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Research facility · Hong Kong · China

Hong Kong Observatory

In research, Hong Kong Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#9,603 of 10,670 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Atmospheric Science, Environmental Engineering and Earth and Planetary Sciences (Atmospheric Science is 76.2× its share of world research).

hko.gov.hk/en/index.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#21,474
of 22,385 · #28,856 all time
Rank in China
#2,408
of 2,481
Research works
477
▲ 80% vs 2018-21
Citations
8.3k
17.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.7%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.94×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
50%
world 40%
International
37%
world 18%
Hong Kong Observatory

What is Hong Kong Observatory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #9,603 of 10,670 9.8%125 #13874

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Hong Kong Observatory sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Hong Kong Observatory work in?

In 2022-now, 96% of research at Hong Kong Observatory is in Physical Sciences, 2% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Earth and Planetary Sciences (40%), Environmental Science (32%), Engineering (19%). It does 2.4× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 153 fractional works · 95.5% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 64 fractional works · 40.1% of its workAtmospheric Science: 54 fractional works · 33.7% of its workOceanography: 9 fractional works · 5.7% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 52 fractional works · 32.5% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 25 fractional works · 15.9% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 22 fractional works · 13.8% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 3 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEcology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEngineering: 30 fractional works · 18.9% of its workAerospace Engineering: 18 fractional works · 11.1% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 4 fractional works · 2.4% of its workComputational Mechanics: 3 fractional works · 1.9% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBuilding and Construction: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workOcean Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 3 fractional works · 1.6% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRadiation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSignal Processing: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 3 fractional works · 2.0% of its workMedicine: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workCritical Care and Intensive Care Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSocial Sciences: 3 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workFinance: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKHong KongObservatory160fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences1%Physical Sciences96%Health Sciences2%Social Sciences2%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 21 fields, with their numbers
    1. Earth and Planetary Sciences6440.1%
    2. Environmental Science5232.5%
    3. Engineering3018.9%
    4. Physics and Astronomy31.6%
    5. Computer Science21.6%
    6. Materials Science10.5%
    7. Chemistry00.2%
    8. Mathematics00.1%
    9. Chemical Engineering00.1%
    10. Energy00.0%
    1. Medicine21.4%
    2. Health Professions10.6%
    1. Economics, Econometrics and Finance21.0%
    2. Social Sciences10.6%
    3. Psychology00.2%
    4. Decision Sciences00.1%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting00.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.4%
    2. Immunology and Microbiology00.1%
    3. Neuroscience00.1%
    4. Agricultural and Biological Sciences00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Hong Kong Observatory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Atmospheric Science takes 76.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 53.9 works76×
  2. Environmental EngineeringSubfield · 22.1 works26×
  3. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 64.2 works26×
  4. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 25.4 works21×
  5. Environmental ScienceField · 52.0 works6.5×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.20× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.20× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 25.59× its world share, 64 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 1.26× its world share, 30 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 6.54× its world share, 52 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.73× its world share, 3 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.21× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksMedicineBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.45× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 25.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 19 fields, with their numbers
  1. Earth and Planetary Sciences25.59×64 works
  2. Environmental Science6.54×52 works
  3. Engineering1.26×30 works
  4. Physics and Astronomy0.73×3 works
  5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.45×2 works
  6. Health Professions0.21×1 works
  7. Chemical Engineering0.20×0 works
  8. Computer Science0.20×2 works
  9. Materials Science0.14×1 works
  10. Chemistry0.11×0 works
  11. Decision Sciences0.11×0 works
  12. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.08×1 works
  13. Mathematics0.07×0 works
  14. Medicine0.07×2 works
  15. Psychology0.06×0 works
  16. Immunology and Microbiology0.05×0 works
  17. Social Sciences0.05×1 works
  18. Neuroscience0.03×0 works
  19. Business, Management and Accounting0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Hong Kong Observatory?

Ranked on the quality score, Tsz-cheung Lee, Tsz‐Cheung Lee and Hing Yim Mok lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Hong Kong Observatory.

  1. 1 Tsz-cheung Lee China · #696,744 worldwide 1.3k citations · 38 works
  2. 2 Tsz‐Cheung Lee China · #735,115 worldwide 2.7k citations · 24 works
  3. 3 Hing Yim Mok China · #1,906,572 worldwide 989 citations · 21 works
  4. 4 Pak Wai Chan China · #2,330,060 worldwide 11k citations · 729 works
  5. 5 William Doberck China · #2,331,028 worldwide 148 citations · 213 works
  6. 6 Kai Kwong Lai China · #2,721,033 worldwide 22 citations · 18 works
  7. 7 Wai Kin Wong China · #2,722,457 worldwide 9.8k citations · 72 works
  8. 8 Chun-Wing Choy China · #2,869,520 worldwide 369 citations · 27 works
  9. 9 K. K. Hon China · #3,412,375 worldwide 1.6k citations · 94 works
  10. 10 Yuk Sing Lui China · #4,093,293 worldwide 123 citations · 20 works
All ranked researchers at Hong Kong Observatory

What are the most cited papers from Hong Kong Observatory?

The most cited paper from Hong Kong Observatory is "Convolutional LSTM Network: A Machine Learning Approach for Precipitation Nowcasting" (Xingjian Shi, Zhourong Chen, Hao Wang et al., 2015), with 6,650 citations. Next come "The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project" (3,728) and "Towards a more reliable historical reanalysis: Improvements for version 3 of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis system" (1,067).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Convolutional LSTM Network: A Machine Learning Approach for Precipitation Nowcasting Xingjian Shi, Zhourong Chen, Hao Wang et al. · arXiv (Cornell University) PreprintOpen access 13 Jun 2015 6,650
2 The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project Gilbert P. Compo et al. · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society Open access 2011 3,728
3 Towards a more reliable historical reanalysis: Improvements for version 3 of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis system Laura Slivinski et al. · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society Open access 3 Jul 2019 1,067
4 Tropical cyclones and climate change Kevin J. E. Walsh, John Leonard McBride, Philip J. Klotzbach et al. · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change Open access 11 Nov 2015 859
5 Lithium Batteries and the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI)—Progress and Outlook Henry Adenusi, Gregory Adam Chass, Stefano Passerini et al. · Advanced Energy Materials Open access 18 Jan 2023 818
All 58 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Hong Kong Observatory?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Boundary Layer, Global Warming, Probabilistic Forecasting, Data Assimilation, Ensemble Kalman Filter, Convective Parameterization and Mesoscale Modeling.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change45▲ 10×25 topics
  2. Boundary Layer44▲ 216×2 topics
  3. Global Warming33▲ 49×6 topics
  4. Probabilistic Forecasting29▲ 95×3 topics
  5. Data Assimilation28▲ 109×4 topics
  6. Ensemble Kalman Filter27▲ 167×2 topics
  7. Convective Parameterization27▲ 297×1 topic
  8. Mesoscale Modeling27▲ 297×1 topic
  9. Tropical Cyclones27▲ 296×2 topics
  10. Air Quality24▲ 79×5 topics
  11. Sea Level Rise20▲ 99×3 topics
  12. Hurricanes19▲ 347×1 topic
  13. Storm Surge19▲ 347×1 topic
  14. CFD Simulation19▲ 101×2 topics
  15. Large-Eddy Simulation19▲ 63×4 topics
  16. Turbulent Flow17▲ 91×3 topics
  17. Hydrological Cycle17▲ 105×2 topics
  18. Remote Sensing17▲ 8.5×15 topics
  19. Pedestrian Wind Comfort16▲ 224×1 topic
  20. Urban Microclimate16▲ 224×1 topic
  21. Ocean Circulation12▲ 56×3 topics
  22. Climate Modeling11▲ 95×1 topic
  23. Extreme Events11▲ 77×1 topic
  24. Wave Modeling9▲ 105×2 topics
  25. Hydrological Modeling8▲ 22×5 topics
  26. Ocean Waves8▲ 220×1 topic
  27. Wind Stress8▲ 220×1 topic
  28. Aerodynamics7▲ 64×2 topics
  29. Satellite Observations6▲ 40×3 topics
  30. Climate6▲ 37×2 topics
  31. Aerosols6▲ 50×1 topic
  32. Atmospheric Dust6▲ 130×1 topic
  33. Crosswind5▲ 109×1 topic
  34. High-Speed Trains5▲ 47×1 topic
  35. Collision Avoidance5▲ 16×2 topics
  36. Air Traffic Management4▲ 138×1 topic
  37. Conflict Resolution4▲ 69×1 topic
  38. Validation4▲ 31×2 topics
  39. Satellite Imagery4▲ 20×2 topics
  40. Precipitation4▲ 53×1 topic

Which research topics does Hong Kong Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations, Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research, Wind and Air Flow Studies and Climate variability and models.

Meteorological Phenomena…27Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations: 27 fractional worksTropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research: 19 fractional worksWind and Air Flow Studies: 16 fractional worksClimate variability and …11Climate variability and models: 11 fractional worksOcean Waves and Remote S…8Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing: 8 fractional worksAtmospheric aerosols and…6Atmospheric aerosols and clouds: 6 fractional worksAerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research: 5 fractional worksAir Traffic Management and Optimization: 4 fractional worksPrecipitation Measurement and Analysis: 4 fractional worksFlood Risk Assessment and Management: 4 fractional works
Atmospheric ScienceEnvironmental EngineeringGlobal and Planetary ChangeOceanography1 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations Atmospheric Science 27 works
  2. 2 Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research Atmospheric Science 19 works
  3. 3 Wind and Air Flow Studies Environmental Engineering 16 works
  4. 4 Climate variability and models Global and Planetary Change 11 works
  5. 5 Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing Oceanography 8 works
  6. 6 Atmospheric aerosols and clouds Global and Planetary Change 6 works
  7. 7 Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research Aerospace Engineering 5 works
  8. 8 Air Traffic Management and Optimization Aerospace Engineering 4 works
  9. 9 Precipitation Measurement and Analysis Atmospheric Science 4 works
  10. 10 Flood Risk Assessment and Management Global and Planetary Change 4 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available50.3%not open49.7%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors37.1%domestic only62.9%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Hong Kong Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 80% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Hong Kong Observatory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00061% in 2024.

still counting0.00050%0.0010%Hong Kong Observatory0.00069% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Hong Kong Observatory over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%Hong Kong Observatory13.3% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 20252020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 13.3% in 2025.

Other research institutions in Hong Kong

All research institutions in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong Observatory on Science Explorer

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