2013 has been designated The Year of Mathematics of Planet Earth and Springer has launched a photographic contest to celebrate the marvels of our planet and mathematics.

You may have missed the fact that we are already part way through Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013 (MPE2013), a worldwide initiative organized by over 130 academic institutions and scholarly societies as:

a year-long effort to highlight the contributions made by mathematics in the study of global planetary problems: migrations, climate change, sustainability, natural disasters, pandemics... and in the search for solutions.

Although some of the MPE2013 lectures and other events have already happened others are scheduled for the rest of the year and details can be found on the Mathematics of Planet Earth website, where you can also find a link to an exhibition of open source materials that are intended to be used by museums and schools.

Academic book publisher Springer has now launched a photographic competition designed to complement MEP2013 and is inviting contestants to submit an original photograph which encompasses the beauty and application of mathematics found in nature with $250 worth of books as the prize.

The competition runs from March 18th-April 1st and to participate you should submit your photo (only one per participant) via Springer's Facebook page or by email to springermath@springer.com (using "MPE Photo Contest" as the subject line) with a brief description detailing the mathematics that can be found within the image. You need to follow the guidelines found on the contest site and pay attention to the image rights ownership details.

Springer's Mathematics editors will select one winner to receive free Springer titles of their choice (Prize value: 200 EUR/250 USD) and announce the result on  April 5th

Given that programmers mostly can't help being math literate and many can't resist taking photos perhaps the winner will be an I Programmer reader. I know that some of the I Programmer team are planning to submit an entry so let the competition begin...