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While touring the remains of
Ancient Alexandria, Egypt,
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there are a few things that
present-day explorers should look for.
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First, as you travel along
the Great Harbor,
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keep your eyes open
for large columns and statues.
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Across the bay to your left is the island
where the Great Lighthouse once stood.
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And as you make your way through
the palaces of the Royal Quarter
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and reach the area where
the Library of Alexandria once stood,
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keep your eyes open for sharks.
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Because if you visit this section
of Alexandria,
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you'll be fifteen feet deep
in the Mediterranean Sea.
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Though people are most familiar
with Plato's fictional Atlantis,
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many real underwater cities
actually exist.
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Places like Alexandria,
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Port Royal, Jamaica,
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and Pavlopetri, Greece.
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Sunken cities are studied by scientists
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to help us understand the lives
of our ancestors,
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the dynamic nature of our planet,
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and the impact of each on the other.
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Water is essential for life,
food sources, and transport,
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so many cities have been built
along coast lines and river banks.
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However, these benefits also come
with risks,
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because natural forces that can sink
the city are at their doorstep.
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Take, for instance, an earthquake.
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June 7, 1692 seemed like a normal morning
in Port Royal, Jamaica,
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then one of the richest ports
in the world,
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but when a massive earthquake struck,
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two-thirds of Port Royal immediately
sank to its rooftops.
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Today, many buildings
and elements of everyday life
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remain surprisingly intact
on the sea floor, frozen in time.
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That includes a 300-year-old pocket watch
that stopped at 11:43,
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the moment Port Royal slipped
beneath the Carribean.
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And during the winter of 373 BCE,
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the Greek city of Helike was struck
by an earthquake so strong
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that it liquefied the sandy ground
upon which the city was built.
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Minutes later, a tsunami struck the city,
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and Helike and its inhabitants
sunk downwards into the Mediterranean Sea.
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Centuries later, Roman tourists would sale
on the lagoon that formed
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and peer down at the city's remains.
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Earthquakes are sudden,
unpredictable disasters
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that have drowned cities in an instant.
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Luckily, however, throughout history,
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the majority of sunken cities were not
submerged by a single cataclysmic event,
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but by a combination
of more gradual processes.
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For instance, Pavlopetri,
the oldest known sunken city,
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was built on the southern coastline
of Greece 5,000 years ago.
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It's an example of a city
that was submerged
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due to what is called
isostatic sea level change.
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18,000 years ago when the Ice Age ended,
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glaciers began melting and the sea level
rose globally until about 5,000 years ago.
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Isostatic sea level change isn't caused
by that melt water,
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but rather the Earth's crust slowly
springing back
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from the released weight of the glaciers,
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making some places rise,
and others sink.
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The ground around Pavlopetri
is still sinking
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at an average rate
of a millimeter per year.
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But the ancient inhabitants were able
to move gradually inland
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over several generations
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before they finally abandoned the city
about 3,000 years ago.
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Today, divers swim over the streets
of Pavlopetri
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and peer through ancient door jams
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into the foundations of houses
and community buildings.
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They learn about the people who lived
there by observing what they left behind.
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Natural geological events,
such as earthquakes and tsunamis,
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will continue to shape our continents,
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just as they have for millions of years.
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As increased global warming melts
our polar ice caps at accelerated rates
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and sea levels rise,
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we will be forced to adapt,
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like Pavlopetri's inhabitants.
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Undoubtedly, over the coming centuries,
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some of the coastal areas
that we live in today
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will eventually be claimed
by the water, too -
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Cities like Venice,
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New Orleans,
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Amsterdam,
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Miami,
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and Tokyo.
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Imagine what future civilizations
will learn about us
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as they swim around the ancient ruins
of the cities that we live in today.
Custodio Marcelino
Please, tale a look at
3:27 - 3:29 - door jams => door jambs
Thank you.