Great Salt Lake mapping project to be featured at Geo Week 2027

Geo Week has announced a keynote presentation for its 2027 event titled ‘A Lake in Crisis: Mapping Utah’s Great Salt Lake’. The session will highlight an ambitious large-scale mapping project utilizing bathymetric lidar to survey the lakebed, wetlands, and deeper-water environments of the rapidly shrinking Great Salt Lake.

The project is a collaborative effort involving the Utah Geological Survey, Aero-Graphics, and Dewberry. The technical workflow integrates aerial acquisition, green-wavelength bathymetric lidar, multi-sensor planning, and advanced geospatial processing to overcome challenges such as murky water and shifting shorelines.

Mapping the lake’s underwater morphology is critical due to the environmental and economic implications of its declining water levels. The data aims to support environmental management and decision-making regarding migratory bird habitats, the aquaculture industry, and the mitigation of harmful dust from exposed lakebeds near population centers.