Benoit Stichelbaut / Miguel Danet and Damien Cloarec standing on boom, leaning on mainsail of Figaro yacht "Concarneau-St. Barthelemy". Transat AG2R, Port la Foret, Brittany, March 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Flock of oiled Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) on a beach behind an oil covered containment boom. This nesting colony is the largest in Louisiana and was heavily contaminated by the BP Deepwat...

Pete Oxford / Jacare caiman bellowing {Caiman crocodilus yacare} subsonic boom causes water to vibrate. Pantanal, Brazil

David Woodfall / Sea weed collected in boom at low tide, used in pharmaceutical industry products. North Uist, Scotland, UK, July.

Ashley Cooper / Tailings pond at the Syncrude mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Tailings ponds in the tar sands are unlined and leach toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment. August 2012

Ashley Cooper / Tailings pond at the Syncrude mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Tailings ponds in the tar sands are unlined and leach toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment. August 2012

Mark Carwardine / Aerial view of oil containment boom protecting Queen Bess Island, Grande Isle, Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, USA, August 2010

Mark Carwardine / Oil containment boom, Queen Bess Island, Louisiana

Onne van der Wal / Boom of luxury yacht sailing at dusk in the Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, October 2012. All non-editorial uses must be cleared individually.

Benoit Stichelbaut / Skipper Armel le Cleac'h standing on boom of Monohull Imoca 60ft "Brit Air", Concarneau, Brittany, France. April 2008

Merryn Thomas / View of boom and Underfall Yard sign from the cabin of Bristol Pilot Cutter "Morwenna", Bristol Floating Harbour, UK. April 2009.

Billy Black / Sheet runner from boom aboard a Hunter 216. Mystic, Connecticut, August 2004.