Geo Week announced its first 2027 keynote, A Lake in Crisis: Mapping Utah’s Great Salt Lake, a presentation and panel discussion on a complex large-scale bathymetric lidar project to map the lakebed, wetlands, and deeper-water environments of the Great Salt Lake. The keynote will take place during Geo Week, February 23–25, 2027 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Great Salt Lake is rapidly shrinking, and the implications reach well beyond its shoreline. The impacts affect migratory birds, the global aquaculture industry, and nearby population centers threatened by harmful dust from an exposed lakebed. As water levels change, understanding what lies beneath the surface matters more than ever.
Images Courtesy of: Geo Week
“The Great Salt Lake is local to Utah. Its importance is not. Its wetlands support migratory species across the Americas. Its changing water levels affect ecosystems, communities, industry, and the surrounding environment. Understanding those consequences begins with understanding the physical landscape itself,” said Kelly Francis, Co-President of Aero-Graphics and moderator of the keynote panel. “The Great Salt Lake is changing. Now we can measure how.”
The Utah Geological Survey, Aero-Graphics, and Dewberry are among the partners collaborating on this ambitious project, combining Utah-based aerial acquisition, green-wavelength bathymetric lidar, multi-sensor planning, and advanced processing. The goal is to improve on legacy datasets and reveal lakebed details that have long been difficult to see. The work is technically demanding, complicated by murky water, shifting shorelines, and a lake that is constantly changing shape.
“The challenges of data collection are immense… but where we do get data, that data provides a level of detail about the lakebed never seen before,” said panelist Michael Vanden Berg of Utah Geological Survey.
“This keynote captures what makes geospatial work so complex and so valuable,” said Carla Lauter, Senior Content Manager at Geo Week. “Combining multiple sensors, planning around unpredictable conditions, and turning raw data into decisions people can act on represents the work the geospatial community excels at, and this keynote shows what that looks like at scale. Whatever your industry, you’ll recognize the problems this team is solving, and the solutions apply well beyond the Great Salt Lake.”
The keynote panel will feature:
- Kelly Francis (moderator), Co-President, Aero-Graphics
- Bonnie Baxter, Director, Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College
- Josh Novac, Associate Vice President, Program Manager, Dewberry
- Michael Vanden Berg, Energy & Minerals Program Manager, Utah Geological Survey
The session dives into the urgency of why the lake’s decline matters: who is affected, what is at risk, and why better lakebed information is essential for science, management, and public decision-making. Panelists will discuss the geospatial challenge of collecting data in a dynamic lake environment and what the new data is revealing about microbialite reef structures, lakebed morphology, wetlands, and geologic features, as well as future research needs.
This Geo Week keynote invites attendees to look beneath the surface of one of the West’s most iconic lakes and see how better data can help communities respond. View the keynote session for more information and explore Geo Week’s conference preview. The full conference program will be announced soon. Visit www.geo-week.com or register now to secure Super Saver Pricing.
About Geo Week
Geo Week brings together geospatial and mapping professionals to explore how data, maps, and advanced technologies can deepen our understanding of the world and inform solutions for complex challenges. Geo Week’s conference program and tradeshow floor provide expert insights, real-world case studies, cutting-edge tools, and unmatched peer-to-peer networking. Geo Week 2027 takes place February 23–25, 2027, at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT. For more information, visit www.geo-week.com.
Geo Week is produced by Geo Week News and is part of Diversified’s technology portfolio, which also includes Commercial UAV Expo, Commercial UAV News, Geo Business (UK), and Digital Construction Week (UK).
