Environmental Gallery

Northern lights

Northern lights. The Northern Lights are created as electrically charged particles from the Solar wind are pulled in toward the magnetic poles by the Earth's magnetic field. As these particles collide with the atoms of gas in the ionosphere about 80km above the ground, they give the atoms energy and they become excited'. The atoms spontaneously release this energy in discrete amounts, resulting in particular colours of light being emitted. Photographed in the Swedish Arctic

© Jeremy Walker

Oil refinery at night

Oil refinery at night. A tailings pond, for the disposal of waste material from the mining and refining process, is seen in the foreground. This is the Syncrude oil processing plant, in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada. The oil-bearing sands are excavated, and then processed to obtain crude oil and bitumen. Syncrude began operating in the 1970s. As of 2008, it is the world's largest producer of crude oil from oil sands, extracting hundreds of thousands of barrels a day. The Athabasca oil reserves are among the largest in the world

© DAVID NUNUK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Thames Barrier, London 24994_024

THAMES BARRIER, Woolwich Reach, London. Aerial view. A flood control structure built between 1974 and 1984 to help protect London from flooding. Downstream of the capital the barrier is intended to control tidal and storm surges coming up the river. Photographed in May 2008

© Historic England

Aerial, Defence, Environmental, Modern, River, Tide, Water