IAG Photo & Video Contest – Overall Winners 2025
In accordance with the rules of the IAG Photo & Video Contest, the IAG Selection Committee voted to select the Overall Winners of 2025 – for both the Photo and the Video Contest! Congratulations to both of them! Find their contributions below.
The Overall Winners in 2025 are:
- for the Photo Contest: Špela Čonč from Slovenia, for her photo of ventifacts in the Death Valley National Park (USA)!
- for the Video Contest: Sayantan Das from India, for his video of the bank erosion of the Bhagirathi-Babla Confluence (India)!
Ventifacts – aeolian rocky geomorphic features
by Špela Čonč, Slovenia
Death Valley National Park in the USA is often described as a land of extremes, known for being the hottest, driest, and lowest national park. While deserts may seem like barren, monotonous landscapes, they are shaped by a variety of physical and anthropogenic factors—Death Valley being no exception. Despite its harsh conditions, the park boasts remarkable biodiversity and geodiversity. Beyond its famous landmarks, such as Badwater Basin, Devil’s Golf Course, and Zabriskie Point, Death Valley also features smaller-scale geomorphic wonders. Among them are ventifacts — rocks sculpted by wind-driven sand into abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished forms. These features typically develop in valley bottoms and open areas where strong winds transport sand and silt over long distances, effectively sandblasting the rock surfaces. If undisturbed, ancient ventifacts serve as valuable paleo-wind indicators, as their grooves and striations align with historical wind directions.
Bank Erosion and River Merging: The Bhagirathi-Babla Confluence Shift, West Bengal, India
by Sayantan Das, India
The Bhagirathi and Babla Rivers in the Ganga Delta, West Bengal, India, have undergone significant morphological changes due to lateral erosion. Persistent bank erosion — on the right bank of Bhagirathi and the left bank of Babla — led to the eventual merging of their channels. This confluence shift, occurring 4.5 km upstream from the original junction, resulted in the isolation of Nutangram village from the mainland. The process culminated in October 2021, during the late monsoon, when continuous bank failure triggered the final breach. The hydrodynamic forces, coupled with seasonal high flows, facilitated this channel adjustment. Such geomorphological changes highlight the dynamic nature of river systems in the Ganga Delta, emphasizing the role of monsoonal discharge and sediment transport in modifying river courses.