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Subfield · Earth and Planetary Sciences

Earth-Surface Processes research

Earth-Surface Processes is a subfield of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Science Explorer counts 156k research works in it since 1950. 20.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: term for the surface of the Earth.

Research works
156k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
32k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
6
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+31%
the tick is no change

What is Earth-Surface Processes research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Sediment Transport, Coastal Dynamics, Sea-Level Rise, Fluvial Systems, Sedimentation, Biodeterioration. Gaining share since 2009–13: Hydrodynamic Processes, Numerical Modeling, Biodeterioration, Geomycology. Losing share: Fluvial Systems, Sedimentation.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 13 words, with their numbers
  1. Sediment Transport17k◆ 1.05×3 topics
  2. Coastal Dynamics8,373◆ 1.00×1 topic
  3. Sea-Level Rise8,373◆ 1.00×1 topic
  4. Fluvial Systems7,745▼ 0.74×1 topic
  5. Sedimentation7,745▼ 0.74×1 topic
  6. Biodeterioration7,266▲ 1.46×1 topic
  7. Geomycology7,266▲ 1.46×1 topic
  8. Aeolian Processes5,102◆ 0.89×1 topic
  9. Wind Erosion5,102◆ 0.89×1 topic
  10. Hydrodynamic Processes3,508▲ 1.66×1 topic
  11. Numerical Modeling3,508▲ 1.66×1 topic
  12. Groundwater1,821◆ 0.87×1 topic
  13. Karst1,821◆ 0.87×1 topic

Which countries lead Earth-Surface Processes research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and Italy rank highest in Earth-Surface Processes. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (5.3k and 3.1k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #5 all time 23.6% top 10% · 5.3k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 15.1% top 10% · 3.1k works
  3. 3 Italy · #3 all time 29.9% top 10% · 1.3k works
  4. 4 France · #4 all time 17.3% top 10% · 1.2k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom · #2 all time 22.7% top 10% · 891 works
  6. 6 India · #14 all time 16.0% top 10% · 1k works
  7. 7 Spain · #6 all time 21.0% top 10% · 822 works
  8. 8 Australia · #7 all time 25.4% top 10% · 480 works
  9. 9 Netherlands · #9 all time 27.9% top 10% · 386 works
  10. 10 Germany · #8 all time 20.4% top 10% · 667 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 22 countries ranked in Earth-Surface Processes. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Earth-Surface Processes

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 5.3k works
  2. 2 United States 3.1k works
  3. 3 Russia 1.6k works
  4. 4 Italy 1.3k works
  5. 5 France 1.2k works
  6. 6 India 1k works
  7. 7 United Kingdom 891 works
  8. 8 Spain 822 works
  9. 9 Brazil 728 works
  10. 10 Germany 667 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 31.5%United States: 18.8%Russia: 9.8%Italy: 7.5%6 others listed: 32.3%32%largest
China5,265 · 31.5%United States3,148 · 18.8%Russia1,640 · 9.8%Italy1,251 · 7.5%6 others listed5,396 · 32.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Earth-Surface Processes research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Earth-Surface Processes on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Delft University of Technology.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #10 all time 28.6% top 10% · 165 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France · Paris · #1 all time 24.6% top 10% · 147 works
  3. 3 Delft University of Technology Netherlands · Delft · #8 all time 26.6% top 10% · 112 works
  4. 4 Ocean University of China China · Qingdao · #78 all time 26.6% top 10% · 131 works
  5. 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #86 all time 32.1% top 10% · 76 works
  6. 6 Dalian University of Technology China · Dalian 31.2% top 10% · 79 works
  7. 7 Hohai University China · Nanjing · #98 all time 22.8% top 10% · 100 works
  8. 8 Tongji University China · Shanghai · #84 all time 21.8% top 10% · 76 works
  9. 9 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou 29.4% top 10% · 78 works
  10. 10 China University of Geosciences China · Wuhan 22.9% top 10% · 68 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 16 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Earth-Surface Processes.

Top 100 Earth-Surface Processes institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 165 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 147 works
  3. 3 Ocean University of China China 131 works
  4. 4 Delft University of Technology Netherlands 112 works
  5. 5 Hohai University China 100 works
  6. 6 United States Geological Survey United States 95 works
  7. 7 Institute of Oceanology. PP Shirshov Russian Academy of Sciences Russia 85 works
  8. 8 Dalian University of Technology China 79 works
  9. 9 Lomonosov Moscow State University Russia 78 works
  10. 10 Zhejiang University China 78 works

Who are the leading researchers in Earth-Surface Processes?

Among the most productive authors in Earth-Surface Processes, J. Tóth, Karen Scrivener and Peter G. DeCelles rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 J. Tóth France · #2,170 worldwide 7.2k citations · 374 works
  2. 2 Karen Scrivener Switzerland · #3,382 worldwide 2.4k citations · 110 works
  3. 3 Peter G. DeCelles United States · #5,520 worldwide 1.9k citations · 72 works
  4. 4 Kurt Lambeck Australia · #6,363 worldwide 1.6k citations · 110 works
  5. 5 Joseph M. Prospero United States · #6,669 worldwide 1.2k citations · 67 works
  6. 6 Haflidi Haflidason Norway · #7,918 worldwide 1.5k citations · 57 works
  7. 7 Edward J. Anthony United Kingdom · #8,618 worldwide 1.7k citations · 96 works
  8. 8 Mike Thomas United Kingdom · #9,005 worldwide 727 citations · 96 works
  9. 9 Sandy P. Harrison United Kingdom · #9,244 worldwide 1.4k citations · 109 works
  10. 10 S. Sarkar United States · #9,945 worldwide 5.2k citations · 354 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,016 highest-output authors in Earth-Surface Processes. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Earth-Surface Processes researchers

Where is Earth-Surface Processes research done?

The largest centres of Earth-Surface Processes research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Nanjing (China) and Paris (France). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Sevastopol', Borok and Vicksburg.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 1.3k works
  2. 2 Moscow Russia 654 works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 360 works
  4. 4 Paris France 349 works
  5. 5 Qingdao China 317 works
  6. 6 Shanghai China 298 works
  7. 7 Xi'an China 221 works
  8. 8 Rome Italy 209 works
  9. 9 Wuhan China 206 works
  10. 10 Guangzhou China 205 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Sevastopol'RU · 50.6 works49×
  2. BorokRU · 27.4 works46×
  3. VicksburgUS · 35.6 works45×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Earth-Surface Processes than the world average.

See Earth-Surface Processes on the map

Earth-Surface Processes research by country

The best places for Earth-Surface Processes research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Earth-Surface Processes?

Among universities, judged by research, Zhejiang Ocean University, University of Évora and Ocean University of China score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%60%mean 30.38%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Zhejiang Ocean University: 47, 24.3%University of Évora: 23, 40.8%Ocean University of China: 131, 26.6%Delft University of Technology: 112, 26.6%Hohai University: 100, 22.8%National Taiwan Ocean University: 20, 26.8%Ca' Foscari University of Venice: 17, 52.8%University of Reggio Calabria: 17, 27.1%Guizhou Normal University: 24, 30.3%Universidad de Cantabria: 23, 25.7%University of ÉvoraOcean University of …Delft University of …Zhejiang Ocean Unive…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Zhejiang Ocean University China 65.524.3%11.6×47 +312.2%
2University of Évora Portugal 64.840.8%10.3×23 +93.5%
3Ocean University of China China 64.126.6%10.6×131 +22.1%
4Delft University of Technology Netherlands 57.226.6%6.9×112 +20.1%
5Hohai University China 50.622.8%7.4×100 -24.7%
6National Taiwan Ocean University Taiwan 49.326.8%10.9×20 -1.2%
7Ca' Foscari University of Venice Italy 48.552.8%2.8×17 +89.8%
8University of Reggio Calabria Italy 47.327.1%10.2×17 -9.6%
9Guizhou Normal University China 47.130.3%9.7×24 -63.3%
10Universidad de Cantabria Spain 47.025.7%8.7×23 +10.4%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Earth-Surface Processes research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 31% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2020. The fastest-growing topics are Building materials and conservation, Aquatic and Environmental Studies and Karst Systems and Hydrogeology.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Building materials and conservation+159%
  2. Aquatic and Environmental Studies+114%
  3. Karst Systems and Hydrogeology+73%
  4. Coastal and Marine Dynamics+69%
  5. Aeolian processes and effects+48%
  6. Geological formations and processes+27%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Earth-Surface Processes include?

Geological formations an…48kGeological formations and processes: 48k fractional worksCoastal and Marine Dynam…37kCoastal and Marine Dynamics: 37k fractional worksBuilding materials and conservation: 25k fractional worksAeolian processes and effects: 25k fractional worksAquatic and Environmental Studies: 13k fractional worksKarst Systems and Hydrogeology: 8,128 fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.