Antarctic Glacier Collapse and Cosmic Tadpoles Crowned Winners of Royal Society Photography Competition
LONDON – Dramatic imagery of a collapsing Antarctic glacier and a mesmerizing close-up of Malagasy frog tadpoles have taken the top prizes in the Royal Society’s annual photography competition, announced today. The winning photographs offer a stark visual commentary on the impacts of climate change and the hidden wonders of biodiversity.
Michael Meredith, joint director of the UK National Climate Science Partnership and science leader at the British Antarctic Survey, won the Earth Science and Climatology category with a photograph captured during a winter research campaign in Börgen Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula. The image depicts a ship’s searchlight illuminating a massive glacier, moments before a meaningful chunk calved into the sea. “The image was captured in the polar night, while we were surveying ocean conditions in front of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula, to understand better how they are affected by climate change,” Meredith wrote in a LinkedIn post.
The ecology and Environmental science award went to filippo Carugati, a wildlife photographer and PhD candidate at the University of Turin, Italy, for his striking image titled Amphibian Galaxy. The photograph showcases Malagasy frog tadpoles swimming near a large egg clutch, likely deposited by a free madagascar frog (Guibemantis liber), in the Maromizaha rainforest of Madagascar. Carugati captured the image by backlighting the egg mass,creating a cosmic effect. He spent six months in the rainforest collecting data for his thesis, exploring rivers and wetlands at night.
