Rich Signell (he/him/his), is a research oceanographer at the US Geological Survey in Woods Hole. He graduated from the University of Michigan School of Engineering with a B.S. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science in 1983, obtained a MS in Physical Oceanography from MIT in 1987, and a PhD from the WHOI/MIT Joint Program in Physical Oceanography in 1989.
Rich's early work at the USGS focused on dispersion and transport in coastal waters, and included the hydrodynamic simulations for the relocation of Boston’s sewage outfall to clean up of Boston Harbor. He has worked on a number of environmental sediment issues, including Massachusetts Bay, Lake Pontchartrain, and Long Island Sound. He also worked for the NATO Undersea Research Center in La Spezia, Italy from 2001-2004. Rich has a long-standing interest in data management, analysis and visualization, promoting standards and standards-based modeling tools for the last 20 years.
Science and Products
Processing a new generation of hyperspectral data on the Cloud using Pangeo
We aim to migrate our research workflow from a closed system to an open framework, increasing flexibility and transparency in our science and accessibility of our data. Our hyperspectral data of agricultural crops are crucial for training/ validating machine learning algorithms to study food security, land use, etc. Generating such data is resource-intensive and requires expertise, proprietary
Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database
The U.S. Geological Survey Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database contains estimates of wave-current bottom stress and sediment mobility for the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast continental shelf regions.
Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Tools and Standards for Ocean Modeling
Ocean models provide critical information for coastal and marine spatial planning, emergency responders and for understanding implications of climate change and human activities. Models are run by numerous academic institutions and government agencies, typically with different access protocols that stifle use, comparison with data, and innovation.
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Advances in Instrumentation
Ongoing acquisition of new instruments and development of analytical methods provides us with the means to make better observations of coastal ocean processes. The measurements provide us with insight and data for critical evaluation of model performance. Advances in a range of measurement capabilities, including bottom stress, sediment erodibility, water properties and nutrient concentrations...
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Ocean Model Contributions
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) led a project funded by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) with support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), to develop a community sediment-transport modeling system (CSTMS).
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
Numerical models are used by scientists, engineers, coastal managers, and the public to understand and predict processes in the coastal ocean. This project supports the development and application of open-source coastal models and has several objectives: 1) improve the code of numerical sediment-transport models by implementing new or improved algorithms; 2) obtain measurements of coastal ocean...
Estuarine Processes Coastal Hazards
Extreme tides and coastal storms transfer high water levels to estuaries through natural and managed entrances. The size of the transfer depends on the duration of the event and the geomorphology of the estuary. We use observational data and modeling scenarios to understand and spatially map this transfer at our study sites.
Exploring the USGS Science Data Life Cycle in the Cloud
Executive Summary Traditionally in the USGS, data is processed and analyzed on local researcher computers, then moved to centralized, remote computers for preservation and publishing (ScienceBase, Pubs Warehouse). This approach requires each researcher to have the necessary hardware and software for processing and analysis, and also to bring all external data required for the workflow over the int
Evaluating a new open-source, standards-based framework for web portal development in the geosciences
Web portals are one of the principal ways geospatial information can be communicated to the public. A few prominent USGS examples are the Geo Data Portal (http://cida.usgs.gov/gdp/ [URL is accessible with Google Chrome]), EarthExplorer (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/), the former Derived Downscaled Climate Projection Portal, the Alaska Portal Map (http://alaska.usgs.gov/portal/), the Coastal Chang
Boston Sewage Outfall: The Fate of Sediments and Contaminants in Massachusetts Bay
This project is complete and the website is archived and no longer updated.Boston Harbor, once one of the most polluted waterways in the nation, is in the final stages of a major cleanup. A $3.8 billion cleanup program, begun in 1985 by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) was designed to address more than 300 years of metropolitan waste disposal. The cleanup has significantly...
Science and Products
- Science
Processing a new generation of hyperspectral data on the Cloud using Pangeo
We aim to migrate our research workflow from a closed system to an open framework, increasing flexibility and transparency in our science and accessibility of our data. Our hyperspectral data of agricultural crops are crucial for training/ validating machine learning algorithms to study food security, land use, etc. Generating such data is resource-intensive and requires expertise, proprietarySea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database
The U.S. Geological Survey Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database contains estimates of wave-current bottom stress and sediment mobility for the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast continental shelf regions.Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Tools and Standards for Ocean Modeling
Ocean models provide critical information for coastal and marine spatial planning, emergency responders and for understanding implications of climate change and human activities. Models are run by numerous academic institutions and government agencies, typically with different access protocols that stifle use, comparison with data, and innovation.Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Advances in Instrumentation
Ongoing acquisition of new instruments and development of analytical methods provides us with the means to make better observations of coastal ocean processes. The measurements provide us with insight and data for critical evaluation of model performance. Advances in a range of measurement capabilities, including bottom stress, sediment erodibility, water properties and nutrient concentrations...Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Ocean Model Contributions
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) led a project funded by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) with support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), to develop a community sediment-transport modeling system (CSTMS).Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
Numerical models are used by scientists, engineers, coastal managers, and the public to understand and predict processes in the coastal ocean. This project supports the development and application of open-source coastal models and has several objectives: 1) improve the code of numerical sediment-transport models by implementing new or improved algorithms; 2) obtain measurements of coastal ocean...Estuarine Processes Coastal Hazards
Extreme tides and coastal storms transfer high water levels to estuaries through natural and managed entrances. The size of the transfer depends on the duration of the event and the geomorphology of the estuary. We use observational data and modeling scenarios to understand and spatially map this transfer at our study sites.Exploring the USGS Science Data Life Cycle in the Cloud
Executive Summary Traditionally in the USGS, data is processed and analyzed on local researcher computers, then moved to centralized, remote computers for preservation and publishing (ScienceBase, Pubs Warehouse). This approach requires each researcher to have the necessary hardware and software for processing and analysis, and also to bring all external data required for the workflow over the intEvaluating a new open-source, standards-based framework for web portal development in the geosciences
Web portals are one of the principal ways geospatial information can be communicated to the public. A few prominent USGS examples are the Geo Data Portal (http://cida.usgs.gov/gdp/ [URL is accessible with Google Chrome]), EarthExplorer (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/), the former Derived Downscaled Climate Projection Portal, the Alaska Portal Map (http://alaska.usgs.gov/portal/), the Coastal ChangBoston Sewage Outfall: The Fate of Sediments and Contaminants in Massachusetts Bay
This project is complete and the website is archived and no longer updated.Boston Harbor, once one of the most polluted waterways in the nation, is in the final stages of a major cleanup. A $3.8 billion cleanup program, begun in 1985 by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) was designed to address more than 300 years of metropolitan waste disposal. The cleanup has significantly... - Data
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