NBII - Digital Image Library: Environmental Issues

Landscapes & Weather

Almost every place on Earth harbors life, but under different conditions, resulting in an amazing number of diverse habitats. Further, these environments change due to the effects of seasons, weather, and the organisms themselves.

Agricultural Land & Water

How humans utilize land to yield food and other natural products is reflected in these images of agricultural lands and waters.

Arid Environments

Some exceptionally tolerant plants and animals are included in these desert images.

Caves

Only by applying light can one really visualize – and record in images – underground environments.

Geology

Geology is the study of Earth's history and processes. These images of soils, minerals, rocks, fossils and geological proccesses are examples of geology's wide scope in the study of nature.

Grasslands

The steppes, prairies, llanos, pampas, savannas, meadows, and rangelands of the world are all forms of grasslands – lands that can get very dry, and that are dominated by grass or grass-like species.

Forests

In a forest, trees grow close to one another, forming a predominantly continuous canopy.

Mountains & Mesas

Mountains, mesas, and buttes are the remnants of land that has been pushed above the surrounding landscape and then eroded.

Scrubs & Heaths

Due to poor soil, fire, or other major disturbances, some habitats contain only small woody shrubs and other low vegetation. Thus scrublands, heaths, and moorlands of the world can present wide vistas.

Snow & Ice

From random patches of ice to a forest blanketed with snow, this collection of images is growing to include the many beautiful varieties of frozen water.

Urban Environments

The word "urban" is used to describe environments within a city, but this collection also includes other types of developed environments: suburbs, villages, roads and more.

Volcanic Environments

Although many images in this collection are of stark, moonscape-like scenes after recent volcanic activity, many are of lush, healthy ecosystems within craters or other geothermal sites.

Water & Wetlands

As illustrated by this collection, a "body of water" can be a tiny rain puddle, a powerful ocean, or anything in between.

Weather

Weather, from fog to droughts to monsoons, is the dramatic, driving force that shapes where habitats occur; see also the Snow and Ice folder for more images.