Springs Eternal: Florida's Fountain of Youth

Divers find unseen world harboring strange ecology in NATURE’s Springs Eternal: Florida’s Fountain of Youth.

According to legend, Spanish explorers believed that a fountain of eternal youth bubbled up to the surface somewhere in the place we know today as Florida. In a poetic way, they were right.

Beneath Florida lie hundreds of miles of underwater channels and caves that comprise the world’s largest known system of springs. Largely unchanged since the age of dinosaurs, these springs shelter strange life forms, support improbable ecologies, and dot the land above it with outlets of water that once — before the expansion of Florida’s human population — was as pure as any found on this planet.

With its abundance of alligators, sunfish, eagles, great blue herons, and of course, the gentle and endangered manatee — to name only a few of the state’s better-know fascinating creatures — Florida is a wondrous ecological laboratory, even on its surface. Below the surface, however, is where the real surprises lie.

Follow divers into dangerous and unchartered channels never before seen in NATURE’s Springs Eternal: Florida’s Fountain of Youth.

Production Credits

Television Credits

Narrated by
JAMES NAUGHTON

Producers
SHANE MOORE
LYBBY MOORE

Filmed by
SHANE MOORE

Assistant Cameraman/Sound Recordist
DAVID REICHERT

Scientific Consultants
KENT VLIET
DOUG STAMM

Composer
DOMINIC CRAWFORD-COLLINS

Script Editor
MICHAEL LEKES

Production Team
SARAH SAPPER
SARAH FELTES
FIONA MACKENZIE
ESTA PORTER

Editor
CHRIS GODDEN

Online Editor
NICK BROOKS

Dubbing Editor
JAMES BURCHILL

Dubbing Mixer
RICHARD CROSBY

Post Production Manager
DOMINIC WESTON

Special Thanks
CHRIS BROWN
FLORIDA CAVERNS STATE PARK
FLORIDA STATE PARK SERVICE
GATORLAN
HOMOSASSA STATE PARK
HYDRO GEO ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
LINDA GOODMAN
NEPTUNE DIVERS – TAMPA
MIKE NEVIUS
SCOTT & MICHELLE PULLIAM
OCALA NATIONAL FOREST
OKEFENOKEE SWAMP PARK
MARK & SUSAN ROBERTSON
SILVER SPRINGS
ST. AUGUSTINE ALLIGATOR FARM
VORTEX SPRINGS

Production Executive
BARBARA STOHLMAN

Associate Producer
CHRIS GODDEN

ALL SEQUENCES IN THIS PROGRAM, WHETHER FILMED IN THE WILD OR UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS, REPRESENT AUTHENTIC BEHAVOUR

Executive Producer
MICHAEL ROSENBERG

For NATURE

Narration Written by
SUSANE LEE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Coordinating Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Producer
JILL CLARKE

Associate Producer
PATTY JACOBSON

Researcher
GIANNA SCARALIA

Production Assistant
ERIKA HAENDEL

Production Secretary
IRENE TEJARATCHI

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Editor
PATRICK GAMBUTI, JR.

On-line Editor
BARRY GLINER

Audio Mix
ED CAMPBELL

Supervising Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive In Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A Co-Production of Partridge Films and Thirteen/WNET New York

Web Credits

Producer
MARY HOPE GARCIA

Art Director
SABINA DALEY

Designers
RADIK SHVARTS

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
DAVID MALAKOFF

Production Assistance
STEPHANIE LIU

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

About the Writer

David Malakoff is a journalist covering research discoveries and the politics of science for SCIENCE MAGAZINE in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in a wide range of venues, including THE ECONOMIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, and ABCNews.com.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs.

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