On October 31, 2020, Professor Hongyi Li’s research group at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, traveled to the Babao River basin in Qilian, Qinghai, for seven days of river-ice field measurements. This campaign was an important part of the group’s river-ice research program. Its main objectives were to measure riverbed elevations in the Babao River and Binggou catchments, document initial river-ice conditions, and provide ground validation data for retrievals from ICESAT and other remote sensing satellites.

Using GPS RTK, the team collected 23 elevation profiles and 161 randomly distributed elevation points in the Binggou catchment, along with seven elevation profiles in the Babao River. Elevation measurements achieved centimeter-level accuracy. Initial river freeze-up conditions were documented at all sites to support river-ice retrieval in both catchments.

The team built crossings over water, climbed mountains, and supported one another to complete every task, demonstrating the group’s strong spirit of teamwork.