2025-2026 Photo Contest Winners

Water dripping off a moss-covered rock face on a trail in the Columbia River Gorge.

Undergrad Isha Parikh in a PCR hood, practicing micropipetting under the watchful eye of Dr. Andrew Blakney in the Fierer Lab.

A scientist operates a Dobson spectrophotometer to measure total column ozone. Located in American Samoa, this Dobson is one of many around the globe used to monitor the ozone layer.

An iceberg drifting outside Nuuk, Greenland; its turquoise depths glowing through the calm fjord water—an unforgettable moment after Greenland Science Week.

The most conspicuous mountains in this picture, from front to back, are Mt. Batok, Mt. Bromo, and the peacefully puffing Mt. Semeru. Less than three weeks later, Semeru erupted violently.

Enjoying the glow of aspens with company in Nederland, Colorado.

CIRES Visiting Fellow Postdoctoral Researcher Kara Hartig in strong winds and blowing snow on the Ross Ice Shelf while doing fieldwork in Antarctica.

Cliffs of Moher in the late afternoon in County Clare, Ireland.

Chipmunk photobombing beautiful Lake Moraine in Banff National Park. 

Watching surface melt disappear down a moulin on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Waves crashing on the beach in Todos Santos, Baja Sur, Mexico.

Two young bighorn sheep rams curl their lips to investigate smells during the rut in Waterton Canyon, Colorado.

Starry night over the Jungfrau. Taken atop the Jungfraujoch research station in Switzerland.

Checking out an automatic weather station at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, near the town of Kangerlussuaq on Greenland’s western coast.