Education

  • B.A., Geology, Carleton College
  • Ph.D., Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University. Project: Sedimentary record of late Mesozoic extension, southeast Mongolia: Implications for the petroleum potential and tectonic evolution of the China-Mongolia border region

Research Summary

My research is broadly based in sedimentary basin analysis, including the tectonic evolution of Asia, global perspectives on basin and energy systems modeling, clastic sequence stratigraphy, marginal marine depositional systems, and subsurface reservoir characterization and prediction. More recent work has centered on anthropogenic Lake Powell reservoir sediment and deltas, as well as energy transitions including carbon management and sedimentary basin geothermal resources.

Biography

Dr. Cari Johnson (Google Scholar Profile) is a Professor of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah. She earned a B.A. in Geology at Carleton College in 1996, and Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University in 2002. She also held a Post-Doctoral Research Associate position with the U.S.G.S. Energy Assessment Group in Menlo Park, CA, prior to joining the University of Utah faculty in 2003. Dr. Johnson’s research is broadly based in sedimentary basin analysis, including contributions to understanding the tectonic evolution of Asia, global perspectives on basin and energy systems modeling, and subsurface reservoir characterization and prediction. Preliminary work supported by the Rocks2Models industry consortium (~2012-2022) led to an additional focus on understanding sedimentary environments in shallow marine strata, including barrier island deposits in Cretaceous rocks of southern Utah. More recent work has centered on anthropogenic sedimentary systems such as Lake Powell reservoir sediment and deltas, as well as energy transitions including carbon management and sedimentary basin geothermal resources.

 

Dr. Johnson serves as Associate Editor for Basin Research, and formerly as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Mines and Earth Sciences at the University of Utah. She is a Geological Society of America Fellow, and the 2021 recipient of the Dickson Medal Award from SEPM. She also received the University of Utah Early Career Faculty Teaching and Distinguished Mentor awards (2010 and 2013, respectively). She has advised ~30 graduate and undergraduate student researchers and postdoctoral research associates during her career. Dr. Johnson also enjoys flying small airplanes, playing tennis, cycling, and skiing, and is the proud mother to two teenage girls and one Portuguese water dog.