2026 Hans W. Paerl: Environmental Sciences Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Environmental Sciences	138	51	48	20	18	547	81923
Biology and Biochemistry	138	293	262	199	175	525	81321

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in United States Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in United States Leader Award
2023 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in United States Leader Award
2015 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Overview

Hans W. Paerl is affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Environmental Science and Earth and Planetary Sciences, with substantial contributions in subfields such as Environmental Chemistry, Oceanography, Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, and Atmospheric Science.

Their work focuses on several main topics, including:

Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
Marine and coastal ecosystems
Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Marine Biology and Ecology Research
Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
Fish Ecology and Management Studies

Paerl has a strong publication record with frequent appearances in venues such as:

UNC Libraries
Limnology and Oceanography
Faculty Opinions - Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
Water Research
SSRN Electronic Journal

Notable recent papers by Paerl include:

"Toxic Cyanobacteria: A Growing Threat to Water and Air Quality," 2020, Environmental Science & Technology
"Shifting states, shifting services: Linking regime shifts to changes in ecosystem services of shallow lakes," 2020, Freshwater Biology
"Contributions of external nutrient loading and internal cycling to cyanobacterial bloom dynamics in Lake Taihu, China: Implications for nutrient management," 2021, Limnology and Oceanography
"Mitigating the global expansion of harmful cyanobacterial blooms: Moving targets in a human- and climatically-altered world," 2020, Harmful Algae
"Extreme Climate Anomalies Enhancing Cyanobacterial Blooms in Eutrophic Lake Taihu, China," 2021, Water Resources Research

The scientist has collaborated frequently with colleagues such as Nathan S. Hall, Boqiang Qin, Haley E. Plaas, Yunlin Zhang, and Malcolm A. Barnard. These collaborations suggest an interdisciplinary approach integrating environmental chemistry, aquatic ecology, and climatology.

Hans W. Paerl was recognized as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2015, reflecting a professional acknowledgment within the geophysical and environmental science community.

Best Publications

Controlling Eutrophication: Nitrogen and Phosphorus

Daniel J. Conley;Hans W. Paerl;Robert W. Howarth;Donald F. Boesch

4562
Citations
Cyanobacterial blooms

Unknown

3352
Citations
Blooms like it hot

Hans W. Paerl;Jef Huisman

3271
Citations
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms: causes, consequences, and controls.

Hans W. Paerl;Timothy G. Otten;Timothy G. Otten

2015
Citations
Climate change: A catalyst for global expansion of harmful cyanobacterial blooms

Hans W. Paerl;Jef Huisman

1917
Citations
Climate change: links to global expansion of harmful cyanobacteria.

Hans W. Paerl;Valerie J. Paul

1891
Citations
Trichodesmium, a Globally Significant Marine Cyanobacterium

Douglas G. Capone;Jonathan P. Zehr;Hans W. Paerl;Birgitta Bergman

1628
Citations
Harmful freshwater algal blooms, with an emphasis on cyanobacteria.

Hans W. Paerl;Rolland S. Fulton;Pia H. Moisander;Julianne Dyble

1380
Citations
Ecological Thresholds: The Key to Successful Environmental Management or an Important Concept with No Practical Application?

Peter M. Groffman;Jill S. Baron;Tamara Blett;Arthur J. Gold

1345
Citations
Nuisance phytoplankton blooms in coastal, estuarine, and inland waters1

Hans W. Paerl

1327
Citations
Controlling harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a world experiencing anthropogenic and climatic-induced change

Hans W. Paerl;Nathan S. Hall;Elizabeth S. Calandrino

1296
Citations
Nitrogen and phosphorus inputs control phytoplankton growth in eutrophic Lake Taihu, China.

Hai Xu;Hans W. Paerl;Boqiang Qin;Guangwei Zhu

1149
Citations
Controlling harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a hyper-eutrophic lake (Lake Taihu, China): The need for a dual nutrient (N & P) management strategy

Hans W. Paerl;Hai Xu;Mark J. McCarthy;Mark J. McCarthy;Guangwei Zhu

1120
Citations
Coastal eutrophication and harmful algal blooms : Importance of atmospheric deposition and groundwater as new nitrogen and other nutrient sources

Hans W. Paerl

1110
Citations
A review of the global ecology, genomics, and biogeography of the toxic cyanobacterium, Microcystis spp.

Matthew J. Harke;Morgan M. Steffen;Christopher J. Gobler;Timothy G. Otten

1106
Citations
A Drinking Water Crisis in Lake Taihu, China: Linkage to Climatic Variability and Lake Management

Boqiang Qin;Guangwei Zhu;Guang Gao;Yunlin Zhang

1075
Citations
Nutrients, eutrophication and harmful algal blooms along the freshwater to marine continuum

Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh;Hans W. Paerl;Walter K. Dodds

1002
Citations
The oceanic fixed nitrogen and nitrous oxide budgets: Moving targets as we enter the anthropocene?*

L. A. Codispoti;Jay A. Brandes;J. P. Christensen;A. H. Devol

978
Citations
The role of microbes in accretion, lamination and early lithification of modern marine stromatolites

R. P. Reid;P. T. Visscher;A. W. Decho;J. F. Stolz

925
Citations
Dinitrogen fixation in the world's oceans

D. Karl;A. Michaels;B. Bergman;D.G. Capone

872
Citations
Allied attack: climate change and eutrophication

B. Moss;S. Kosten;M. Meerhoff;R.W. Battarbee

848
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

James L. Pinckney University of South Carolina

Boqiang Qin Chinese Academy of Sciences

Michael F. Piehler University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Guangwei Zhu Chinese Academy of Sciences

Pia H. Moisander University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Christopher L. Osburn North Carolina State University

Mark J. McCarthy Wright State University

Hai Xu Tianjin University

Steven W. Wilhelm University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Yunlin Zhang Chinese Academy of Sciences

External Links

Personal website of Hans W. Paerl Google Scholar page

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