Erlend Haarberg / European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) flying between coastal rocks with a large wave crashing, Snaefellsnes peninsula, Iceland, February 2011

Jeff Wilson / Royal Navy ship, HMS Endurance, crashing through the waves in the south atlantic ocean, Antarctica, November 2009. Taken on location for the BBC series, Frozen Planet.

Laurie Campbell / Flock of Sanderling (Calidris alba) flying over a rough sea, Berwickshire Coast, Scotland, UK, March

Wild Wonders of Europe / Hermansen / Wave crashing onto basalt rocks, Giant's Causeway, Unesco Heritage Site, Northern Ireland, June 2009

Tim Fitzharris / Crashing surf on rocks at sunset, Point Piedras Blancas, California

Bob Barbour / Close up of breaking wave

Bob Barbour / Close up of breaking wave

Bob Barbour / Man overlooking stormy surf on rocks, northern California

Bob Barbour / Wave ready to break

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves, Waimea shorebreak, Oahu, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Breaking and crashing waves

Bob Barbour / Breaking and crashing waves

Bob Barbour / Waves, Pipeline, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Breaking Waves, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Waves, Baja California, Mexico

Bob Barbour / Close up of breaking wave

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves, Waimea shorebreak, Oahu, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Wave at peak, Waimea shorebreak, Oahu, Hawaii

Konrad Wothe / Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) perched on rocks with ocean waves in background, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Gerry Ellis / Cloudy skies over crashing waves, Bathsheba Beach, windward coast of Barbados, Caribbean

Tim Fitzharris / Waves crashing on Point Dume Beach, California

Ben Osborne / Black browed albatross flying over crashing waves {Thalassarche melanophrys} Falklands Is

Mark Hamblin / Waves crashing over rocky coastline near Point of Stoer, Assynt, North west Scotland, October

Jeff Wilson / Royal Navy ship, HMS Endurance, crashing through the waves in the south atlantic ocean, Antarctica, November 2009. Taken on location for the BBC series, Frozen Planet.

Tim Fitzharris / Crashing waves at Garrapata State Beach, Big Sur, California

Tim Fitzharris / Pounding waves and rocky shoreline at Piedras Blancas, California

Tim Fitzharris / Crashing waves at Garrapata State Beach, Big Sur, California

Tim Fitzharris / Lover's Beach with crashing waves, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Tim Fitzharris / Lover's Beach with crashing waves, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Tim Fitzharris / Female tourist on Lover's Beach, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Scott Leslie / Crashing wave, Sandbanks Provincial Park, Newfoundland, Canada

Philippe Clement / Wave crashing over jetty during storm at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, Normandy, France, December 2008

Philippe Clement / Wave crashing into jetty during storm at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, Normandy, France, December 2008

Philippe Clement / Wave crashing into jetty during storm at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, Normandy, France, December 2008

Philippe Clement / Wave crashing into jetty during storm at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, Normandy, France, December 2008

Colin Monteath / Sunrise at Sumner beach, Christchurch, New Zealand

Colin Monteath / Wave crashing into eroded tunnel of tabular iceberg, Antarctica

Norbert Wu / Wave breaking, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

Norbert Wu / Wave breaking, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

Norbert Wu / Waves breaking, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

Norbert Wu / Waves breaking, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

Harley Betts / Swells at high tide crash against sandstone cliffs, Tongaporutu, north Taranaki, New Zealand

Pete Oxford / Wave crashing against Cliff face, Espanola / Hood Is. Galapagos Islands, 2005

Tim Fitzharris / Atlantic coast near Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, Maine

Tim Fitzharris / Waves crashing on rocky shore, Wawaloli Beach, Big Island, Hawaii

Tim Fitzharris / Sunset over crashing waves and tidepools, Garrapata State Beach, Big Sur, California

Tim Fitzharris / Ocean and lava rocks at sunset, Pu'uhonua, Hawaii

Tim Fitzharris / Ocean and lava rocks at sunset, Pu'uhonua, Hawaii

Tim Fitzharris / Ocean surf crashing on lava rocks at Molokini Crater, Maui, Hawaii

Chris Newbert / Breaking wave, Solomon Islands

Flip de Nooyer / Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) group walking in a line on beach in front of a crashing wave, Antarctica

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) adult female searching for spawned-out salmon along lake shore during fall storm, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) adult female searching for spawned-out salmon along lake shore during fall storm, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) adult female and yearling cub searching for spawned-out salmon along lake shore in fall during storm, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves, central California

Bob Barbour / Waves, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Breaking and crashing waves

Bob Barbour / Close up of breaking wave

Bob Barbour / Waves, Oahu, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Waves, Baja California, Mexico

Bob Barbour / Waves at red sunset, sea birds in background

Tim Fitzharris / Blowing Rocks Preserve at sunset, Jupiter Island, eastern Florida

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Breaking wave, Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves off coast of California

Bob Barbour / Wave breaks on sandy beach

Bob Barbour / Crashing and breaking waves

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Coastal rock, surf, and cumulus clouds, summer, Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America, Newfoundland, Canada

Norbert Wu / Breaking wave seen from underwater, San Diego, California

Norbert Wu / Breaking wave seen from underwater, Hawaii

Flip Nicklin / Surfer on Long Beach, Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Tim Fitzharris / Wave crashing at sunset, Leo Carrillo State Park, Malibu, California

Hiroya Minakuchi / Waves crashing, Western Australia, Australia

Hiroya Minakuchi / Wave crashing, Western Australia, Australia

Onne van der Wal / The bow of 140ft luxury schooner "Skylge" designed by André Hoek and built by Holland Jachtbouw, crashing into a wave while sailing on the leeward rail, French Riviera, France. Property released.

Onne van der Wal / Sloop "Prospect of Whitby" with varnished hull crashing through a wave off Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Waves crashing on coastal rocks in strong wind after snowstorm, St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island

Norbert Wu / Wave breaking, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

Luciano Candisani / Waves crashing against reef's edges of the only Atoll in all of the South Atlantic Ocean, Rocas Atoll, Brazil

Jim Brandenburg / Ice and crashing wave along Shovel Point, Lake Superior, Minnesota

Winfried Wisniewski / Ocean wave breaking

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) adult female and yearling cub searching for spawned-out salmon along lake shore during fall storm, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) adult female catching spawned-out salmon along lake shore during fall storm, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) adult female and yearling cub searching for spawned-out salmon along lake shore during fall storm, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves, central California

Bob Barbour / Inside breaking wave

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves, Waimea shorebreak, Oahu, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Crashing waves

Bob Barbour / Waves, Baja California, Mexico

Bob Barbour / Multiple small crashing waves

Bob Barbour / Waves off coast of Costa Rica

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves off coast of Oahu, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Waves, late afternoon surf, North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii

Bob Barbour / Breaking waves

Bob Barbour / Waves breaking in setting sun

Bob Barbour / Crashing waves