The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah was the staging ground for a NASA-sponsored LIDAR survey using GLAS, the Geosciences Laser Altimetry System. GLAS will be the primary instrument carried by the NASA satellite, ICESat (Ice, Clouds, and Elevation Satellite), scheduled for launch in mid-2002. Using a powerful laser pulsing 40 times per second, GLAS will measure the topography of the polar ice sheets and the character of clouds and atmospheric aerosols as it orbits the globe over its 3-5 year expected life span. One satellite calibration technique involves comparing GLAS laser data against a surveyed ground target. The proposed calibration targets are large, dry lakes located around the world. Bonneville Salt Flats is a primary candidate for GLAS calibration. Between October 4 and 6, 2001, scientists from the UT-Center for Space Research and the Scripps Institution for Oceanography mapped the salt flats with a vehicle-mounted GPS system concurrently with the BEG LIDAR survey. The inter-comparison of the LIDAR and Scripps' ground-GPS will validate the accuracy and precision of the Bureau's LIDAR system.

Dr. Jim Gibeaut views the Bonneville Salt Flats, and the surrounding terrain.	Dr. Gibeaut (right) and the pilot, Chuck Windsor (left), navigate the LIDAR survey aircraft over the Bonneville area.