A new satellite-based study has reconstructed suspended sediment concentration across the Yellow River over nearly 40 years, revealing not only a long-term decline but also a recent shift in that downward trend. By combining decades of with a newly developed retrieval model, the research shows how reservoirs, tributaries, vegetation recovery, and check dams have collectively reshaped sediment patterns along one of the world's most sediment-laden rivers.

A new study shows that the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite can track lake volume changes across China with strong accuracy while greatly improving the monitoring of small lakes that were often missed before. By combining synchronous measurements of lake level and area with supporting bathymetric data, the researchers found clear seasonal patterns and an overall rise in lake volume, driven mainly by natural and larger lakes.

A research team from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) developed a satellite-based method to analyze the life cycle of ocean eddies forming along Arctic sea-ice edges. By combining sequential synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images with hydrodynamic modeling, the researchers reconstructed surface current fields and retrieved key dynamical parameters of a polar eddy throughout its evolution. The approach provides new insights into ice-edge ocean dynamics and offers a powerful tool for studying interactions between sea ice, ocean circulation, and climate processes.

Researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS), in collaboration with Beijing Normal University and Fujian Normal University, have developed a 10-meter resolution dataset that maps the vertical structure of forests in Nanping City, Fujian Province, China. Covering the years 2022 and 2023, the dataset provides unprecedented insights into the forest canopy height, enabling improved biomass and carbon stock estimations.

A research team from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS), together with the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) and the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, has developed a detailed, global framework to evaluate the potential for solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment. The framework, which works at a fine scale of 1-kilometer resolution, evaluates both the technical and economic feasibility of solar PV. The team also released a global dataset that tracks "affordability" from 2013 to 2023, offering valuable information for accelerating clean-energy planning and progress toward UN's Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).

Researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS), in collaboration with the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals and Aarhus University in Denmark, published a study in Nature Communications on 10 February, 2026. By integrating spaceborne Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar observations with simulations from the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS, the team conducted the first nationwide assessment of the contributions of different categories of protected areas to aboveground forest carbon density. The study further projected future carbon gain potential under different climate scenarios and varying protection intensities.