Washed out bridge on the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges, 1998
Richard Webb
Rick Webb is a research hydrologist with the Earth System Processes Division in the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Resources Mission Area.
Biography
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.
Professional Experience
1999-present: Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Mission Area
1990-1999: Hydrologist. U.S. Geological Survey, Caribbean Water Science Center
1988-1990: Marine Geologist. U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology
1982-1985: Marine Geologist. Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources
Education and Certifications
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)
Annotated bibliography of 64 papers reviewed and summarized in a conceptual framework to assess post-wildfire water quality
Webb and Rosenberry, 2020, MODFLOW 2005 and MODPATH 5 model data sets used to evaluate seepage-meter efficiency in high-permeability settings
Seepage meter efficiency in highly permeable settings source data (2020)
Long-term hydrological and biological data from Williams and Shingobee Lakes, north-central Minnesota
![Washed out bridge on the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges, 1998](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/fig009.jpg?itok=UqJ-Cmwx)
Washed out bridge on the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges, 1998
A conceptual framework to assess post-wildfire water quality: State of the science and knowledge gaps
Variable seepage meter efficiency in high-permeability settings
Simulations of hydrology and water quality for irrigated fields near Yakima, Washington
Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD), user’s manual, version 1
PRMS-IV, the precipitation-runoff modeling system, version 4
Proceedings of the Fourth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds—Observing, Studying, and Managing for Change
Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils
Potential climate change effects on water tables and pyrite oxidation in headwater catchments in Colorado
Agronomic and environmental implications of enhanced s-triazine degradation
Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation
Identifying Hydrologic Processes in Agricultural Watersheds Using Precipitation-Runoff Models
PHREEQC Version 3
PHREEQC Version 3 is a computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations.
PHAST - A Computer Program for Simulating Groundwater Flow, Solute Transport, and Multicomponent Geochemical Reactions
PHAST Is a computer program for simulating groundwater flow, solute transport, and multicomponent geochemical reactions.
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD)
The Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD) uses the framework of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Modular Modeling System (MMS) to simulate fluxes of water and solutes through watersheds. WEBMOD divides watersheds into model response units (MRU) where fluxes and reactions are simulated for several hillslope reservoir types.
Science and Products
Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP)
Annotated bibliography of 64 papers reviewed and summarized in a conceptual framework to assess post-wildfire water quality
Webb and Rosenberry, 2020, MODFLOW 2005 and MODPATH 5 model data sets used to evaluate seepage-meter efficiency in high-permeability settings
Seepage meter efficiency in highly permeable settings source data (2020)
Long-term hydrological and biological data from Williams and Shingobee Lakes, north-central Minnesota
![Washed out bridge on the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges, 1998](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/fig009.jpg?itok=UqJ-Cmwx)
Washed out bridge on the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges, 1998
Washed out bridge on the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Georges, 1998
A conceptual framework to assess post-wildfire water quality: State of the science and knowledge gaps
Variable seepage meter efficiency in high-permeability settings
Simulations of hydrology and water quality for irrigated fields near Yakima, Washington
Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD), user’s manual, version 1
PRMS-IV, the precipitation-runoff modeling system, version 4
Proceedings of the Fourth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds—Observing, Studying, and Managing for Change
Simulation of branched serial first-order decay of atrazine and metabolites in adapted and nonadapted soils
Potential climate change effects on water tables and pyrite oxidation in headwater catchments in Colorado
Agronomic and environmental implications of enhanced s-triazine degradation
Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation
Identifying Hydrologic Processes in Agricultural Watersheds Using Precipitation-Runoff Models
PHREEQC Version 3
PHREEQC Version 3 is a computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations.
PHAST - A Computer Program for Simulating Groundwater Flow, Solute Transport, and Multicomponent Geochemical Reactions
PHAST Is a computer program for simulating groundwater flow, solute transport, and multicomponent geochemical reactions.
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD)
The Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD) uses the framework of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Modular Modeling System (MMS) to simulate fluxes of water and solutes through watersheds. WEBMOD divides watersheds into model response units (MRU) where fluxes and reactions are simulated for several hillslope reservoir types.