Great Barrier Reef Near Whitsunday Islands

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system on Earth, with more than 3,000 separate reefs and coral cays. It is also one of the most complex natural ecosystems, with 600 types of corals and thousands of animal species from tiny planktons to whales.

Rio de Janeiro: A Changing City

In 1960, 5 million people lived in Rio de Janeiro. By 2015, the population had swollen to 12.2 million, making it Brazil’s second largest city.

Access eroding to embattled Kiawah spit, study says

The narrow neck to Captain Sam’s Spit is disappearing, survey work has indicated. The dunes there aren’t tall enough to withstand a tropical cyclone of any real strength. The findings could put a big hole in Kiawah Partners’ contention before regulators that the beach there is growing, and a road to its proposed development should be permitted.

Malaysia establishes a 1-million-hectare marine park

Malaysia has just established the biggest marine protected area (MPA) in the country. The Tun Mustapha park (TMP) occupies 1m hectares (2.47m acres) of seascape off the northern tip of Sabah province in Borneo.

11 Otherworldly Pictures of Abandoned WWII Bunkers

During World War II, German Nazis built concrete bunkers up and down the west coasts of Norway and France. These fortifications were known collectively as the Atlantic Wall, and it was this barrier that the Allies breached during the invasion of Normandy. Seventy years later, much of the Atlantic Wall still stands. See a photos gallery by Jonathan Andrew.