Marine geomorphology and habitats using multibeam mapping both vessel based and from autonomous underwater vehicles.
Marine current-influenced sedimentation, fjords and shelf sea sediment as archives of Quaternary climate change.
Much of this work has been based in mid-high latitude seas, notably the Antarctic and the Fram Strait region of the Arctic.
Current research projects
: Developing tools for managing and monitoring Marine Protected Areas in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Western Scotland. Funded by EU INTERREG VA Programme managed by the . 2018-22
(marine environmental mapping project). Funded by NERC since 2010.
. Funded by NERC. 2016-19
SIFIDS. Funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. 2016-19
Highlight past projects
INIS Hydro. Funded by EU SEUPB. 2011-14
LORISE. Funded by NERC. 2013-18
John is the Programme Leader for the Marine Science BSc.
Lecturing
Marine Science BSc: Modue leader year 1 'Fundamentals of Marine Geology'
Marine Science BSc: Module leader year 2 'Marine Geology'
Marine Science BSc: Tutor year 1 'Field course'
Marine Science BSc: Lecturer year 2 'Marine Resources'
Marine Science BSc: Lecturer year 3 'Marine robotics'
Marine Science BSc: Lecturer year 4 'Polar Seas'
Marine Science BSc: Practical class year 4 'Palaeoceanography'
Marine Science BSc: Lecturer year 4 'Deep-sea Ecosystems'
Marine Science BSc: Supervisor year 4 'Dissertation'
Current research students
Karen Boswarva: AUV for habitat mapping. PhD 2016-19. UHI
Allan Audsley: Gas-related pock marks. PhD 2017-20. University of Stirling
Nils Piechaud: AUV for deep-water habitat mapping. Plymouth University
Craig Smeaton: Blue carbon assessment. PhD 2013-17. University of St Andrews
Alumni research students
Riccardo Arosio: Glaciation in the Inner Hebrides. PhD 2013-17. UHI
Clara Morri: North Atlantic current controlled sediment. PhD 2001-04. UHI
Suzanne MacLachlan: Western Svalbard Holocene records. PhD 2004-07. UHI
Kate McIntyre: Younger Dryas in the Firth of Lorn. PhD 2007-11. UHI
Selected publications
McGeady R, Runya RM, Dooley JSG, Howe JA, Fox CJ, Wheeler AJ, Summers G, Callaway A, Beck S, Brown LS, Dooly G, McGonigle C (2023) A review of new and existing non-extractive techniques for monitoring marine protected areas. Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1126301.
Armstrong C, Howe JA, Allen C, Watson P (2021) Mobile bedform dynamics approaching a bedload parting site: Pentland Firth, northeast UK. Marine Geology 443: 106686
Armstrong C, Howe JA, Dale A, Allen C (2021) Bathymetric observations of an extreme tidal flow: Approaches to the Gulf of Corryvreckan, western Scotland, UK. Continental Shelf Research 217: 1-13
Runya R, McGonigle C, Quinn T, Howe J, Collier J, Fox C, Dooley J, O’Loughlin R, Calvert J, Scott L, Abernethy C, Evans W (2021) Examining the Links between Multi-Frequency Multibeam Backscatter Data and Sediment Grain Size. Remote Sensing 13(8), 1539;
Ray D, Leary P, Livens F, Gray N, Morris K, Law KA, Fuller AJ, Abrahamsen-Mills L, Howe J, Tierney K, Muir G, Law GTW (2020) Controls on anthropogenic radionuclide distribution in the Sellafield-impacted Eastern Irish Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 743: 140765
Carter, D.G, Cooper, R, Gafeira, J., Howe, J.A. and Long, D. (2020) Morphology of small-scale submarine mass movement events across the northwest United Kingdom. Geomorphology, 365: 107282
Husum K, Howe JA, Baltzer A, Forwick M, Jensen M, Jernas P, Korsum S, Miettienen A, Mohan R, Morigi C, Myhre PI, Prins MA, Skirbekk K, Sternal B, Boos M, Dijkstra N and Troelstra S (2019) The marine sedimentary environments of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard: an archive of polar environmental change. Polar Research, 38, 3380
Howe, J.A., Husum, K., Inall, M.E., Coogan, J., Luckman, A., Arosio, R. Abernethy, C. and Verchilli, D. (2019) Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) observations of tidewater glacier retreat, western Svalbard. Marine Geology 417, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2019.106009
Audsley A, Bradwell T and Howe JA (2019) Distribution and classification of pockmarks on the seabed around western Scotland. Journal of Maps, 15:2, 807-817, DOI: 10.1080/17445647.2019.1676320
Millan-Aguinaga N, Soldatou S, Brozio S, Howe J, Hoskisson P and Duncan K (2019) Awakening ancient polar actinobacteria: diversity, evolution and specialized metabolite potential. Microbiology Research 165, 1,
Butschek F, Arosio R, Austin WEN, Noormets R and Howe JA (2018) Late Weichselian glacial history of Forlandsundet, western Svalbard: an inter-ice-stream setting. Arktos https://doi.org/10.1007/s41063-018-0063-x
Boswarva K, Butters A, Fox CJ, Howe JA, Narayanaswamy B (2018) Improving marine habitat mapping using high-resolution acoustic data; a predictive habitat map for the Firth of Lorn, Scotland. Continental Shelf Research 168: 39-47
Smeaton, C, Austin, WEN, Davies, AL, Baltzer, A, Howe, JA, and Baxter, JM (2017) Scotland's forgotten carbon: a national assessment of mid-latitude fjord sedimentary carbon stocks. Biogeosciences, 14, 5663-5674. DOI:
Arosio, R., K. C. Crocket, G. M. Nowell, S. Louise Callard, J. A. Howe, S. Benetti, D. Fabel, S. Moreton and C. D. Clark (2017) Weathering fluxes and sediment provenance on the SW Scottish shelf during the last deglaciation. Marine Geology. DOI: .
Tierney KM, Muir GKP, Cook GT, Heymans JJ, MacKinnon G, Howe JA, Xu S, Brownlow A, Davidson NJ, ten Doeschate M, Deaville R. (2017) Nuclear Reprocessing-Related Radiocarbon (14C) Uptake into UK Marine Mammals. Marine Pollution Bulletin 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.07.002.
Burrows, M.T., Hughes, D.J., Austin, W.E.N., Smeaton, C., Hicks, N., Howe, J.A., Allen, C., Taylor, P., Vare, L.L., (2017). Assessment of blue carbon resources in Scotland’s inshore MPA network, Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 957. Scottish Association for Marine Science.
Muir, G., et al., 2016 Ecosystem uptake and transfer of Sellafield-derived Radiocarbon (14C) Part 1. The Irish Sea Marine Pollution Bulletin
Macdonald, F., Howe, J.A., Jones, S., Weeks, R.J., and Houpert, L. (2016) The Scottish Marine Robotics Facility: Use of unmanned vehicles for environmental measurement, monitoring and decision making. IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-23 482-485
Smeaton, C. Austin, W.E.N., Davies, A.L., Blatzer, A., Abell, R.E. & Howe, J.A. (2016) Substantial stores of sedimentary carbon held in mid-latitude fjords. Biogeosciences. 13 (20), 5771
Dove, D., Finlayson, A., Bradwell, T., Howe, J.A., Arosio, R. (2016) Deglacial landform assemblage records fast ice-flow and retreat, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. From: Dowdeswell, J. A., Canals, M., Jakobsson, M., Todd, B. J., Dowdeswell, E. K. & Hogan, K. A. (eds) 2016. Atlas of Submarine Glacial Landforms: Modern, Quaternary and Ancient. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 46, 135–138,
Arosio, R. Dove, D., Howe, J.A. & O’Cofaigh (2016) A reappraisal of deglaciation in southwestern Scotland, with new constraints from seafloor geomorphology and seismic stratigraphy. Memoir of the geological Society of London
Muir, G.K.P., Tieney, K. M., Cook, G.T., MacKinnon, G., Howe, J.A., Heymans, J.J., Hughes, D.J. & Xu, S. (2016) Ecosystem uptake of Sellafield-derived radiocarbon (14C) Part 1: The Irish Sea. The Science of the Total Environment
Audsley, A., Arosio, R., and Howe, J.A. (2016) A geomorphological reconstructing of the deglaciation of Loch Etive during the Loch Lomond Stadial. Scottish Journal of Geology doi:10.1144/sjg2015-004
Tierney, K., Muir, G., Cook, G. T., MacKinnon, G., Howe, J.A., Heymans, J.J. & Xu, S. (2015) Accumulation of Sellafield-derived radiocarbon (14C) in Irish Sea and West of Scotland intertidal shells and sediments. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 151, 321-327 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.10.029
Howe, J.A., Gatliff, R. and Stevenson A.G. (2015) Seabed mapping for the 21st Century. Transactions of Earth and Environmental Science, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Available on CJO 2015 doi:10.1017/S175569101500016X
Howe, J.A., Anderton, R., Arosio, R., Dove, D., Bradwell, T., Crump, P., Cooper, R. Cocuccio, A. (2015). The seabed geomorphology and geological structure of the Firth of Lorn, western Scotland UK: as revealed by multibeam echo-sounder survey. Transactions of Earth and Environmental Science, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Available on CJO 2015 doi:10.1017/S1755691015000146
Hughes, D.J., Shimmield, T.M., Black, K.D & Howe, J.A. (2015) Ecological impacts of large-scale disposal of mining waste in the deep sea. Nature Scientific Communications. 5:09985 | DOI: 10.1038/srep09985
Dove, D., Arosio, R., Finlayson, A., Bradwell, T. & Howe, J.A. (2015) Submarine glacial landforms record Late Pleistocene ice-sheet dynamics, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, Journal of Quaternary Science 123, 76-90 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.06.012
Howe, J.A., Dove, D., Bradwell, T. & Gaferia, J. (2012). Submarine geomorphology and glacial history of the Sea of the Hebrides, UK. Marine Geology, 315-318, 64-76
McIntyre, K.L., Howe, J.A. & Bradwell, T. (2011) Lateglacial ice extent and deglaciation of Loch Hourn, western Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology, v. 47:169-178
Howe, J.A., Harland, R., Cottier, F., Brand, T., Willis, K., Eriksson, A., Grosfjeld, K. & Berge, J. Dinoflagellate cysts from sediment traps in Arctic Fjords. (2010) In: Howe, J.A., Austin, W.E.N., Forwick, M., & Paetzel, M. Fjords: Depositional Systems and Archives. Geological Society of London, special publication 344 61-74.
Grøsfjeld, K., Knies, J., Harland, R. & Howe, J.A. (2009) Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages inshore and offshore Svalbard reflecting their modern hydrography and climate. Norwegian Journal of Geology. 88 227-239. ISSN: 0029196X
McIntyre, K.L. & Howe, J.A. (2009) Bottom-current variability during the last glacial-deglacial transition, Northern Rockall Trough and Faeroe-Bank Channel, NE Atlantic. Scottish Journal of Geology, 45 (1), 1-16 ISSN: 0036-9276
Bradwell, T., Fabel, D., Stoker, M., Mathers, H., McHarge, L., & Howe, J. (2008) Ice caps existed throughout the Lateglacial Interstadial in northern Scotland. Journal of Quaternary Science, 23: 401-407. ISSN: 0267-8179
Howe, J.A., Shimmield, T., & Harland, R. (2008) Late Quaternary contourites and glaciomarine sedimentation in the Fram Strait. Sedimentology, 55, 179-200. ISSN: 0037-0746
Howe, J.A. Wilson, C.R., Shimmield, T.M., Diaz, R. & Carpenter, L. (2007) Recent deep-water sedimentation, trace metal and radioisotope geochemistry across the Southern Ocean and Northern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Deep-Sea Research II, 54, 1652-1681. ISSN: 0967-0645 MacLachlan, S.E., Cottier, F., Austin, W.E.N. & Howe, J.A. (2007) The salinity: δ18O water relationship in Kongsfjorden, western Spitsbergen. Polar Research, 26, 160-167. ISSN: 0800-0395
Brandt, A., Gooday, A.J., Brandão, S.N., Brix, S., Brökeland, W., Cedhagen, T., Choudhury, M., Cornelius, N., Danis, B., De Mesel, I., Diaz, R.J., Gillan, D.C., Ebbe, E., Howe, J.A., Janussen, D., Kaiser, S., Linse, K., Malyutina, M., Pawlowski, J., Raupach, M & Vanreusel A. (2007) First insights into the biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea. Nature 447 307-311. ISSN: 0028-0836
Howe, J.A., Stoker, M.S., Masson, D., Bulat, J., Pudsey, C.J., Larter, R.D. & Tate, A. (2006) Seabed morphology and bottom-current pathways around Rosemary Bank Seamount, Northern Rockall Trough, North Atlantic. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 23, 165-181. ISSN: 0264-8172
Norgaard-Pederson, N., Austin, W.E.N., Howe, J.A. & Shimmield, T. (2006) A Holocene sea level record in Loch Etive, Western Scotland: hydrographic changes inferred from sediment properties and benthic foraminifera assemblages. Marine Geology. 228 55-71. ISSN: 0025-3227
Howe, J.A., Shimmield, T.M. & Diaz, R. (2004) Deep-water sedimentary environments of the northwestern Weddell Sea and South Sandwich Trench, Antarctica. Deep-Sea Research II. 51 14-16 1489-1514. ISSN: 0967-0645
Breuer, E., Stevenson, A. G., Howe, J.A. Caroll J. & Shimmield, G.B. (2004) Drill cutting accumulations in the Northern and Central North Sea: a review of environmental interactions and chemical fate. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol 48, 1-2 pp 12-25, ISSN: 0025-326X
Prizes / awards
Most Inspiring Lecturer 2012 (HISA)
Most Inspiring Lecturer 2014 (HISA)
Best Research project supervisor 2015 (HISA)
Professional activities
NERC Radiocarbon steering committee member
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research expedition experience
Diverse and worldwide expeditions including; Papua New Guinea, Arctic, Antarctic, Chilean Patagonia, North Atlantic, Norwegian margin
Outreach / public engagement / media coverage
BBC Scotland News, BBC Scotland Radio. BBC 2‘Coast’, BBC 2 ‘Men of Rock’. BBC Scotland ‘Roads Less Travelled’; ‘Adventure Show’, NERC Planet Earth. Magazines; ‘Scuba’ ‘Geoscientist’ ‘Ocean Technology’ ‘Hydro International’ & national newspapers
Employment history
Since 2021: University of the Highlands and Islands Professor, SAMS
1998-present: Lecturer - Senior Lecturer. SAMS
1994-98: Marine Sedimentologist. British Antarctic Survey
Qualifications
1994 PhD Marine Geology. University of Southampton
1992 BSc (Hons) Geology. University of Derby