World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Environmental Sciences
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Environmental Sciences

D-Index
108
Citations
41732
World Ranking
230
National Ranking
104

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in United States Leader Award

Overview

Ronald Benner is affiliated with the University of South Carolina in the United States and has a research profile focused primarily on Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science. Their work spans several interconnected subfields, including Oceanography, Ecology, Environmental Chemistry, Molecular Biology, and Atmospheric Science.

The scientist's major research interests encompass a range of topics related to marine environments and biochemical processes. Key topics in their work include:

  • Marine and coastal ecosystems
  • Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
  • Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
  • Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
  • Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
  • Polyamine Metabolism and Applications
  • Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Ronald Benner has contributed to several recent scientific papers documenting various aspects of marine ecosystems, biogeochemical fluxes, and Arctic ocean dynamics. Notable publications include:

  • The microbial carbon pump and climate change, 2024, Nature Reviews Microbiology
  • The Transpolar Drift as a Source of Riverine and Shelf-Derived Trace Elements to the Central Arctic Ocean, 2020, Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans
  • What Is Refractory Organic Matter in the Ocean?, 2021, Frontiers in Marine Science
  • Green Edge ice camp campaigns: understanding the processes controlling the under-ice Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom, 2020, Earth system science data
  • The MALINA oceanographic expedition: how do changes in ice cover, permafrost and UV radiation impact biodiversity and biogeochemical fluxes in the Arctic Ocean?, 2021, Earth system science data

The scientist frequently publishes in venues such as Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans, Earth system science data, Limnology and Oceanography, Nature Reviews Microbiology, and Frontiers in Marine Science.

Collaboration appears as an important element in Ronald Benner's research, with frequent coauthors including Rainer M. W. Amon, Karl Kaiser, Tatiana Williford, Dorothea Bauch, and Dennis A. Hansell. These collaborations span multiple publications, reinforcing research foci within marine science and environmental chemistry.

Best Publications

  • What happens to terrestrial organic matter in the ocean

    John I. Hedges;Richard G. Keil;Ronald Benner

  • Microbial production of recalcitrant dissolved organic matter: long-term carbon storage in the global ocean.

    Nianzhi Jiao;Gerhard J. Herndl;Dennis A. Hansell;Ronald Benner

  • Bacterial utilization of different size classes of dissolved organic matter

    Rainer M. W. Amon;Ronald Benner

  • Depletion of 13 C in lignin and its implications for stable carbon isotope studies

    Ronald Benner;Marilyn L. Fogel;E. Kent Sprague;Robert E. Hodson

  • BULK CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER IN THE OCEAN

    Ronald Benner;J. Dean Pakulski;Matthew Mccarthy;John I. Hedges

  • Characterization of a major refractory component of marine dissolved organic matter

    Norbert Hertkorn;Ronald Benner;Moritz Frommberger;Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin

  • Production of Refractory Dissolved Organic Matter by Bacteria

    Hiroshi Ogawa;Yukio Amagai;Isao Koike;Karl Kaiser

  • Chapter 3 – Chemical Composition and Reactivity

    Ronald Benner

  • Distribution and cycling of terrigenous dissolved organic matter in the ocean

    Stephen Opsahl;Ronald Benner

  • Rapid cycling of high-molecular-weight dissolved organic matter in the ocean

    Rainer M. W. Amon;Ronald Benner

  • Transformation of Dissolved and Particulate Materials on Continental Shelves Influenced by Large Rivers: Plume Processes

    Michael J. Dagg;Ronald Benner;Steven Lohrenz;David Lawrence

  • Carbon, nitrogen, and carbohydrate fluxes during the production of particulate and dissolved organic matter by marine phytoplankton

    Bopaiah Biddanda;Ronald Benner

  • The spectral slope coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (S275–295) as a tracer of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon in river‐influenced ocean margins

    Cédric G. Fichot;Ronald Benner

  • Origins and processing of organic matter in the Amazon River as indicated by carbohydrates and amino acids

    John I. Hedges;Gregory L. Cowie;Jeffrey E. Richey;Paul D. Quay

  • Linkages among the bioreactivity, chemical composition, and diagenetic state of marine dissolved organic matter

    Rainer M. W. Amon;Hans-Peter Fitznar;Ronald Benner

  • Photochemical and microbial consumption of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved oxygen in the Amazon River system

    Rainer M.W. Amon;Ronald Benner

  • Anaerobic Biodegradation of the Lignin and Polysaccharide Components of Lignocellulose and Synthetic Lignin by Sediment Microflora

    Ronald Benner;A. E. Maccubbin;Robert E. Hodson

  • A critical evaluation of the analytical blank associated with DOC measurements by high-temperature catalytic oxidation

    Ronald Benner;Michael Strom

  • Photochemical reactivity of dissolved lignin in river and ocean waters

    Stephen Opsahl;Ronald Benner

  • Early diagenesis of vascular plant tissues: Lignin and cutin decomposition and biogeochemical implications

    Stephen Opsahl;Ronald Benner

  • What happens to terrestrial organic matter in the ocean

    Ronald Benner

Frequent Co-Authors

Yuan Shen
Yuan Shen Tsinghua University
Rainer M. W. Amon
Rainer M. W. Amon Texas A&M University
Robert E. Hodson
Robert E. Hodson University of Georgia
John I. Hedges
John I. Hedges University of Washington
Susan E. Ziegler
Susan E. Ziegler Memorial University of Newfoundland
Marcel Babin
Marcel Babin Université Laval
Matthew D. McCarthy
Matthew D. McCarthy University of California, Santa Cruz
Simon Bélanger
Simon Bélanger Université du Québec à Rimouski
Mary Ann Moran
Mary Ann Moran University of Georgia
Peter J. Hernes
Peter J. Hernes University of California, Davis

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