World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Robert W. Howarth

Robert W. Howarth

Award Badge
Ecology and Evolution
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
103
Citations
86796
World Ranking
227
National Ranking
95

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award

Overview

Robert W. Howarth is affiliated with Cornell University in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Environmental Science and Earth and Planetary Sciences, with 28 and 19 publications in each field respectively. Their work extensively investigates environmental systems and processes related to biogeochemical cycles and ecological dynamics.

Among their prominent subfields of study are Oceanography, Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Environmental Chemistry, and Mechanical Engineering. These areas reflect a multidisciplinary approach to studying interactions within natural and engineered environments.

Key topics covered in their research include Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics, Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics, Marine and Coastal Plant Biology, Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology, Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Marine Biology and Ecology Research, and Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies.

Howarth's frequent collaborators include Roxanne Marino, Melanie Hayn, Katherine Ann Haviland, John F. Stolz, and Michelle Y. Wong. Collaboration with these researchers has resulted in multiple publications, emphasizing shared interests in environmental science and related chemical and ecological dynamics.

The scientist has published extensively in several venues, notably Biogeochemistry and Energy Science & Engineering. Other notable publication venues include Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, and Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering.

Selected recent papers illustrating the breadth of their work include:

  • "How green is blue hydrogen?", 2021, Energy Science & Engineering
  • "Role of external inputs of nutrients to aquatic ecosystems in determining prevalence of nitrogen vs. phosphorus limitation of net primary productivity", 2021, Biogeochemistry
  • "The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States", 2024, Energy Science & Engineering

In addition to articles, Robert W. Howarth has contributed to book literature, including a publication with Cambridge University Press titled "Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves" released in 2022.

Best Publications

  • NONPOINT POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS WITH PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN

    Stephen R. Carpenter;N. F. Caraco;D. L. Correll;R. W. Howarth

  • HUMAN ALTERATION OF THE GLOBAL NITROGEN CYCLE: SOURCES AND CONSEQUENCES

    Peter M. Vitousek;John D. Aber;Robert W. Howarth;Gene E. Likens

  • Nitrogen cycles: past, present, and future

    J. N. Galloway;F. J. Dentener;D. G. Capone;E. W. Boyer

  • Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change

    David Tilman;Joseph Fargione;Brian Wolff;Carla D'Antonio

  • Controlling Eutrophication: Nitrogen and Phosphorus

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

  • Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: How can it occur?

    Peter M. Vitousek;Robert W. Howarth

  • The Nitrogen Cascade

    James N. Galloway;John D. Aber;Jan Willem Erisman;Sybil P. Seitzinger

  • Regional nitrogen budgets and riverine N & P fluxes for the drainages to the North Atlantic Ocean: Natural and human influences

    Robert Howarth;Gilles Billen;Dennis Swaney;Andrea Townsend

  • Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations

    Robert W. Howarth;Renee Santoro;Anthony Ingraffea

  • Nitrogen as the limiting nutrient for eutrophication in coastal marine ecosystems: Evolving views over three decades

    Robert W. Howarth;Roxanne Marino

  • Nutrient Limitation of Net Primary Production in Marine Ecosystems

    Robert W. Howarth

  • Reconciling carbon-cycle concepts, terminology, and methods

    F. S. Chapin Iii;G. M. Woodwell;J. Randerson;E. B. Rastetter

  • Global patterns of terrestrial biological nitrogen (N2) fixation in natural ecosystems

    Cory C. Cleveland;Alan R. Townsend;David S. Schimel;Hank Fisher

  • Towards an ecological understanding of biological nitrogen fixation

    Peter M. Vitousek;Ken Cassman;Cory Cleveland;Tim Crews

  • Climate Change Impacts on U.S. Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

    Donald Scavia;John C. Field;Donald F. Boesch;Robert W. Buddemeier

  • Coastal nitrogen pollution: A review of sources and trends globally and regionally

    Robert W. Howarth

  • Coupled biogeochemical cycles: eutrophication and hypoxia in temperate estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems

    Robert W. Howarth;Francis Chan;Daniel J. Conley;Josette Garnier

  • Eutrophication of freshwater and marine ecosystems

    Val H. Smith;Samantha B. Joye;Robert W. Howarth

  • Multiple stable isotopes used to trace the flow of organic matter in estuarine food webs.

    Bruce J. Peterson;Robert W. Howarth;Robert H. Garritt

  • Anthropogenic nitrogen sources and relationships to riverine nitrogen export in the northeastern U.S.A.

    Elizabeth W. Boyer;Christine L. Goodale;Norbert A. Jaworski;Robert W. Howarth

Frequent Co-Authors

Dennis P. Swaney
Dennis P. Swaney Cornell University
Elizabeth W. Boyer
Elizabeth W. Boyer Pennsylvania State University
Christoph Humborg
Christoph Humborg Stockholm University
Alan R. Townsend
Alan R. Townsend University of Montana
Sybil P. Seitzinger
Sybil P. Seitzinger University of Victoria
Anne E. Giblin
Anne E. Giblin Marine Biological Laboratory
James N. Galloway
James N. Galloway University of Virginia
Andrew N. Sharpley
Andrew N. Sharpley University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Anthony R. Ingraffea
Anthony R. Ingraffea Cornell University
Hans W. Paerl
Hans W. Paerl University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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