
Philippe Cousteau Jr. is no stranger to exploration. The grandson of legendary underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau, Philippe hosts and serves as executive producer of this half-hour earth science series that examines the planet. He visits diamond and gold mines to see how gems and metals are formed, travels to active volcanoes to observe what happens inside the Earth's burning core, and checks out weather stations in mountainous areas to get an idea of how weather phenomena form in the atmosphere.

Researchers study category five hurricanes; tornado trackers hunt for a twister; how wind causes lightning to form; a mountain where the fastest winds in the Northern Hemisphere have been recorded.

The winner of the third Student Explorer Contest; Philippe and the lucky student head to Hawaii to meet with conservationist Ocean Ramsey where they swim with sharks three miles offshore in their natural habitat.

The Canadian Rockies: Lake Louise; a glacier; the woodland caribou; white-bark pine trees; an archaeologist provides artifacts of people living in the area 10,000 years ago.

Alaska: a brown bear hunting for salmon; Denali National Park; scuba diving in frigid waters; panning for gold.