This slow-shutter-speed exposure shows water flowing through ice and snow near Hohenschwangau, southern Germany.

(KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Winter on the Rocks

Thus far, February has provided some amazing images from around the world, images that have one thing in common: water.

Some photos have told heartbreaking stories of loss and pain. Others have amazed us with the resilience of humanity. Some images point to the economic toll that water can take on an unsuspecting city, and others pictures show the life-giving blessing that water can bring.

(Aussie Splash)

Aussie Splash

A man hangs onto the railing of North Curl Curl ocean pool after winds and rain battered Sydney last night producing large swells. Parts of Sydney experienced record rainfall after ex-cyclone Oswald swept through the city.

(JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

Undersea Valentine

This photo taken on February 3, 2013 shows divers putting plastic letters into a post box set up at a depth of 19 feet on the bottom of the sea off the coast of Ito, Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo. Lots of female divers visited the underwater post box as they dropped their love letters to their boyfriends or spouses for the upcoming St. Valentine's Day.

(DEAN TREML/AFP/Getty Images)

Cliff Dive

This handout photo received from Red Bull and taken on February 2, 2013 shows Cyrille Oumedjkane of France diving from a platform on the Hawkesbury River during the Qualification Competition for the 2013 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Cattai, Sydney. From a field of 13 divers, the top five from February 2 competition, Jonathan Paredes of Mexico, Michal Navratil of the Czech Republic, Anatoliy Shabotenko of the Ukraine, and Matt Cowen and Blake Aldridge of the UK, now join the five that have pre-qualified from last year for this season's series, which begins in May.

(TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images)

Cambodian Royal Funeral

A Cambodian royal family member prepares to drop ashes of former king Norodom Sihanouk in the Mekong river in Phnom Penh on February 5, 2013 following his cremation on February 4. Tens of thousands of mourners massed in the Cambodian capital on February 4 as the kingdom cremated its revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who steered his country through six turbulent decades.

(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

A "Manly" Swim

Swimmers enter the water during the 2013 Cole Classic at Shelly Beach on February 3, 2013 in Manly, Australia.

(Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)

Accidental Dip in the Ganges

A pedestrian holds on after slipping off a pipe, which he used to cross a section of the River Ganges, following the closure of a nearby pontoon bridge during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Allahabad.. The Kumbh Mela in the town of Allahabad will see up to 100 million worshippers gather over 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings.

(Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Jumping Across the Pond

Runners take the water jump in The Elite Racing Club Novices' Limited Handicap Steeple Chase at Wincanton racecourse in Wincanton, England.

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The Iron River

Iron-rich sludge lies on top of thawing ice in the ponds that are fed by a nearby creek next to Schloss Vetschau palace in Vetschau, Germany. Many creeks and small rivers in the regions around Vetschau and Spremberg in eastern Germany have turned a distinctive red or dark orange following the closure of nearby open-pit coal mines. Geologists say that the returning ground water levels in the former mines is bringing iron-rich ore into the water, and though the sludge isn't poisonous, environmentalists are concerned over the long-term affects.

(Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)

Initiation by the River

Newly initiated 'Naga Sadhus' perform rituals on the bank of the Ganga River during the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad. During every Kumbh Mela, the diksha - ritual of initiation by a guru - program for new members takes place.

(FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Sauerkraut Pollution?

A picture taken near Krautergersheim, eastern France, shows a sedimentation tank at a waste-water treatment plant. In Krautergersheim, the self-proclaimed sauerkraut capital, polluting sauerkraut juice obtained after fermenting cabbage, is transformed into heat and electricity at a waste-water treatment plant through anaerobic digestion, a bacterial process that produces methane, which can be used in generators for electricity production and/or in boilers for heating purposes.