The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, and the consequences reach well beyond the shoreline. Its waters and wetlands support millions of migratory birds. Its brine shrimp feed a global aquaculture industry. Its exposed lakebed generates dust that blows into nearby population centers. As water levels drop, knowing what lies beneath the surface has never mattered more.
The Utah Geological Survey, Aero-Graphics, and Dewberry are working together on a large-scale bathymetric lidar project covering shallow lakebed, wetlands, and deeper-water environments across portions of the lake. The effort combines Utah-based aerial acquisition, green-wavelength bathymetric lidar, multi-sensor mission planning, and advanced processing to improve on legacy datasets and resolve lakebed detail that has long been difficult to capture. Murky water, shifting shorelines, and a lake that changes shape season to season make this one of the more demanding inland bathymetric lidar efforts underway.
The session opens with the stakes of the lake’s decline, including who is affected, what is at risk, and why better lakebed information is essential for science, management, and public decision-making. From there, the discussion turns to the geospatial problem of collecting reliable data in a constantly changing lake environment. The Utah Geological Survey closes with what the new data reveals about microbialite reef structures, lakebed morphology, wetlands, geologic features, and where the research goes next.
