Hydrologist and Associate Director

U.S. Geological Survey Utah Water Science Center

Bio:

Cory Angeroth is a Hydrologist and Associate Director of the USGS Utah Water Science Center and has led the water data collection activities for the Center since 2005. In this position he is responsible for the operation of over 150 streamgages, groundwater data collection from nearly 1,000 wells. He has been involved in research on Great Salt Lake since his arrival in Utah. Prior to his current position, Cory was the chief of the Yuma, AZ USGS Field Office which operates streamgages on the lower Colorado River from Davis Dam to the border with Mexico. Cory also worked extensively on a USGS study in Pinal Creek, AZ that advanced the science of acid mine drainage and has authored and co-authored reports on surface water flow, ground water flow, water quality, and lakes and reservoirs. Cory received his degree in Hydrology and Water Resources from the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. His passion for large bodies of water comes from a childhood spent on the shore of Storm Lake, IA and a 2 year tour of the world’s oceans, courtesy of the United States Navy. 

Title: USGS Great Salt Lake Salinity Activities – Past, Present, Future

Wednesday, May 9th, 1:05 PM

Abstract: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been studying and monitoring Great Salt Lake (GSL) for over 100 years. Salinity has been a large part of the USGS work. In the early 1960’s, the USGS prepared a report on the dissolved mineral inflow to the lake and the chemical characteristics of the brine.  In the early 1970’s, the USGS developed the first water and salt balance model of the lake that has been updated and modified several times since. More recently, an equation of state relating density and salinity was developed for GSL and is in use for current salinity monitoring. Currently, the USGS is doing a study of the redevelopment of the Deep Brine Layer after the opening of the new causeway breach. Focus areas for future study include extending the equation of state to higher salinities, monitoring dissolved solids/salts in surface water inflows,  re-investigating groundwater inflows, refining nutrient mass balance estimates, and development of a lake wide hydrodynamic model.