Richard Webb
Biography
Rick Webb is a research hydrologist with the Earth System Processes Division in the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Resources Mission Area. Rick grew up on the shores of the Atlantic and later the Great Lakes. Beaches, jellyfish, hurricanes, and alewive dieoffs all left indelible memories that helped shape Rick's career studying waters both salty and fresh. As an undergraduate physical scientist working for NOAA, Rick deployed current meters in Lake Erie. After graduating with a BS in marine geology in 1982, Rick landed on the island of Puerto Rico for a two week vacation. The two week vacation turned into an eighteen year tenure with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Geological Survey during which he studied anthropogenic impacts on coastal waters and upland watersheds. In 1999, Rick and his family moved to Denver, Colorado to better understand fundamental processes driving water and solutes through watersheds from the continental divide to tropical rain forests. Current projects include Reaction-Transport Modeling in Groundwater and Watershed Systems and the Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP).
Career Plans and Objectives
As a steward of the environment, I work with colleagues to understand the processes that 1) shape the surface of the earth and 2) change the composition of the water. This information can then be used to evaluate and manage our limited resources. Most challenging is the need to compile and synthesize a wide array of data from multiple sources. This may involve state-of-the-art signal processing or using a sextant to better locate a study site. My background and interests are centered on the premise of understanding the global picture while attempting to solve local problems in our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.
Work Experience
1999 – present
Research Hydrologist
U.S. Geological Survey
Denver, CO
Research Topics: Numerical simulations of natural and managed watersheds.
1990 – 1999
Hydrologist
U.S. Geological Survey
Water Science Center
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Research Topics: Mixing models of wastewater discharge to the ocean. Uplands erosion and reservoir sedimentation. Effect of sediments and nutrients on corals. Anthropogenic impacts on estuarine water quality. Land cover mapping by remote sensing
1988 - 1990
Geologist
U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Marine Geology
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Research Topics: Sea Level Fluctuations. Marine Geology of Mayagüez, PR. Beach Erosion Sedimentation. Coauthor a book, "Living with the Puerto Rico Shoreline"
1985 - 1987
Physical Oceanographer (Graduate Student)
Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Advisor: Dr. G.A. Meadows
Research Topic: Periodicities observed in sediment motion under storm waves.
1982 - 1985
Marine Geologist
Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources
Marine Resource Section
Puerta de Tierra, PR
Research Topics: Define quantity and quality of submarine sand deposits. Evaluate Holocene and recent sedimentary processes on the insular shelf. Analyze erosional-accretional trends of the beaches in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Education
Master of Science in Physical Oceanography (received, May 1987)
Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
University of Michigan.
(Regent's Fellowship awarded both years)
Bachelor of Science in Oceanography - Geological Option (received, May 1982)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
College of Engineering
University of Michigan
Science and Products
Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP)
The Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP) brings together scientists from the USGS along with students and professors from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and California for a unique study opportunity. This diverse group of scientists research the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at local and watershed scales....
Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds
Background: Metolachlor [(RS)-2-Chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methyl-phenyl)-N-(1-methoxypropan-2-yl)acetamide] and two degradates (metolachlor ethane-sulfonic acid and metolachlor oxanilic acid) are commonly observed in surface and groundwater. The behavior and fate of these compounds were examined over a 12-year period in seven agricultural watersheds in...
Rose, Claire E.; Coupe, Richard H.; Capel, Paul D.; Webb, Richard M.
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD), user’s manual, version 1
The Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD) uses the framework of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Modular Modeling System to simulate fluxes of water and solutes through watersheds. WEBMOD divides watersheds into model response units (MRU) where fluxes and reactions are simulated for the following eight hillslope reservoir types: canopy...
Webb, Richard M.T.; Parkhurst, David L.
PRMS-IV, the precipitation-runoff modeling system, version 4
Computer models that simulate the hydrologic cycle at a watershed scale facilitate assessment of variability in climate, biota, geology, and human activities on water availability and flow. This report describes an updated version of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System. The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System is a deterministic, distributed-...
Markstrom, Steven L.; Regan, R. Steve; Hay, Lauren E.; Viger, Roland J.; Webb, Richard M.; Payn, Robert A.; LaFontaine, Jacob H. Potential climate change effects on water tables and pyrite oxidation in headwater catchments in Colorado
A water, energy, and biogeochemical model (WEBMOD) was constructed to simulate hydrology and pyrite oxidation for the period October 1992 through September 1997. The hydrologic model simulates processes in Loch Vale, a 6.6-km² granitic watershed that drains the east side of the Continental Divide. Parameters describing pyrite oxidation were...
Medley, C. Nicholas; Patterson, Glenn; Parker, Melanie J.; Webb, Richard M.; Mast, Alisa; Manning, Andrew H.; Clow, David W.; Campbell, Donald H.
Observing, studying, and managing for change: Proceedings of the Fourth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds
These proceedings contain the abstracts, manuscripts, and posters of presentations given at the Fourth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds—Observing, Studying, and Managing for Change, held at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks, Alaska, September 26–30, 2011. The conference was jointly hosted by the Bureau of Land Management and the...
Medley, C. Nicholas; Patterson, Glenn; Parker, Melanie J. Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils
In the present study a branched serial first-order decay (BSFOD) model is presented and used to derive transformation rates describing the decay of a common herbicide, atrazine, and its metabolites observed in unsaturated soils adapted to previous atrazine applications and in soils with no history of atrazine applications. Calibration of BSFOD...
Webb, Richard M.; Sandstrom, Mark W.; Krutz, L. Jason; Shaner, Dale L. Agronomic and environmental implications of enhanced s-triazine degradation
Novel catabolic pathways enabling rapid detoxification of s-triazine herbicides have been elucidated and detected at a growing number of locations. The genes responsible for s-triazine mineralization, i.e. atzABCDEF and trzNDF, occur in at least four bacterial phyla and are implicated in the development of enhanced...
Krutz, L. Jason; Shaner, Dale L.; Weaver, Mark A.; Webb, Richard M.; Zablotowicz, Robert M.; Reddy, Krishna N.; Huang, Yanbo; Thompson, Steven J.
Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation
The 6.7 billion human inhabitants of the earth have the ability to drastically alter ecosystems and the populations of species that have taken eons to evolve. By better understanding how our actions affect the environment, we stand a better chance of designing successful strategies to manage ecosystems sustainably. Toward this end, the Third...
Webb, Richard M.; Semmens, Darius J.
Identifying Hydrologic Processes in Agricultural Watersheds Using Precipitation-Runoff Models
Understanding the fate and transport of agricultural chemicals applied to agricultural fields will assist in designing the most effective strategies to prevent water-quality impairments. At a watershed scale, the processes controlling the fate and transport of agricultural chemicals are generally understood only conceptually. To examine the...
Linard, Joshua I.; Wolock, David M.; Webb, Richard M.T.; Wieczorek, Michael Potential effects of runoff, fluvial sediment, and nutrient discharges on the coral reefs of Puerto Rico
Coral reefs, the foundation and primary structure of many highly productive and diverse tropical marine ecosystems, have been degraded by human activity in much of the earth's tropical oceans. To contribute to improved understanding of this problem, the potential relation between river sediment and nutrient discharges and degradation of coral...
Larsen, M.C.; Webb, R.M.T. Pesticide fate and transport throughout unsaturated zones in five agricultural settings, USA
Pesticide transport through the unsaturated zone is a function of chemical and soil characteristics, application, and water recharge rate. The fate and transport of 82 pesticides and degradates were investigated at five different agricultural sites. Atrazine and metolachlor, as well as several of the degradates of atrazine, metolachlor, acetochlor...
Hancock, T.C.; Sandstrom, Mark W.; Vogel, J.R.; Webb, R.M.T.; Bayless, E.R.; Barbash, J.E. Simulated fate and transport of metolachlor in the unsaturated zone, Maryland, USA
An unsaturated-zone transport model was used to examine the transport and fate of metolachlor applied to an agricultural site in Maryland, USA. The study site was instrumented to collect data on soil-water content, soil-water potential, ground water levels, major ions, pesticides, and nutrients from the unsaturated zone during 2002-2004. The data...
Bayless, E.R.; Capel, P.D.; Barbash, J.E.; Webb, R.M.T.; Hancock, T.L.C.; Lampe, D.C.
PHREEQC Version 3
PHREEQC Version 3 is a computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-Ddmensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations.