FROM COSMOS
TO CIVILIZATION
All episodes/Episode 2.4

Episode 2.4 · 33 min

Plate Tectonics

How seafloor spreading, magnetic stripes, earthquakes, and subduction revealed a planet whose surface is continually rebuilt.

Watch this film on YouTube ↗

Visual credits

19 sources

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

Source publications for imagery and scientific figures are linked in the visual credits above.

Music

  • Meditation From The Star Orion
    OctahedronMusic · Envato Elements
Footage and image usage

Credits and usage times retained from the published edition or its production credit record. Where present, times identify visual appearances, not documentary chapters. Source and licence corrections are listed in the visual credits above.

  • Wikimedia Commons - 14:56-15:00, Pillow Lava at Wadi Jizzi in Oman
  • Archive of Alfred Wegener Institute - 1:26-1:31, Wegener Expedition-1912 008
  • Berann, Heinrich C., Heezen, Bruce C., Tharp, Marie. - 4:46-4:50, (Manuscript painting of Heezen-Tharp World ocean floor
  • Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur : object 20550839 – image file fm426293a.jpg - 1:15-1:26, Alfred Wegener 1910
  • Caltech - 25:38-25:45, about image
  • Credit Line: AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Gift of Bill Woodward, USNS Kane Collection - 3:50-3:56, Don Blomquist and Marie Tharp at drafting table
  • Dr. Peter Sloss, NGDC - 14:09-14:19, WorldCrustalAge - Hawaii hotspot
  • G. Edward Johnson - 24:17-24:25, Aurora-Iceland Northern Lights timelapse 2026-02-06.hd
  • GA - 29:06-29:12, Australia officially moves 1.8 metres northeast
  • Georoamer - 14:52-14:56, Geotimes Pillow Lavas in Wadi Jizz, Oman
  • Heinrich Berann, Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp - 4:50-4:57, World Ocean Floor
  • MIT - 23:20-23:31, news impact image; 23:31-23:39, news impact image; 23:53-24:01, news impact image
  • NOAA - 15:39-15:43, NOAA Ocean Exploration (1); 15:43-15:46, NOAA Ocean Exploration (1); source: Original source ↗
  • Robert E. Wallace - 13:52-14:01, Wallace Creek offset across the San Andreas Fault
  • UNB - 5:58-6:30, image
  • Custom animations and figures: From Cosmos to Civilization. Third-party material incorporated into animations is credited on the linked sources page.

How this film was made

Created and editorially directed by Anders Lunde using a custom production system developed over six months. AI assists research, drafting, programming, and visual production; I review and edit the material and make the final editorial decisions. Narration uses text-to-speech. Visuals combine custom-built scientific animations, AI-generated reconstructions, and credited scientific imagery.

Generated reconstructions illustrate scientific interpretations. They are distinct from photographs, specimens, and measured data.

More about the creator and production →