These extraordinary aerial images, taken over a period of decades, show how modern society has transformed the planet, with industry leaving strangely beautiful marks that give some areas the appearance of an alien world. Others show natural landscapes that look like abstract paintings from above.

The transfixing pictures have been taken by world-renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, who has spent 45 years taking photos from a god-like perspective achieved by the use of helicopters, small jets, hydraulic poles, and