Cartoon GIF cross-section of river sediments filling the bottom of Lake Powell from pre-Glen Canyon dam to today.
Casey Root
Casey has primarily focused on basin-scale geospatial studies since joining the U.S. Geological Survey in 2016 to address water quality and availability studies associated with Great Salt Lake and the Upper Colorado River Basin.
Casey has worked at the USGS Utah Water Science since 2018 after interning at the USGS New York Water Science Center during graduate school. His work includes calculating the first update of elevation-area-capacity relationships in Lake Powell since 1986 and developing a new topobathymetric dataset of Great Salt Lake to provide updated estimates of volume and area. He is an active contributor with state and local cooperators in questions concerning Great Salt Lake, such as salinity and critical minerals, and the Upper Colorado River Basin, including studies on trends in salinity and sediment transport, and is a member of the Geospatial Analysis and Applications Core Technology Team, which is a group of scientists in the USGS focused on questions related to contaminants and environmental health across spatial scales.
Prior to joining the USGS, Casey’s academic and professional career focused on sedimentary geology in both the petroleum and mining industries. Casey transitioned to water-related studies during his internship with the USGS and assisted in developing geospatial models to identify large-scale closed depressions and focused-recharge features of karst aquifers in New York state.
Education and Certifications
M.S., Geological Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2018
B.S., Geoscience, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2013
Science and Products
New study confirms loss of storage capacity in Lake Powell
Lake Powell Coring
Statewide Assessment of New York’s Karst Aquifers With an Inventory of Closed-Depression and Focused-Recharge Features
Baseflow estimation and trend and correlation analysis results for East Canyon Creek, Summit and Morgan Counties, Utah
Topobathymetric elevation model of the causeway breach, Great Salt Lake, Utah
Half-meter topobathymetric elevation model and elevation-area-volume tables for Great Salt Lake, Utah, 2002-2016
Elevation-area-capacity tables for Lake Powell, 2018
Cartoon GIF cross-section of river sediments filling the bottom of Lake Powell from pre-Glen Canyon dam to today.
Lake Powell report, SIR 2022-5017, Elevation-Area-Capacity Relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and Estimated Loss of Storage Capacity Since 1963, cover image showing past lake levels.
Lake Powell report, SIR 2022-5017, Elevation-Area-Capacity Relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and Estimated Loss of Storage Capacity Since 1963, cover image showing past lake levels.
South side of Glen Canyon Dam, and Lake Powell. Used as back-image on USGS Report, SIR 2022-5017.
South side of Glen Canyon Dam, and Lake Powell. Used as back-image on USGS Report, SIR 2022-5017.
Estimation of baseflow and flooding characteristics for East Canyon Creek, Summit and Morgan Counties, Utah
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
Science and Products
New study confirms loss of storage capacity in Lake Powell
Lake Powell Coring
Statewide Assessment of New York’s Karst Aquifers With an Inventory of Closed-Depression and Focused-Recharge Features
Baseflow estimation and trend and correlation analysis results for East Canyon Creek, Summit and Morgan Counties, Utah
Topobathymetric elevation model of the causeway breach, Great Salt Lake, Utah
Half-meter topobathymetric elevation model and elevation-area-volume tables for Great Salt Lake, Utah, 2002-2016
Elevation-area-capacity tables for Lake Powell, 2018
Cartoon GIF cross-section of river sediments filling the bottom of Lake Powell from pre-Glen Canyon dam to today.
Cartoon GIF cross-section of river sediments filling the bottom of Lake Powell from pre-Glen Canyon dam to today.
Lake Powell report, SIR 2022-5017, Elevation-Area-Capacity Relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and Estimated Loss of Storage Capacity Since 1963, cover image showing past lake levels.
Lake Powell report, SIR 2022-5017, Elevation-Area-Capacity Relationships of Lake Powell in 2018 and Estimated Loss of Storage Capacity Since 1963, cover image showing past lake levels.
South side of Glen Canyon Dam, and Lake Powell. Used as back-image on USGS Report, SIR 2022-5017.
South side of Glen Canyon Dam, and Lake Powell. Used as back-image on USGS Report, SIR 2022-5017.