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Bolivian Salt Flats Aid Spacecraft Calibration
PCOL writes "Salar de Uyuni is a vast plain of white salt in the mountains of Bolivia, with a total elevation range of less than 80 centimeters - the flattest place on earth. Beginning in 2002, geophysicist Adrian Borsa led a survey that resulted in precise GPS measurements of the salt flat. The flats will be used as a giant calibration device for satellite-based radar and laser altimeters on the CryoSat recovery mission so the spacecraft can more precisely monitor changes in the elevation and thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. 'Satellites can calibrate their altimeters by bouncing signals off the ocean surface .. because of atmospheric interference, tides and waves, there are uncertainties. Borsa says the salar, now so accurately mapped and with dry, clear skies, is about five times better than the ocean as a reference point.'"
Salar de Uyuni in Google Maps.
Karma: SELECT `karma` FROM `users` WHERE `userid`=138474;
Jesus effing Christ, everybody on this thread seems to be drunk.
Go to Wikipedia and figure it out yourself. Or better yet: go to bed and sleep. Look out of the window when you wake up tomorrow and try to find out why on earth you're not seeing the Chinamen in the far distance.
I'm an infovore...
As the other poster mentioned, the two locations have varying sizes.
You are looking at an area of 10,582 km (Salar de Uyuni) versus an area of 412 km (Bonneville Salt Flats).
In fact, you are most likely correct about the Bonneville Salt Flats having no more than 1 foot (30 cm) of elevation variation for every 10 miles (16 km), however, the Salar de Uyuni was found to have only 16 inches (40 cm) of variation over its entire surface. This is a huge area that dwarfs 10 miles. The Salar de Uyuni has also been stated by several places that it is, indeed, the largest flattest surface yet to have been found on earth.
Purely speculation on my end however, would be the reasons why the military would choose the Bonneville Salt Flats over the Salar de Uyuni. The military would most likely be testing equipment and technologies they don't want anyone else to get their hands one or are a type which are particularly politically sensitive, whereas other space or research agencies are more or less politically neutral comparatively. This allows other groups to test in an international (and further away) location that the military might find inconvenient due to both political and logistical reasons. Stating that because a lot of people do testing on the Bonneville Salt Flats is not evidence for it being the flattest. There are reasons to use it, simply because of its convenience and close location (it is in US compared to being in Bolivia) among other things.
Read more on the Bolivian Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni).
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20041206/flatearth.html/