BEST PHOTO OF WEEK

Seamount, Cortes Bank

An orange sheephead, slender wrasses, and other fish swim through a forest of coralline algae and kelp stalks swaying in the current around Cortes Bank. "The communities you find on seamounts are like oases in otherwise deep water," says Bruce Robison, senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.

                            Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

The volcano Eyjafjallajökull, in Iceland, just before dawn on April 23, 2010: The worst is over. Lava flows freely. Earlier, as it punched through the ice cap, it triggered a meltwater flood that destroyed roads and farms, and a steam explosion that hurled ash into the stratosphere, stopping air traffic for a week.

Litlanesfoss, Iceland

At Litlanesfoss, the waterfall cross-sections an ancient lava flow, which formed columns as it cooled.

Mangroves, Central America

Mangroves contribute to the system by trapping reef-bound sediment, filtering out pollution, and serving as nursery for many reef fish and invertebrates. The arched roots of mangroves like these form gateways through which multitudes of juveniles swim toward adulthood on the reef.

Frosted Trees

I took this photo from my back deck in North Pole, Alaska. It was early evening and the full moon was moving through the sky, illuminating the frosted trees and turning the sky cobalt blue.

Star Trails

Taken on April 19, 2012, in Strathmere, New Jersey. These star trails shows the Milky Way rising over the Atlantic Ocean.

Storm Chasing

With a 1,600-pound camera he calls the Kahuna in tow, storm chaser Tim Samaras is on the hunt for an elusive shot of a lightning strike the moment it is born.

Swimmers

Summer, the short, sweet release from the interminable cocoon of Russian winter, is a time for swimming and riding, and sometimes both in the cottage community of Vyalki.

Tornado

Regan, North Dakota

A dying tornado like this one is said to be in the "roping out" phase.

Ural Owls

She looks sweet grooming her chick, but don't mess with mom's nest: Ural owls are aggressively territorial. "I've made an 'agreement' with the females that the price to band and measure one nestling is six hard punches on the head," says Finnish ornithologist Pertti Saurola.

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