Richard Murray

Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University

Schools

  • Boston University

Links

Biography

Boston University

Rick Murray’s marine biogeochemical research is oriented toward interpreting signatures of oceanographic, climatologic, and tectonic processes recorded in marine sediment. He studies the paleoceanographic record at a variety of time scales, as well as modern processes that control chemical and isotopic distributions in sediment. His analytical work is based on state-of-the-art ICP-emission spectrometry and ICP-mass spectrometry combined with TIMS isotopic analyses, using the BU Analytical Geochemistry Laboratories. Murray and his graduate students are active participants on oceanographic research cruises that gather sediment (e.g., coring) as well as study modern oceanographic and geochemical processes. Ongoing study areas and topics include the equatorial Pacific Ocean (geochemical paleoceanography/paleoclimatology, the subseafloor microbial biosphere), the Cariaco Basin offshore of Venezuela (redox history, terrigenous inputs, and climate), the northwestern Pacific (the sedimentary record of volcanism), the South Pacific Gyre (geochemical paleoceanography/paleoclimatology, the subseafloor microbial biosphere), and the central Atlantic Ocean (the distribution of trace metals in the water column).

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Cases

Universities Seek Smaller, Modernized Fleet of Research Vessels

October 12, 2016

Chronicle of Higher Education Richard W. Murray, College of Arts & Sciences For months after the world’s largest accidental marine oil spill killed 11 workers and spawned illnesses and economic stress around the Gulf of Mexico, scientists couldn’t answer basic questions about the disaster… Expert quote: “The outcome is going to be lovely — assuming […]

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New Shark Sighting Off Massachusetts Coast Likely Same Great White In Kayak Attack

September 7, 2014

The Inquisitr Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences Just one day after a shark attack by a great white on two women kayaking off the coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts, a new shark sighting was reported about 400 yards off of Peggotty beach in Scituate, Masachusetts — a town approximately 20 miles from Plymouth… Expert quote: “There are seals […]

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More shark sightings bring new warnings on South Shore

September 6, 2014

Patriot Ledger Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences Ocean swimmers and bathers south of Boston are being warned to take extra precautions as a recent shark sighting in Scituate and a shark encounter with kayakers in Plymouth drive home a simple lesson in marine biology: Seals mean sharks… Expert quote: “It doesn’t surprise me. […]

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Officials, experts see no easy answers for aging sea walls

May 30, 2014

Patriot Ledger Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences From Quincy to Plymouth, sea walls are the last, and sometimes the only line of defense for coastal neighborhoods. But sea wall maintenance has often been low on the priority list, leaving communities with millions of dollars in catching up to do… Expert quote: “Sea walls […]

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POV: Is Philippines Typhoon the New Normal?

December 3, 2013

BU Today By Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences Typhoon Haiyan, which slammed into the Philippines in early November, killed nearly 5,000 and left a wide swath of ruin, homelessness, and human despair… View full article

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Why Was Typhoon Haiyan So Destructive?

November 13, 2013

Boston Magazine Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences The Philippines  is a nation that’s no stranger to typhoons—known on the Atlantic as hurricanes—but none have rivaled the damage wreaked by Haiyan this past week… View full article

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How You Can Help Typhoon Survivors, and Why This Shows We’ve Got to Fight Climate Change

November 11, 2013

Care2.com Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences “A state of national calamity:” Philippine President Benigno Aquino used this phrase to describe the devastation suffered in the central part of his country in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan… Expert quote: “Haiyan was tight, nearly perfectly circular, with incredibly high wind speeds. It is right out of the […]

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Vast Challenges for Philippines After Typhoon

November 11, 2013

New York Times Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences Three days after one of the most powerful storms ever to buffet the Philippines, the scale of the devastation and the desperation of the survivors were slowly coming into view… Expert quote: “Just by looking at the satellite images, the eye is perfectly formed. The […]

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Surf fans win fight to stop Newport wall

April 13, 2013

Boston Globe (subscription required) Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences In the litany of devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy’s terrible force, the collapse of an approximately 25-foot stretch of sidewalk along the rocky shore of Rhode Island would, at first glance, seem to be a speck unworthy of attention… Expert quote: “It would be […]

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The coming storm

February 15, 2013

Boston Globe (subscription required) Co-written by Richard Murray, College of Arts & Sciences A few miles off the shore of Wellfleet are the remnants of the community of Billingsgate Island… View full article

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Other experts

Jaan Praks

Areas of expertise Microwave Earth Obsrervation SAR remote sensing, PolSAR, InSAR, PolinSAR Forest remote sensing EM modeling of trees and forest Hyperspectral remote sensing Nanosatellites Activities Member of Finnish Remote Sensing Club steering group. Finnish representative at EARSeL counci...

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