World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Earth Science
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
93
Citations
42860
World Ranking
210
National Ranking
107

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2010 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Overview

James P. M. Syvitski is affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States. Their research spans Earth and Planetary Sciences as well as Environmental Science, with a particular focus on Atmospheric Science, Ecology, Earth-Surface Processes, Global and Planetary Change, and Water Science and Technology.

The scientist's recent publications illustrate a strong engagement with topics relating to geology, climate, and environmental impacts. Notable recent papers include:

  • Earth's sediment cycle during the Anthropocene (2022, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment)
  • Extraordinary human energy consumption and resultant geological impacts beginning around 1950 CE initiated the proposed Anthropocene Epoch (2020, Communications Earth & Environment)
  • Exceptional increases in fluvial sediment fluxes in a warmer and wetter High Mountain Asia (2021, Science)
  • Fjords as Aquatic Critical Zones (ACZs) (2020, Earth-Science Reviews)
  • The Anthropocene: Comparing Its Meaning in Geology (Chronostratigraphy) with Conceptual Approaches Arising in Other Disciplines (2021, Earth's Future)

The scientist's research covers a range of topics, including:

  • Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
  • Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
  • Coastal and Marine Dynamics
  • Flood Risk Assessment and Management
  • Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
  • Geological formations and processes
  • Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes

Their frequent co-authors include:

  • Colin N. Waters
  • Colin Summerhayes
  • Jan Zalasiewicz
  • Alejandro Cearreta
  • John McNeill

Frequent venues where their work has been published are:

  • Earth-Science Reviews
  • Communications Earth & Environment
  • Earth's Future
  • Episodes
  • Science Advances

James P. M. Syvitski was awarded the status of Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2010.

Best Publications

  • Geomorphic/Tectonic Control of Sediment Discharge to the Ocean: The Importance of Small Mountainous Rivers

    John D. Milliman;James P. M. Syvitski

  • Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean

    James P. M. Syvitski;James P. M. Syvitski;James P. M. Syvitski;Charles J. Vörösmarty;Charles J. Vörösmarty;Charles J. Vörösmarty;Albert J. Kettner;Albert J. Kettner;Albert J. Kettner;Pamela Green;Pamela Green;Pamela Green

  • Sinking deltas due to human activities

    James P. M. Syvitski;Albert J. Kettner;Irina Overeem;Eric W. H. Hutton

  • The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene

    Colin N. Waters;Jan Zalasiewicz;Colin Summerhayes;Anthony D. Barnosky

  • Anthropogenic sediment retention: major global impact from registered river impoundments

    Charles J Vörösmarty;Michel Meybeck;Balázs Fekete;Keshav Sharma

  • Marine hyperpycnal flows: initiation, behavior and related deposits. A review

    Thierry Mulder;James P.M. Syvitski;Sébastien Migeon;Jean-Claude Faugères

  • Turbidity Currents Generated at River Mouths during Exceptional Discharges to the World Oceans

    Thierry Mulder;James P. M. Syvitski

  • Geology, Geography, and Humans Battle for Dominance over the Delivery of Fluvial Sediment to the Coastal Ocean

    James P. M. Syvitski;John D. Milliman

  • When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary level is stratigraphically optimal

    Jan Zalasiewicz;Colin N. Waters;Mark Williams;Anthony D. Barnosky

  • Morphodynamics of deltas under the influence of humans

    James P.M. Syvitski;Yoshiki Saito

  • Profiling risk and sustainability in coastal deltas of the world

    Z. D. Tessler;C. J. Vörösmarty;C. J. Vörösmarty;M. Grossberg;I. Gladkova

  • Fjords: Processes and Products

    James P. M. Syvitski;David C. Burrell;Jens M. Skei

  • Climate change: Protect the world's deltas

    Liviu Giosan;James Syvitski;Stefan Constantinescu;John Day

  • Sediment flux and the Anthropocene

    James P. M. Syvitski;Albert Kettner

  • Predicting the terrestrial flux of sediment to the global ocean: a planetary perspective

    James P.M Syvitski;Scott D Peckham;Rachael Hilberman;Thierry Mulder

  • Principles, Methods and Application of Particle Size Analysis

    James P. M. Syvitski

  • Plausible and desirable futures in the Anthropocene: A new research agenda

    Xuemei Bai;Sander van der Leeuw;Karen O’Brien;Frans Berkhout

  • Estimating fluvial sediment transport: The rating parameters

    James P. Syvitski;Mark D. Morehead;David B. Bahr;Thierry Mulder

  • The Working Group on the Anthropocene: Summary of evidence and interim recommendations

    Jan Zalasiewicz;Colin N. Waters;Colin N. Waters;Colin P. Summerhayes;Alexander P. Wolfe

  • Methods and approaches to modelling the Anthropocene

    Peter H. Verburg;John A. Dearing;James G. Dyke;Sander van der Leeuw;Sander van der Leeuw

  • Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean

    J. P. Syvitski;C. Vorosmarty;A. J. Kettner

Frequent Co-Authors

Albert J. Kettner
Albert J. Kettner University of Colorado Boulder
Irina Overeem
Irina Overeem University of Colorado Boulder
Charles J. Vörösmarty
Charles J. Vörösmarty City College of New York
Will Steffen
Will Steffen Australian National University
Lincoln F. Pratson
Lincoln F. Pratson Duke University
Colin N. Waters
Colin N. Waters University of Leicester
Jan Zalasiewicz
Jan Zalasiewicz University of Leicester
Colin Summerhayes
Colin Summerhayes University of Cambridge
Alejandro Cearreta
Alejandro Cearreta University of the Basque Country
Anthony D. Barnosky
Anthony D. Barnosky University of California, Berkeley

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