BBC - Coast Series 8 (2013) Part 4 Rivers and Seas Collide

Coast Series 8

Coast, continues to explore the edge of our lives, the coastline that marries us to the sea. Through a history of assault from Nazi Germany, freshwater voles and the infamous Guernsey Privateers; the workers’ coast of shipbuilders, fishermen and seaside entertainers; the joys of sunbathing and the history of Thomas Cook; the magnificent estuaries of the Firth of Forth, the Severn and the Thames; this is the history of Britain as told from cliff to sea. Nick Crane is joined by a team of expert presenters including Neil Oliver, Miranda Krestovnikoff, Mark Horton, Tessa Dunlop, Andy Torbet, Ian McMillan, Ruth Goodman, Nick Hewitt and newcomers Sarah Beynon and Cassie Newland as they explore the riches to be found along our Coast.

Part 4: Rivers and Seas Collide
The new series of Coast continues with a journey around the great estuaries of Britain where 20 million people live, and a dazzling variety of animals thrive. The team visit the most dynamic and dramatic of our waterways to discover surprising stories that emerge where rivers and seas collide. Nick Crane explores the wealth of wildlife and industry that are attracted to the Firth of Forth, the mighty estuary that feeds Edinburgh. To reveal the secrets that made this coastline famous for salt production Nick must answer a deceptively tricky question that intrigues children and baffles adults: Why is the sea salty? Nick also investigates a remarkable natural phenomenon discovered accidentally on this coast in 1834. First seen in the water of a canal near Edinburgh and dubbed the 'Soliton', it's a rare type of wave that appears to travel endlessly, without losing energy and without breaking up, even when it collides with another Soliton wave. Now engineers have created tiny Soliton light waves, which could revolutionise the next generation of fibre-optic communication by transmitting messages effortlessly between continents.

BBC UK