FIELD NOTE 02 · RANWU / 2024

At Ranwu Lake, supporting field sampling.

Assisting with water, atmospheric, and soil samples; documenting the journey and the field site.

Recorded 2024.11.12–11.15Field support · Ranwu Lake5 min read

Ranwu Lake area · Photographed by Lin on 2024.11.14

In November 2024, I joined a senior colleague in the Ranwu Lake area to assist with field sampling.

This account is compiled from photographs taken on site. Sampling methods, parameters, and results remain governed by the formal project records.

Towards the Lake

On November 12, we set out for the lake area. The route passed through mountain valleys, roads, and power-transmission infrastructure. The snow line gradually drew closer to the road.

Snow-covered mountains and power-transmission infrastructure in a valley en route to Ranwu Lake — November 12, en route to the lake. The published crop excludes vehicles and identifiable license plates.

On the night of November 13, the first images from the lake area appeared in the camera roll. In the low light, the ground, water, and distant ridgelines remained visible.

The lakeshore, stars, and a continuous line of snow-covered mountains at night — November 13, at night. The lakeshore and snow-covered mountains came into view.

At the Field Site

November 14 was the main day documented in the field. Scree, snow cover, ice, and channels defined the ground we moved across.

Two companions, seen from behind, walking across scree toward a snow-covered valley — Approaching the site across scree and snow. Both people are shown from behind.

A translucent opening and slender icicles seen from inside the ice — Light, textures, and icicles inside the ice.

These photographs document the environment. They do not establish the formal sampling locations or methods.

Layers, fractures, and broken ice inside blue-green ice — Layers and fractures within the ice, recorded only as part of the field environment.

Supporting Sample Collection

The assignment included water samples and samples associated with atmospheric work. My role was primarily to support the work on site. The water-collection photograph records the operation beside the water, the container, and coordination between colleagues.

Hands, a container, and water during a two-person water-sampling operation beside snow and ice — Water collection in the field. The published crop retains only hands, the container, and the water; no identifiable faces are shown.

Interlaced channels in a snow-covered valley beneath an overcast sky — Channels beneath the snow and ice in several different states.

Do the part required in the moment, and do it properly.

No clear operational photographs remain for the atmospheric sampling. This article records only that the task took place; further details are deferred to the formal project documentation.

Snow-covered mountains, an ice wall, and frozen channels beneath cloud cover — Cloud cover, the ice wall, and frozen channels that day. This image documents the setting only; it does not depict atmospheric-sampling equipment or methods.

Soil Work at the Shoreline

There was also soil-related work along the lakeshore. The photographs show surface clearing, tool use, and coordination on the gravel bank. They do not provide a basis for inferring the specific method.

Hands and tools during two-person soil work on a gravel lakeshore — A cropped view of soil work at the lakeshore, retaining only hands, tools, and the ground. No identifiable faces are shown.

Gravel and fine-grained shoreline material in varied sizes and colors — Gravel and fine-grained surface material at the shoreline; this is not a photograph of a packaged sample.

The photographs preserve the setting. The project records preserve the methods and results.

Final Record

On November 15, the final group of lakeshore photographs was taken. They show floating ice, open water, and the surrounding mountains.

Broken ice across the lake with a continuous line of snow-covered mountains beyond — November 15. An additional record of the ice-covered lakeshore.

This account includes only what can be confirmed from the photographs. Unverified details have not been reconstructed.