|
January 25 2008
IGPP researchers play prominent role in mapping flat salt plain to help calibrate satellites
A team of researchers, led by Adrian Borsa of IGPP, has completed a precise topographical study of the salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, located in Bolivia. This area varies in elevation by only 80 centimeters, and the precision of the map will be used as a calibration for satellites and altimeters.
 Composite image of the salar de Uyuni siteBorsa and Helen Fricker of IGPP shared the lead scientist role, with both planning and executing the data gathering. In addition to the main ICESat-related effort, Dr. Fricker did a separate project to gather data under satellite radar altimeter tracks, while Borsa did an experiment to quantify GPS multipath. The GPS data processing and analysis were completed back at Scripps as part of Borsa's Ph.D dissertation.
Other SIO researchers included Bruce Bills (joint posting with NASA), who was responsible for choosing the survey location and was an advisor for both the logistics and science. Bernard Minster was responsible for financial support and oversaw the data processing and analysis.
More Information
|
