour documentaries
  • Contributor: Professor Dave Reay

Sir David Attenborough undertakes a personal journey to discover how global warming is changing the planet he knows so well.   The BBC's "The Truth About Climate Change" is a two-part documentary where he asks the question - what is the future for our world?

  • Part 1: Are We Changing Planet Earth?
  • Part 2: Can We Save Planet Earth? 

The two programmes were first broadcast in the United Kingdom in 2006. A DVD entitled The Truth About Climate Change featuring both documentaries was released by Eureka Video in 2008.

Professor Dave Reay was an advisor for, and appeared in both documentaries. 

You can read an interview by Carbon Brief with Sir David Attenborough on his epiphany about climate change and the work of researchers, including Professor Dave Reay:


It is not my job, of course, to make judgments on these things, my job is to make programmes about wildlife. When the BBC was discussing this I, of course, said, 'Yes, I believe absolutely so that this is the case and if you want me to go and investigate and talk to people, I will gladly do so.' The only inhibition I had was that people might think I was setting myself up as an expert on climate technology and climate science, which I am not. Therefore, the programmes were very much an investigation from people such as Dave Reay, for example, who appeared in one of them and other people to talk about climate and the reality that really is taking place and, secondly, what we can do about it.

Sir David Attenborough

You can find out more about the documentaries through the BBC, or the DVD on the Eureka website:

  • Duration: 54 minutes
  • Contributor: Dr Mikael Attal

All over the world, scientists are discovering traces of ancient floods on a scale that dwarfs even the most severe flood disasters of recent times. What triggered these cataclysmic floods, and could they strike again?

Like forensic detectives at a crime scene, geologists study these strange features and reconstruct catastrophic Ice Age floods more powerful than all the world’s top ten rivers combined. NOVA follows their efforts to uncover the geologic fingerprints of other colossal megafloods in Iceland and, improbably, on the seabed of the English Channel. 

Dr Mikael Attal was one of five world experts on extreme floods consulted and filmed in the field for this episode.  This programme has been broadcast multiple times since its release worldwide, including the USA, UK, Australia, and Europe.

Watch the preview here:


You can find ways to watch this episode on the NOVA website:

Thaw: What melting sea ice means for life in the Arctic

  • Duration: 6 minutes 12 seconds
  • Contributor: Dr Sian Henley

Light is flooding into the Arctic. There will be winners and losers.... That's what brought an international group of scientists to the Barents Sea to investigate how plant and animal life will adapt to the new normal. 

This video is part one of a three-part series on the changing Arctic by Vox Media.  Dr Sian Henley was one of the experts interviewed during the research expedition.


Antarctica: life between ice and rock

  • Duration: 39 minutes
  • Contributor: Dr Claudia Colesie
  • This video is in Spanish, with English subtitles

This video displays the fascinating world of polar environments.  Watch Dr Claudia Colesie and fellow researchers as they travel to Antarctica for the 'Cryptocover' project. The project investigated biocomplexity and functioning of the cryptogamic cover in arid and polar regions. It was funded by the Spanish Research Council and the Spanish Antarctic research committee and coordinated by Professor Leopoldo Sancho, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. 

  • Duration: 3mins 37 seconds
  • Contributor: Dr Kyle Dexter

Latin American dry tropical forests are some of the most endangered on earth.  Dr Kyle Dexter helped contribute to this short animated film which highlights the importance of dry forests and the possibilities for their restoration and conservation. 

The film is a project of the Latin American Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Floristic Network (DRYFLOR).


Interviews with scientists - saving the world's forests

  • Duration: 5 minutes
  • Contributors: Professor Edward Mitchard 

In this video for Science and Plants for Schools, Professor Ed Mitchard introduces the use of new technologies in conservation, specifically the role of satellite technology in preventing deforestation across the world.


Science and Plants for Schools create opportunities for teachers and students to find out more about plants and to become more interested in plant science.  You can visit their website for additional resources for this video.  The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

Mapping deforestation

  • Duration: 3 minutes 22 seconds
  • Contributors: Professor Edward Mitchard and Dr Murray Collins

We have developed a new technique of remote sensing which will lead to a significant advance in our ability to monitor deforestation and land disturbances in tropical forests.

By combining several different methods of remote sensing, Professor Edward Mitchard and Dr Murray Collins have been able to map biomass data more accurately in order to study the effects of deforestation in tropical forests.  

Climate change: what is ocean acidification?

  • Released: Feb 2, 2023
  • Duration: 15 minutes 49 seconds
  • Contributors: Dr Sebastian Hennige

As carbon emissions change the chemistry of the seas, ocean acidification threatens marine life and human livelihoods. How worried should you be about climate change’s so-called “evil twin”?


ATLAS project

  • Duration: 4 minutes 16 seconds
  • Contributors: Professor Murray Roberts and team

A landmark project to study the Atlantic Ocean’s vast depths has laid the foundations for efforts to safeguard the ocean for future generations. The most in-depth assessment of deep-sea ecosystems to date has led to the discovery of new species, offered greater insights into biodiversity and improved understanding of the damaging impacts of climate change. It also provided governments and industry with tools to help ensure the ocean’s resources are used more sustainably.

The ATLAS project involved more than 80 researchers from 13 different countries. Professor Murray Roberts was the project coordinator, with Dr Lea-Anne Henry, Dr Sebastian Hennige, Dr Johanne Vad, Dr Laurence De Clippele, and Dr Georgios Kazanidis also involved in the project.

You can watch a video that provides highlights about the project.

More videos by ATLAS are available on the project website:

She sees sea beasties on the seashore

  • Duration video 1: 2 minutes 8 seconds
  • Duration video 2: 3 minutes 38 seconds
  • Contributor: Dr Sebastian Hennige

This was a citizen science project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).  Led by Dr Sebastian Hennige, the following two videos show you how to catch and discover the hidden wildlife along the coastline using a homemade plankton net and smartphone microscopes.

The coral that might save the reefs

  • Duration: 1 minute 42 seconds
  • Contributor: Dr Sebastian Hennige

Coral reefs worldwide are in trouble. But a team of ocean scientists have found what they think could be a natural, ecological way to save the reefs - and it already exists in nature. It's a type of coral called a Corallith.

  • Duration: 10minutes
  • Contributor: Professor Dave Reay

Nitrogen comprises 78% of the air we breathe, yet how often do we think about what this means? Despite being the 7th most abundant element in the universe, it is ignored and overlooked. Yet, it is essential for all life on Earth. Professor Dave Reay wants to give nitrogen the attention it deserves at last.


  • Contributors: Professor Dave Reay and Professor Gabriele Hegerl

In this series of short videos for the Edinburgh International Science Festival, we provide a range of insights into climate change.

  1. Mechanisms for a changing climate
  2. How has climate changed in the past?
  3. Is the climate warming?
  4. Uncertainty and science
  5. Communicating uncertainty
  6. Social impacts of climate change
  7. Climate change resilience

1.  Mechanisms for a changing climate

How does Earth's climate change? Discover the natural and humankind mechanisms that impact the global temperatures of our planet in this introductory video.


2. How has climate changed in the past?

How do we know the climate has changed before we were on the Earth? Join Professor Dave Reay and Professor Gabriele Hegerl in this bitesize summary of our sources of climate-change evidence.

3. Is the climate warming?

Is our climate changing already, and how do we know?

4.  Uncertainty and science

Can we be so sure about the data around current explorations of climate and future predictions of climate change caused by humankind? In this short video, Dave discusses the scientific method and how it applies to climate change studies and views of the future.

5. Communicating uncertainty

If scientists cannot be absolutely certain in their data and predictions, how are scientific predictions made and shared? Discover the answer here

6. Social impacts of climate change

How does a changing climate affect how we will leave on this planet? Dave provides a quick overview of the physical and health impacts on human life as climate change progresses.

7. Climate change resilience

With the possible social changes highlighted in the previous video, what do we need to focus on to ensure the continuation of society?

This article was published on