Race Against Time to Complete Investigation before Flash Flood Arrives|Captain of CBCGDF Lop Nur Scientific Expedition Team Says(Part Ⅷ)
2022/8/23 17:31:00 本站

Around 1:50 p.m. on July 28, we saw the overflow pass of Aksu Kule Lake. Everyone quickly turned from a state of tension to a state of excitement. On the floodplain formed by the compaction of fine sand particles, the driver was able to drive as fast as he could. The maximum speed sent us to the shore of the lake. The time then was about 2:10 pm.

"We only have 1 hour of working time. Please control your working hours. We need to leave here at about 3:00 pm at the latest." When I got off the bus, I didn’t care about arranging lunch for everyone. The first thing I told everyone was the time node of the work, so that everyone could be noted of the progress of the work.

The most important task of this inspection site is to obtain the three-dimensional topography of the lake's outflow pass. Therefore, I arranged for my colleagues to use drones to conduct 3D flight measurements, and then called a car to take us to different locations on the lake's exit to measure the elevation reference point. Colleagues in the groundwater hydrology and environment group collected water samples in the lake, and colleagues in the plant group searched for possible plant distribution points around the pass. When I quickly climbed up the hills on both sides of the exit, the superposition of hypoxia and lack of energy made me breathless, and I felt dizzy when I squatted down and stood up again.

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After I got back to the car and grabbed a piece of bread, I ate it while taking measurements at other points. When we finished the surrounding measurement and returned to the starting point, it was almost 3 o'clock, and there were about 5 minutes left in the drone measurement task. The sampling task of the underground water environment group had been completed, and the teacher of the plant group was still in mountain ridge and edge of the pass looking for plants on the edge of the pass.

When there were 2 minutes left for the drone to complete the task, a strong wind suddenly blew up at the pass, and the sky became a little darker. I quickly let the drone return, and I was very worried that the drone would "explode" under the strong wind. Fortunately, it gave us a narrow window of time for the plane to land smoothly. After I calmed down, I quickly sorted out a pile of food for the colleague who flew the drone, because he had been operating the drone and had not eaten lunch yet.

Around 3:05pm we all packed up and got in the car. At this point, the main pressure were on the two drivers. They need to make sure we can cross the Andir River when the flash flood reaches the last stretch of the river.

Along the way, the main task of the guide was to assist the driver to find the road we walked when we went up the mountain. I reminded and prayed that the tires of the car would not punctured. If any tire fails again, we may be really trapped in the mountains. Fortunately, we were very lucky to pass the last crossing of the Andir River safely at 6:15 pm.

After crossing the river, everyone's tense nerves relaxed. I smiled and said to the teacher of the plant group: "All the time is yours from now. You can stop wherever you want." When we entered the mountain in the morning, I thought about the time, and there were many very good plants for which we had not taken a picture. Fortunately, all the supplements were made on the way out of the mountain, so that the members of each group successfully completed their work tasks.

Original Chinese Article:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lvVp2j5VYF3no90fFYRckQ

Translator: Lucy

Checked by Sara

Editor: Daisy

Contact the editors: v10@cbcgdf.org;  +8617319454776

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