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Government institution · Reston · United States

United States Geological Survey

In research, United States Geological Survey stands highest in Environmental Science (#54 of 3,334 worldwide), Ecology (#25 of 600 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#549 of 10,670 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Geochemistry and Petrology, Geophysics and Earth-Surface Processes (Geochemistry and Petrology is 28.2× its share of world research).

usgs.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#751
of 22,385 · #565 all time
Rank in United States
#177
of 3,332
Research works
47k
▼ 16% vs 2018-21
Citations
1.9M
40.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.5%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.96×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
32%
world 40%
International
13%
world 18%
United States Geological Survey

What is United States Geological Survey 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
Environmental ScienceField #54 of 3,334 9.9%1,989 #21
EcologySubfield #25 of 600 9.0%645 #34
Physical SciencesDomain #549 of 10,670 9.9%3,752 #413
GeophysicsSubfield #17 of 225 13.8%395 #13
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #94 of 1,088 10.4%1,091 #52
Life SciencesDomain #633 of 6,403 10.4%402 #772
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #415 of 3,157 11.0%243 #416
Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield #77 of 544 12.1%345 #79
Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield #13 of 90 9.5%247 #32
Social SciencesDomain #1,665 of 9,585 10.2%192 #1471

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where United States Geological Survey 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 of those standings moved

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

  1. Environmental Science#21 #54
  2. Ecology#34 #25
  3. Physical Sciences#413 #549
  4. Geophysics#13 #17
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences#52 #94
  6. Life Sciences#772 #633
  7. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#416 #415
  8. Global and Planetary Change#79 #77
  9. Nature and Landscape Conservation#32 #13
  10. Social Sciences#1,471 #1,665
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

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

Which fields of science does United States Geological Survey work in?

In 2022-now, 84% of research at United States Geological Survey is in Physical Sciences, 9% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Environmental Science (45%), Earth and Planetary Sciences (25%), Engineering (7%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 4,074 fractional works · 84.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 2,161 fractional works · 44.6% of its workEcology: 703 fractional works · 14.5% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 373 fractional works · 7.7% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 267 fractional works · 5.5% of its workWater Science and Technology: 178 fractional works · 3.7% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 144 fractional works · 3.0% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 143 fractional works · 3.0% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 101 fractional works · 2.1% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 98 fractional works · 2.0% of its workEcological Modeling: 83 fractional works · 1.7% of its workPollution: 52 fractional works · 1.1% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 18 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1,189 fractional works · 24.6% of its workGeophysics: 441 fractional works · 9.1% of its workAtmospheric Science: 239 fractional works · 4.9% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 144 fractional works · 3.0% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 139 fractional works · 2.9% of its workOceanography: 100 fractional works · 2.1% of its workGeology: 78 fractional works · 1.6% of its workPaleontology: 46 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEngineering: 360 fractional works · 7.4% of its workMechanics of Materials: 75 fractional works · 1.6% of its workOcean Engineering: 71 fractional works · 1.5% of its workMechanical Engineering: 65 fractional works · 1.3% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 59 fractional works · 1.2% of its workAerospace Engineering: 22 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBuilding and Construction: 11 fractional works · 0.2% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 11 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 29 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Science: 234 fractional works · 4.8% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 207 fractional works · 4.3% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 12 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 15 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 47 fractional works · 1.0% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 36 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 11 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 32 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 13 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 22 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiomaterials: 12 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 10 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMathematics: 11 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 457 fractional works · 9.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 276 fractional works · 5.7% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 99 fractional works · 2.0% of its workPlant Science: 54 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSoil Science: 40 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAquatic Science: 29 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInsect Science: 23 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 18 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 134 fractional works · 2.8% of its workGenetics: 56 fractional works · 1.2% of its workMolecular Biology: 46 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 32 fractional works · 0.7% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 40 fractional works · 0.8% of its workImmunology: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workParasitology: 13 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 11 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 4 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workSocial Sciences: 208 fractional works · 4.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 122 fractional works · 2.5% of its workSociology and Political Science: 38 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAnthropology: 37 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 19 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 28 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 23 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 20 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 21 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArcheology: 11 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 10 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 19 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 18 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSocial Psychology: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 4 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 102 fractional works · 2.1% of its workMedicine: 67 fractional works · 1.4% of its workInfectious Diseases: 19 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 15 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEpidemiology: 13 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 20 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHealth Professions: 19 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 10 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 9 fractional works · 0.2% of its workVeterinary: 10 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNursing: 4 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKUnited StatesGeological Survey4,841fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences9%Physical Sciences84%Health Sciences2%Social Sciences4%

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 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Environmental Science2,16144.6%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences1,18924.6%
    3. Engineering3607.4%
    4. Computer Science2344.8%
    5. Physics and Astronomy471.0%
    6. Chemistry320.7%
    7. Materials Science220.4%
    8. Energy160.3%
    9. Mathematics110.2%
    10. Chemical Engineering20.0%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences2765.7%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology1342.8%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology400.8%
    4. Neuroscience40.1%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics20.0%
    1. Social Sciences1222.5%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance230.5%
    3. Arts and Humanities210.4%
    4. Decision Sciences190.4%
    5. Psychology180.4%
    6. Business, Management and Accounting40.1%
    1. Medicine671.4%
    2. Health Professions190.4%
    3. Veterinary100.2%
    4. Nursing40.1%
    5. Dentistry20.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does United States Geological Survey specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Geochemistry and Petrology takes 28.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Geochemistry and PetrologySubfield · 139.2 works28×
  2. GeophysicsSubfield · 441.2 works26×
  3. Earth-Surface ProcessesSubfield · 144.1 works25×
  4. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 267.2 works23×
  5. Ecological ModelingSubfield · 83.5 works23×
  6. EcologySubfield · 703.2 works18×
  7. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 1,189.5 works16×
  8. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 144.0 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: 1.20× its world share, 276 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.52× its world share, 134 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.82× its world share, 40 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.05× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.14× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.42× its world share, 32 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.62× its world share, 234 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 15.67× its world share, 1,190 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.37× its world share, 16 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.50× its world share, 360 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 8.98× its world share, 2,161 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.13× its world share, 22 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.19× its world share, 11 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.44× its world share, 47 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.15× its world share, 19 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.07× its world share, 67 worksMedicineNursing: 0.16× its world share, 4 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.54× its world share, 10 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.15× its world share, 21 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.03× its world share, 4 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.40× its world share, 19 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.22× its world share, 23 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.12× its world share, 18 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.20× its world share, 122 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 15.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Earth and Planetary Sciences15.67×1,190 works
  2. Environmental Science8.98×2,161 works
  3. Veterinary1.54×10 works
  4. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.20×276 works
  5. Immunology and Microbiology0.82×40 works
  6. Computer Science0.62×234 works
  7. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.52×134 works
  8. Engineering0.50×360 works
  9. Physics and Astronomy0.44×47 works
  10. Chemistry0.42×32 works
  11. Decision Sciences0.40×19 works
  12. Energy0.37×16 works
  13. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.22×23 works
  14. Social Sciences0.20×122 works
  15. Mathematics0.19×11 works
  16. Nursing0.16×4 works
  17. Health Professions0.15×19 works
  18. Arts and Humanities0.15×21 works
  19. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.14×2 works
  20. Chemical Engineering0.13×2 works
  21. Materials Science0.13×22 works
  22. Psychology0.12×18 works
  23. Dentistry0.08×2 works
  24. Medicine0.07×67 works
  25. Neuroscience0.05×4 works
  26. Business, Management and Accounting0.03×4 works

Who are the top researchers at United States Geological Survey?

Ranked on the quality score, George R. Aiken, Jeffrey Andrew Royle and Sasha C. Reed lead among researchers whose main affiliation is United States Geological Survey.

  1. 1 George R. Aiken United States · #17,006 worldwide 33k citations · 336 works
  2. 2 Jeffrey Andrew Royle United States · #18,409 worldwide 33k citations · 396 works
  3. 3 Sasha C. Reed United States · #21,305 worldwide 19k citations · 294 works
  4. 4 Mark P. Waldrop United States · #22,853 worldwide 16k citations · 179 works
  5. 5 James B. Grace United States · #27,721 worldwide 40k citations · 333 works
  6. 6 Paul C. D. Milly United States · #29,544 worldwide 29k citations · 163 works
  7. 7 Michael J. Osland United States · #35,730 worldwide 5.9k citations · 124 works
  8. 8 Michael T. Meyer United States · #36,017 worldwide 31k citations · 180 works
  9. 9 Jayne Belnap United States · #38,087 worldwide 37k citations · 466 works
  10. 10 Craig D. Allen United States · #38,184 worldwide 46k citations · 264 works
All ranked researchers at United States Geological Survey

What are the most cited papers from United States Geological Survey?

The most cited paper from United States Geological Survey is "High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change" (Matthew C. Hansen, Peter V. Potapov, Rebecca Moore et al., 2013), with 11,936 citations. Next come "EFFECTS OF BIODIVERSITY ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING: A CONSENSUS OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE" (8,101) and "Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in U.S. Streams, 1999−2000: A National Reconnaissance" (7,962).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change Matthew C. Hansen, Peter V. Potapov, Rebecca Moore et al. · Science 14 Nov 2013 11,936
2 EFFECTS OF BIODIVERSITY ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING: A CONSENSUS OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE David U. Hooper, F. Stuart Chapin, John J. Ewel et al. · Ecological Monographs Open access Feb 2005 8,101
3 Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in U.S. Streams, 1999−2000: A National Reconnaissance Dana W. Kolpin, Edward T. Furlong, Michael T. Meyer et al. · Environmental Science & Technology Mar 2002 7,962
4 A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests Craig D. Allen, Alison K. Macalady, Haroun Chenchouni et al. · Forest Ecology and Management Open access 22 Oct 2009 7,876
5 Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity Bradley J. Cardinale, J. Emmett Duffy, Andrew Gonzalez et al. · Nature Open access Jun 2012 7,502
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at United States Geological Survey?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Remote Sensing, Invasive Species, Biodiversity, Habitat Fragmentation, Conservation, Sediment Transport and Water Quality.

▲ 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 Change1,398▲ 11×91 topics
  2. Remote Sensing544▲ 9.2×32 topics
  3. Invasive Species438▲ 21×20 topics
  4. Biodiversity348▲ 9.4×31 topics
  5. Habitat Fragmentation275▲ 26×5 topics
  6. Conservation269▲ 13×21 topics
  7. Sediment Transport253▲ 33×6 topics
  8. Water Quality239▲ 12×14 topics
  9. Population Dynamics238▲ 19×13 topics
  10. Tectonics233▲ 40×3 topics
  11. Fisheries Sustainability202▲ 49×2 topics
  12. Geological Mapping192▲ 51×2 topics
  13. Model Evaluation188▲ 30×2 topics
  14. Plate Tectonics187▲ 25×3 topics
  15. Freshwater Biodiversity180▲ 61×2 topics
  16. Land Use Change164▲ 11×7 topics
  17. Support Vector Machines162▲ 10×4 topics
  18. Hydrological Modeling161▲ 14×5 topics
  19. Habitat Selection159▲ 45×2 topics
  20. Ecosystem159▲ 31×4 topics
  21. Conservation Challenges159▲ 72×1 topic
  22. Flow Regulation159▲ 72×1 topic
  23. Ecosystem Services155▲ 8.3×11 topics
  24. Holocene154▲ 29×3 topics
  25. Ecosystem Resilience154▲ 21×5 topics
  26. Trophic Cascades150▲ 34×2 topics
  27. Sea Level147▲ 33×2 topics
  28. Hyperspectral Imaging146▲ 11×6 topics
  29. Water Resources145▲ 12×10 topics
  30. Citizen Science144▲ 29×3 topics
  31. Subduction144▲ 40×3 topics
  32. Paleoclimatology143▲ 36×2 topics
  33. Compositional Data Analysis140▲ 46×1 topic
  34. Mineral Prospectivity140▲ 46×1 topic
  35. Conservation Biology134▲ 26×4 topics
  36. Geodetic Measurements134▲ 26×2 topics
  37. Solar Influence133▲ 40×2 topics
  38. Glacial Cycles133▲ 42×1 topic
  39. Monsoon Dynamics133▲ 42×1 topic
  40. Sea-Level Rise132▲ 23×5 topics

Which research topics does United States Geological Survey publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Fish Ecology and Management Studies, Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping, Geology and Paleoclimatology Research and earthquake and tectonic studies.

Fish Ecology and Managem…159Fish Ecology and Management Studies: 159 fractional worksGeochemistry and Geologi…140Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping: 140 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimatology Research: 133 fractional worksearthquake and tectonic …128earthquake and tectonic studies: 128 fractional worksGeological and Geochemic…127Geological and Geochemical Analysis: 127 fractional worksWildlife Ecology and Conservation: 107 fractional worksHydrology and Watershed Management Studies: 104 fractional worksFire effects on ecosystems92Fire effects on ecosystems: 92 fractional worksRangeland and Wildlife Management: 85 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 83 fractional works
Nature and Landscape ConservationArtificial IntelligenceAtmospheric ScienceGeophysics4 others

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

  1. 1 Fish Ecology and Management Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 159 works
  2. 2 Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping Artificial Intelligence 140 works
  3. 3 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 133 works
  4. 4 earthquake and tectonic studies Geophysics 128 works
  5. 5 Geological and Geochemical Analysis Geophysics 127 works
  6. 6 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology 107 works
  7. 7 Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies Water Science and Technology 104 works
  8. 8 Fire effects on ecosystems Global and Planetary Change 92 works
  9. 9 Rangeland and Wildlife Management Ecology 85 works
  10. 10 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 83 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 available32.3%not open67.7%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.6%domestic only87.4%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has United States Geological Survey's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 16% lower 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 United States Geological Survey as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.020% in 2024.

still counting0.050%0.10%0.15%United States Geological Survey0.015% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of United States Geological Survey 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 counting10%20%United States Geological Survey11.7% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 18.8% in 2009.

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United States Geological Survey on Science Explorer

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Its overall standing, then the domains, fields and subfields where United States Geological Survey is in the world's top ten or its top 1%. Each has an image of its own.

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