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Research facility · Plymouth · United Kingdom

Plymouth Marine Laboratory

In research, Plymouth Marine Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,768 of 12,888 worldwide), Environmental Science (#1,404 of 3,551 worldwide) and Earth and Planetary Sciences (#964 of 1,209 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Oceanography, Earth and Planetary Sciences and Ecology — Oceanography is 80.9× its share of world research.

pml.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,065
of 28,054 · #3,240 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#306
of 1,094
Research works
3.5k
▼ 14% vs 2013–17
Citations
201k
57.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
31%
world 28%

What is Plymouth Marine Laboratory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #4,768 of 12,888 24.4%187 #2498
Environmental ScienceField #1,404 of 3,551 26.6%98 #301
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #964 of 1,209 24.2%65 #797

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Plymouth Marine Laboratory 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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#2,498 #4,768
  2. Environmental Science#301 #1,404
  3. Earth and Planetary Sciences#797 #964
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Plymouth Marine Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Oceanography takes 80.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. OceanographySubfield · 49.9 works81×
  2. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 65.2 works19×
  3. EcologySubfield · 25.7 works15×
  4. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 22.9 works14×
← 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.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.50× its world share, 5 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.35× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.60× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.22× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.31× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 18.92× its world share, 65 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.49× its world share, 16 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 8.96× its world share, 98 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.36× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.33× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.15× its world share, 6 worksMedicineNursing: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.23× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.42× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.34× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.20× its world share, 6 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 18.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Plymouth Marine Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, Shubha Sathyendranath, B. L. Bayne and Carol Robinson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

  1. 1 Shubha Sathyendranath United Kingdom · #14,442 worldwide 773 citations · 59 works
  2. 2 B. L. Bayne United Kingdom · #35,788 worldwide 802 citations · 33 works
  3. 3 Carol Robinson United Kingdom · #43,059 worldwide 605 citations · 31 works
  4. 4 J. Widdows United Kingdom · #60,596 worldwide 476 citations · 36 works
  5. 5 Andrew P. Rees United Kingdom · #66,924 worldwide 497 citations · 31 works
  6. 6 R.M. Warwick United Kingdom · #79,132 worldwide 522 citations · 27 works
  7. 7 Roger Harris United Kingdom · #79,366 worldwide 420 citations · 40 works
  8. 8 Melanie C. Austen United Kingdom · #88,876 worldwide 378 citations · 43 works
  9. 9 Manuel Barangé United Kingdom · #102,936 worldwide 225 citations · 33 works
  10. 10 K.R. Clarke United Kingdom · #120,202 worldwide 2.1k citations · 20 works
All ranked researchers at Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at Plymouth Marine Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Eutrophication, Global Warming, Harmful Algal Blooms, Environmental Impact, Nutrient Limitation, Dissolved Organic Matter and Oceanic Carbon Cycle.

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

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 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 Change58▲ 9.8×49 topics
  2. Eutrophication24▲ 104×4 topics
  3. Environmental Impact23▲ 6.3×21 topics
  4. Global Warming23▲ 25×6 topics
  5. Harmful Algal Blooms21▲ 127×3 topics
  6. Nutrient Limitation19▲ 84×2 topics
  7. Dissolved Organic Matter19▲ 209×1 topic
  8. Oceanic Carbon Cycle19▲ 209×1 topic
  9. Ocean Acidification17▲ 104×3 topics
  10. Marine Environment16▲ 53×3 topics
  11. Recycling15▲ 18×3 topics
  12. Waste Management15▲ 17×3 topics
  13. Benthic Communities12▲ 97×2 topics
  14. Marine Biodiversity12▲ 97×2 topics
  15. Pollution11▲ 26×3 topics
  16. Human Health11▲ 31×2 topics
  17. Microplastics11▲ 50×1 topic
  18. Terrestrial Ecosystems11▲ 50×1 topic
  19. Remote Sensing11▲ 3.9×19 topics
  20. Ocean Circulation10▲ 36×3 topics
  21. Water Quality10▲ 12×8 topics
  22. Stakeholder Engagement10▲ 50×2 topics
  23. Ecosystem-Based Management9▲ 132×1 topic
  24. Marine Spatial Planning9▲ 132×1 topic
  25. Data Assimilation9▲ 26×4 topics
  26. Ecosystem Functioning8▲ 20×7 topics
  27. Ecosystem Services8▲ 9.9×5 topics
  28. Biogeography8▲ 14×5 topics
  29. Climate Change Impact8▲ 16×4 topics
  30. Coastal Protection8▲ 58×2 topics
  31. Fisheries Sustainability8▲ 41×2 topics
  32. Global Change8▲ 14×6 topics
  33. CO2 Emissions8▲ 18×2 topics
  34. Oceanic Modeling8▲ 104×1 topic
  35. Tidal Analysis8▲ 104×1 topic
  36. Trophic Cascades8▲ 36×2 topics
  37. Phylogenetic Relationships7▲ 48×2 topics
  38. Deep-Sea Ecology7▲ 110×1 topic
  39. Estuarine Quality7▲ 110×1 topic
  40. Ecosystem Management7▲ 54×1 topic

Which research topics does Plymouth Marine Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Marine and coastal ecosystems, Microplastics and Plastic Pollution, Coastal and Marine Management and Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes.

Marine and coastal ecosy…19Marine and coastal ecosystems: 19 fractional worksMicroplastics and Plastic Pollution: 11 fractional worksCoastal and Marine Management: 9 fractional worksOceanographic and Atmospheric Processes: 8 fractional worksMarine Biology and Ecology Research: 7 fractional worksMarine and fisheries research: 7 fractional worksOcean Acidification Effe…7Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses: 7 fractional worksMarine and coastal plant biology: 5 fractional worksMicrobial Community Ecology and Physiology: 5 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 5 fractional works
OceanographyPollutionManagement, Monitoring, Policy and LawGlobal and Planetary Change1 others

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

  1. 1 Marine and coastal ecosystems Oceanography 19 works
  2. 2 Microplastics and Plastic Pollution Pollution 11 works
  3. 3 Coastal and Marine Management Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 9 works
  4. 4 Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes Oceanography 8 works
  5. 5 Marine Biology and Ecology Research Oceanography 7 works
  6. 6 Marine and fisheries research Global and Planetary Change 7 works
  7. 7 Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses Oceanography 7 works
  8. 8 Marine and coastal plant biology Oceanography 5 works
  9. 9 Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology Ecology 5 works
  10. 10 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 5 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 available31.3%not open68.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors28.7%domestic only71.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Plymouth Marine Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 14% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in Plymouth

All research institutions in Plymouth

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.