Red rivers and vanishing icebergs: prize images focus on water

Sanggen Dalai, Inner Mongolia, China. Women flee the main street as dust fills the air. This shot is from Benoit Aquin's series, which has won the overall prize of £50,000. The Chinese Dust Bowl documents scarce water resources, desertification and ecological refugees in China Photograph: Benoit Aquin/Prix Pictet 2008

Benoit Aquin, The Chinese 'Dust Bowl', Hongsibao, Ningxia, China, 2007. Some 22% of China's deserts are manmade because of soil erosion as a result of unsustainable farming practices Photograph: Benoit Aquin/Prix Pictet 2008

David Maisel's Lake project series was shot at Owens Lake in California, the site of a river which was diverted to supply Los Angeles in 1913. By 1926 the lake was depleted exposing mineral flats which now contribute to carcinogenic dust storms Photograph: David Maisel/Prix Pictet 2008

Kitzbühel, Austria. Jules Spinatsch's series, entitled Snow Management, documents the attempts by ski resorts to combat the effects of global warming and maintain the winter sports industry Photograph: Jules Spinatsch/Prix Pictet 2008

Jules Spinatsch: Scene J3, Davos, Switzerland, 2004 Photograph: Jules Spinatsch/PR

Commissioned for the Eden project's education resource centre in Cornwall, Susan Derges's series of photographs shows the transformation of water within the hydrological cycle Photograph: Susan Derges/Prix Pictet 2008

Between 1986 and 2007 Lynn Davies travelled to Greenland to photograph icebergs calved from the Illulisat glacier. By 2007 many had diminished in size due to global warming Photograph: Lynn Davies/Prix Pictet, 2008

Lynn Davis: Iceberg VI, Disko Bay, Greenland Photograph: Lynn Davis/PR

Sebastian Copeland: Stormy Weather. Series: Antarctica: The Global Warning Melchior Islands, Antarctica, 2006 Photograph: Sebastian Copeland/PR

Thomas Joshua Cooper: Furthest North - The Mid North Atlantic Ocean, Faro de Alegranza, Punta Delgada, Spain, 2002. 'Water is an element that binds us all, a vital necessity, a force with the power of affecting life and death,' says Cooper Photograph: Thomas Joshua Cooper/PR

In 2006/07 onboard a research vessel, Sebastian Copeland recorded the accelerated devastation of the Antarctic ice shelf. His images capture the awesome beauty of Antarctica and document signs of the alarming changes that the continent is undergoing Photograph: Sebastian Copeland/Prix Pictet 2008

Munem Wasif's series - Water Tragedy - documents the climate refugees of Bangladesh, many of whom have done very little to contribute to greenhouse emissions, but who being forced to relocate due to too much or too little water caused by global warming Photograph: Munem Wasif/Prix Prictet 2008

Jesús Abad Colorado, born in Colombia in 1967, is one of the few photojournalists documenting the armed conflict there. His shortlisted photos document the impact of war on the environment, and the devastation caused to Colombia's natural habitats Photograph: Jesus Abad Colorado/Prix Pictet 2008

Sent to photograph the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Robert Polidori was met by a scene of devastation that exceeded his expectations, and he decided to follow the evolution of the recovery. He expected to document the rebuilding of the city, but after four visits it became apparent that this was not going to happen 'as the city's economy vanished with the resident evacuation' Photograph: Robert Polidori/Prix Pictet 2008

Robert Polidori: Bellaire Drive, New Orleans, September 2005 Photograph: Robert Polidori/PR

Chris Jordan's series, In Katrina's wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster, also pictured the desolation caused by Hurricane Katrina and aims to show that human activity leads to global warming, which then creates 'natural disasters' such as Katrina Photograph: Chris Jordan/Prix Pictet 2008

Chris Jordan: Piano in a Church, Ninth Ward, New Orleans, 2005 Photograph: Chris Jordan/PR

Chris Jordan: Ball Field, St Bernard Parish, Louisiana, 2005 Photograph: Chris Jordan/PR

Roman Signer: Wasserstiefel (Water boots), Weissbad, Switzerland, 1986 Photograph: Roman Signer/PR

From Edward Burtynsky's shortlisted series - Oil fields, Tailings and Three Gorges Dam. Each shows a landscape transformed by human industry. The idea that human survival rests on viable drinking water is a pivotal theme in these images. The industries shown are wasteful and contaminate surrounding water, highlighting the problem of unsustainable consumption Photograph: Edward Burtynsky/Prix Pictet 2008

Carl De Keyzer: Belgium 1, Moments before the Flood, Blankenberge, Belgium, 2006. De Keyzer's images contain unease at a coming catastrophe as sea levels are predicted to rise, devastating the European coastline Photograph: Carl De Keyzer/PR

Carl De Keyzer: Belgium 3, Moments before the Flood, Belgium, 2006 Photograph: Carl De Keyzer/PR

Mary Mattingly travelled to drought or flood stricken areas to shoot her series, The Expedition Photograph: Mary Mattingly/PR

Christian Cravo: India, Sagar, Waters of Hope, Rivers of Tears India, 2002. Cravo's work examines the link between water and the divine Photograph: Christian Cravo/PR

Malcolm Hutcheson: Series: Lahore's Waste Water Problem Khuram Colony, Shahdara Town, Lahore, Pakistan, 2008 Rizwan Sadir, a wrestler and factory worker, showers from a hand pump next to the Ravi. Hand pumps are not deep enough to avoid the polluted water Photograph: Malcolm Hutcheson/PR

Malcolm Hutcheson: Series: Lahore's Waste Water Problem Khuram Colony, Shahdara Town, Lahore, Pakistan, 2008 Erfan, 18 years, stands in a pool of waste water and sewage which collects in the dry river bed providing the only available water for buffalos to bathe in Photograph: Malcolm Hutcheson/PR