A long-standing research area primarily concerned with computer simulation of the growth and movement of problem cyanobacterial blooms and strategies for their management.
I have been interviewed several times for ITV and BBC news following outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae affecting waterbodies, such as lakes and rivers used for recreation and/or fishing.
2012 Howard, A. Toxic Cyanobacteria in Bengstsson, L., Herschy, R. and Fairbridge, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs. Springer. ISBN 9781402056161.
2011 Guven, B. and Howard, A. Sensitivity analysis of a cyanobacterial growth and movement model under two different flow regimes, Environmental Modeling and Assessment. 16:577-589.
2007 Guven, B. and Howard, A. Identifying the critical parameters of a cyanobacterial growth and movement model by using generalised sensitivity analysis Ecological Modelling, 207, 11-21.
2007 Guven, B. and Howard, A. Modelling the growth and movement of cyanobacteria in river systems Science of the Total Environment, 368, 898-908.
2006 Guven, B. and Howard, A. A review and classification of the existing models of cyanobacteria Progress in Physical Geography, 30, 1-24.
2003 Burton, L.R. Howard, A. & Goodall, B. Construction of a historical Water Pollution Index for the Mersey Basin, Area, 35:4.
2002 Howard, A. & Easthope, M.P. Application of a model to predict cyanobacterial growth patterns in response to climatic change at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire, UK, The Science of the Total Environment, 282-283, 459-469.
2001 Howard, A. Modelling movement patterns of the cyanobacterium, Microcystis, Ecological Applications: the journal of the Ecological Society of America, 11, 304-310.
1999 Howard, A. Algal Modelling: Processes and Management: An Introduction, Hydrobiologia, 414, 35-37
1999 Howard, A. (ed) Algal Modelling: Processes & Management, Hydrobiologia, 414.
1999 Easthope, M.P. & Howard, A. Modelling algal dynamics in a lowland impoundment, Science of the Total Environment. 241, 17-25.
1999 Easthope, M.P. & Howard, A. Implementation and sensitivity analysis of a model of cyanobacterial movement and growth, Hydrobiologia, 414, 53-58.
1997 Whitehead, P.G. Howard, A. & Arulmani, C. Modelling algal growth and transport in rivers: a comparison of time series analysis, dynamic mass balance, and neural network techniques, Hydrobiologia, 347: 39-46.
1997 Kneale, P.E. & Howard, A. Statistical analysis of algal and water quality data, Hydrobiologia, 347: 59-63.
1997 Howard, A. Computer simulation modelling of buoyancy change in Microcystis, Hydrobiologia, 349: 111-117.
1997 Howard, A. Algal Modelling: Processes & Management. Editorial Preface. Hydrobiologia, 349:vii-ix.
1996 Howard, A. McDonald, A.T. Kneale, P.E. & Whitehead, P.G. Cyanobacterial (blue-green algal) blooms in the UK: A review of the current situation and potential management options, Progress in Physical Geography, 20, 63-81.
1996 Howard, A. Irish, A.E. & Reynolds, C.S. SCUM ’96: A new simulation of cyanobacterial underwater movement, Journal of Plankton Research, 18, 1375-1385.
1995 Howard, A. Kirkby, M.J., Kneale, P.E. & McDonald, A.T. Modelling the growth of cyanobacteria (GrowSCUM), Hydrological Processes, 9, 809-820.
1994 Howard, A. Problem cyanobacterial blooms – explanation and simulation modelling, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 19, 213-224.
1993 Howard, A. SCUM – simulation of cyanobacterial underwater movement, Computer Applications in the Biosciences, 9, 413-419.
- The end-Permian mass extinction event of roughly 252 million years ago—the worst such event in earth's history—has been linked to vast volcanic emissions of greenhouse gases, a major temperature increase, and the loss of almost every species in the oceans and on land.
- When the coronavirus pandemic thrust the world into turmoil last year, a group of bioenergy researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) saw an unconventional way to fight the pandemic: algae.
- Pond scum generally isn't looked upon kindly. But the microalgae that make up these floating green mats of slime could get newfound respect as renewable sources of fuel, specialty chemicals, dietary supplements and other valued products.
- On a remote trail in California's Sierra National Forest called the Devil's Gulch, a family of three and their dog were recently found dead. Authorities were at a loss to explain what happened.
- A new analysis of 2.5-billion-year-old rocks from Australia finds that volcanic eruptions may have stimulated population surges of marine microorganisms, creating the first puffs of oxygen into the atmosphere. This would change existing stories of Earth's early atmosphere, which assumed that most changes in the early atmosphere were controlled by geologic or chemical processes.
- Sensitive detection and imaging in bio-microenvironment is highly desired in biophotonic and biomedical applications. However, conventional photonic materials inevitably show incompatibility and invasiveness to bio-systems. To address this issue, Scientists in China reviewed recent progresses of biophotonic probes, including bio-lasers, biophotonic waveguides, and bio-microlenses, made from biological entities with inherent biocompatibility and minimal invasiveness, with […]
- Oxygen-producing bacteria emerged a thousand millions years before the great oxygenation event approximately 2400 million years ago, scientists have found.
- The Cambrian period, which occurred around 541–485 million years ago, is known for its explosive biological diversification. In warm oceans, the planet's earliest eukaryotes began to thrive and diversify. A major contributing factor to the acceleration of life and the development of early metazoans is thought to be an increasingly efficient food web, created largely […]
- In order to feed a projected 9 billion people by 2050, farmers need to grow 50% more food on a limited amount of arable land. As a result, plant scientists are in a race against time to engineer crops with higher yields by improving photosynthesis.
- In the infamous words of Jurassic Park consultant Dr. Ian Malcolm, "life finds a way". In the depths of the ocean, in volcanic springs, under four meters of ice: almost anywhere scientists can think of to look for life on Earth, we have found it.
