Casey is a valuable member of the Utah Water Science staff.
Casey graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in Geoscience in 2013. After briefly working with Schlumberger in Salt Lake City, he went on to study at Cornell University with Dr. Teresa Jordan where he earned an M.S. in Geological Science. His research focused on carbonate petrology and sedimentology. During this time, Casey interned with the U.S. Geological Survey at the New York Water Science Center in Ithaca where he assisted in developing geospatial models to identify large-scale closed depressions in New York state. Casey returned to Utah after graduation and continued his career with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Utah Water Science Center where his work has primarily focused on sedimentation processes in Lake Powell and the Upper Colorado River Basin.
Education
M.S. 2018 - Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Thesis: Petrological and isotopic evidence for diagenetic evolution in the Cherry Valley carbonates and adjacent mudrocks of the Marcellus "shale" from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York
B.S. 2013 - Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Professional Experience
2018 - Present
Hydrologist, Utah Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey
2016 - 2018
Student hydrology intern, Eastern Geographic Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey
2015 - 2017
Teaching Assistant, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University
2013 - 2015
Petrologist, TerraTek, A Schlumberger Company
Science and Products
Lake Powell Coring
Statewide Assessment of New York’s Karst Aquifers With an Inventory of Closed-Depression and Focused-Recharge Features
Sedimentary record of annual-decadal timescale reservoir dynamics: Anthropogenic stratigraphy of Lake Powell, Utah, U.S.A.
Elevation-area-capacity relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and estimated loss of storage capacity since 1963
Statewide assessment of karst aquifers in New York with an inventory of closed-depression and focused-recharge features
Elevation-area-capacity tables for Lake Powell, 2018
Science and Products
- Science
Lake Powell Coring
In response to the August 5, 2015, Gold King Mine Spill from the Bonita Peak Mining District that resulted in the release of three-million gallons of mine-impacted waters, the Utah Water Science Center, in partnership with the Utah Division of Water Quality, National Park Service, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, cored the San Juan and Colorado River deltas in multiple locations in Lake Powell...Statewide Assessment of New York’s Karst Aquifers With an Inventory of Closed-Depression and Focused-Recharge Features
Background: The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) and Health (NYS DOH) are concerned about groundwater contamination in the carbonate-bedrock aquifers in New York, especially relating to the unintended introduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and liquid manure to these aquifers. These carbonate rocks form extensive aquifers that transmit, and can yield, wa - Publications
Sedimentary record of annual-decadal timescale reservoir dynamics: Anthropogenic stratigraphy of Lake Powell, Utah, U.S.A.
The tributaries of Lake Powell were impounded following construction of Glen Canyon Dam, resulting in deposition of reservoir sediment over a ∼650 km2 area since 1963. These units have been exposed through erosion as water storage in Lake Powell has decreased since 2000. This anthropogenic sedimentary record reflects the complex interplay among wet and dry periods of Colorado River runoff and the rAuthorsCari Johnson, Jonathan Casey Root, Scott Hynek, John (Jack) C. SchmidtElevation-area-capacity relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and estimated loss of storage capacity since 1963
Lake Powell is the second largest constructed water reservoir by storage capacity in the United States and represents a critical component in management of water resources in the Colorado River Basin. The reservoir provides hydroelectric power generation at Glen Canyon Dam, banks water storage for the Upper Colorado River Basin, stabilizes water commitments downstream, and buffers the Lower ColoraAuthorsJonathan Casey Root, Daniel JonesStatewide assessment of karst aquifers in New York with an inventory of closed-depression and focused-recharge features
Karst is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rock or rock containing minerals that are easily dissolved from within the rock. The landscape is characterized by sinkholes, caves, losing streams, springs, and underground drainage systems, which rapidly move water through the karst. The two forms of karst in New York State include carbonate karst, which forms in carbonate rock (limestoAuthorsWilliam M. Kappel, James E. Reddy, Jonathan Casey Root - Data
Elevation-area-capacity tables for Lake Powell, 2018
This data release is associated with the following Scientific Investigations Report: Root, J.C. and Jones, D.K., 2022, Elevation-area-capacity relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and estimated loss of storage capacity since 1963: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5017, 21 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225017. This dataset provides elevation-area-capacity relationshi - Multimedia