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Subfield · Environmental Science

Environmental Chemistry research

Environmental Chemistry is a subfield of Environmental Science. Science Explorer counts 263k research works in it since 1950. 19.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places.

Research works
263k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
53k
per year above
Top-10% rate
19.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
11
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+38%
the tick is no change

What is Environmental Chemistry research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Anaerobic, Methane Oxidation, Water Quality, Eutrophication, Harmful Algal Blooms, Health Effects. Gaining share since 2009–13: Anaerobic, Methane Oxidation, Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds. Losing share: Biogeochemical Cycling, Turfgrass, Dinoflagellates, Marine Toxins.

▲ 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 29 words, with their numbers
  1. Anaerobic24k▲ 1.59×1 topic
  2. Methane Oxidation24k▲ 1.59×1 topic
  3. Water Quality15k▼ 0.70×3 topics
  4. Eutrophication14k▼ 0.73×2 topics
  5. Harmful Algal Blooms8,967▼ 0.68×2 topics
  6. Health Effects8,872◆ 1.14×2 topics
  7. Cyanobacteria7,453▼ 0.73×1 topic
  8. Nutrient Control7,453▼ 0.73×1 topic
  9. Toxicity7,196▼ 0.84×2 topics
  10. Environmental Impact6,408◆ 1.01×2 topics
  11. Hyporheic Zone6,358▼ 0.73×1 topic
  12. Nutrient Cycling6,358▼ 0.73×1 topic
  13. Arsenic5,707◆ 0.99×1 topic
  14. Water5,707◆ 0.99×1 topic
  15. Wastewater Treatment4,653◆ 0.97×2 topics
  16. Solvent Selection4,520◆ 1.01×1 topic
  17. Sustainable Chemistry4,520◆ 1.01×1 topic
  18. Remediation3,635▼ 0.85×1 topic
  19. Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria3,635▼ 0.85×1 topic
  20. Perfluoroalkyl Substances3,165▲ 1.56×1 topic
  21. Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds3,165▲ 1.56×1 topic
  22. Agricultural Sustainability1,888◆ 1.04×1 topic
  23. Farm Level Assessment1,888◆ 1.04×1 topic
  24. Biogeochemical Cycling1,603▼ 0.52×1 topic
  25. Turfgrass1,603▼ 0.52×1 topic
  26. Dinoflagellates1,513▼ 0.53×1 topic
  27. Marine Toxins1,513▼ 0.53×1 topic
  28. Biodegradation1,488▼ 0.53×1 topic
  29. Surfactants1,488▼ 0.53×1 topic

Which countries lead Environmental Chemistry research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Environmental Chemistry. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (12k and 10k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 23.0% top 10% · 12k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 11.0% top 10% · 10k works
  3. 3 India · #9 all time 15.8% top 10% · 2.1k works
  4. 4 Germany · #4 all time 20.4% top 10% · 1.4k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom · #3 all time 19.8% top 10% · 1k works
  6. 6 Australia · #6 all time 24.0% top 10% · 783 works
  7. 7 France · #7 all time 14.3% top 10% · 1.2k works
  8. 8 Italy · #11 all time 19.8% top 10% · 809 works
  9. 9 Canada · #5 all time 16.4% top 10% · 1.1k works
  10. 10 Spain · #13 all time 14.5% top 10% · 938 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 35 countries ranked in Environmental Chemistry. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Environmental Chemistry

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 12k works
  2. 2 United States 10k works
  3. 3 India 2.1k works
  4. 4 Russia 1.7k works
  5. 5 Germany 1.4k works
  6. 6 Brazil 1.2k works
  7. 7 France 1.2k works
  8. 8 Canada 1.1k works
  9. 9 Japan 1.1k works
  10. 10 United Kingdom 1k 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: 36.7%United States: 31.2%India: 6.4%Russia: 5.0%6 others listed: 20.7%37%largest
China12k · 36.7%United States10k · 31.2%India2,134 · 6.4%Russia1,684 · 5.0%6 others listed6,948 · 20.7%

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

Which institutions lead Environmental Chemistry research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Environmental Chemistry on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and China University of Mining and Technology.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #2 all time 28.0% top 10% · 462 works
  2. 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #20 all time 29.3% top 10% · 232 works
  3. 3 China University of Mining and Technology China · Xuzhou · #63 all time 27.5% top 10% · 156 works
  4. 4 Dalian University of Technology China · Dalian · #54 all time 31.3% top 10% · 111 works
  5. 5 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #58 all time 33.1% top 10% · 108 works
  6. 6 China University of Geosciences China · Wuhan · #87 all time 26.0% top 10% · 182 works
  7. 7 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #83 all time 29.9% top 10% · 81 works
  8. 8 Hohai University China · Nanjing 23.9% top 10% · 123 works
  9. 9 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) China · Beijing · #79 all time 24.3% top 10% · 120 works
  10. 10 Peking University China · Beijing · #78 all time 28.7% top 10% · 88 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 79 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Environmental Chemistry.

Top 100 Environmental Chemistry institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States 892 works
  2. 2 Purdue University West LafayetteUnited States 545 works
  3. 3 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 462 works
  4. 4 Michigan State UniversityUnited States 357 works
  5. 5 Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryUnited States 311 works
  6. 6 University of California, Los AngelesUnited States 266 works
  7. 7 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 232 works
  8. 8 China University of GeosciencesChina 182 works
  9. 9 United States Department of AgricultureUnited States 182 works
  10. 10 Oregon State UniversityUnited States 178 works

Who are the leading researchers in Environmental Chemistry?

Among the most productive authors in Environmental Chemistry, Michael J. S. Dewar, Stephen R. Carpenter and James N. Galloway rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Michael J. S. Dewar United States · #993 worldwide 4.3k citations · 217 works
  2. 2 Stephen R. Carpenter United States · #1,495 worldwide 3.2k citations · 89 works
  3. 3 James N. Galloway United States · #1,677 worldwide 2.3k citations · 100 works
  4. 4 Keith Paustian United States · #2,115 worldwide 2.5k citations · 101 works
  5. 5 Frank J. Millero United States · #2,568 worldwide 2k citations · 109 works
  6. 6 Bruce P. Lanphear Canada · #2,689 worldwide 1.3k citations · 103 works
  7. 7 Édouard Bard France · #3,225 worldwide 1.9k citations · 114 works
  8. 8 Antonia M. Calafat United States · #3,374 worldwide 1.2k citations · 140 works
  9. 9 James M. Tiedje United States · #3,545 worldwide 2.1k citations · 96 works
  10. 10 David O. Carpenter United States · #3,594 worldwide 1.3k citations · 72 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,464 highest-output authors in Environmental Chemistry. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Environmental Chemistry researchers

Where is Environmental Chemistry research done?

The largest centres of Environmental Chemistry research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Berkeley (United States), Nanjing (China) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Hiram, Richland and Lisle.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 3k works
  2. 2 Berkeley United States 1.2k works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 842 works
  4. 4 Moscow Russia 667 works
  5. 5 Washington D.C. United States 632 works
  6. 6 Qingdao China 620 works
  7. 7 Wuhan China 613 works
  8. 8 Guangzhou China 606 works
  9. 9 West Lafayette United States 549 works
  10. 10 Shanghai China 526 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. HiramUS · 32.8 works62×
  2. RichlandUS · 72.2 works49×
  3. LisleUS · 23.8 works46×
  4. BorokRU · 31.4 works29×
  5. BerkeleyUS · 1,213.8 works21×
  6. CheyenneUS · 26.7 works21×
  7. MoscowUS · 103.9 works20×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Environmental Chemistry than the world average.

See Environmental Chemistry on the map

Environmental Chemistry research by country

The best places for Environmental Chemistry research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Environmental Chemistry?

Among universities, judged by research, Purdue University West Lafayette, China University of Geosciences and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 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%mean 16.06%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Purdue University West Lafayette: 545, 2.0%China University of Geosciences: 182, 26.0%Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: 58, 32.6%University of California, Berkeley: 892, 0.9%China University of Geosciences (Beijing): 120, 24.3%King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals: 44, 39.2%Colorado School of Mines: 54, 24.2%Oregon State University: 178, 6.8%Michigan State University: 357, 2.7%Washington State University: 100, 1.9%Swedish University o…China University of …Purdue University We…University of Califo…
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
1 Purdue University West LafayetteUnited States 60.42.0%12.6×545 +423.0%
2 China University of GeosciencesChina 55.326.0%8.9×182 -0.3%
3 Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesSweden 54.432.6%8.3×58 -16.0%
4 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States 51.70.9%23.5×892 +12.8%
5 China University of Geosciences (Beijing)China 51.624.3%9.1×120 -8.8%
6 King Fahd University of Petroleum and MineralsSaudi Arabia 51.439.2%2.8×44 +147.3%
7 Colorado School of MinesUnited States 50.424.2%9.5×54 +15.8%
8 Oregon State UniversityUnited States 48.66.8%13.5×178 +45.8%
9 Michigan State UniversityUnited States 47.72.7%11.1×357 +10.8%
10 Washington State UniversityUnited States 47.61.9%8.4×100 +1883.8%

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 Environmental Chemistry research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 38% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research, Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis and Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena.

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. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research+146%
  2. Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis+100%
  3. Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena+83%
  4. Chemistry and Chemical Engineering+80%
  5. Arsenic contamination and mitigation+80%
  6. Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics+42%
  7. Marine Toxins and Detection Methods-4%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Environmental Chemistry include?

Methane Hydrates and Rel…70kMethane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 70k fractional worksAquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics: 41k fractional worksSoil and Water Nutrient Dynamics: 34k fractional worksChemistry and Chemical Engineering: 24k fractional worksArsenic contamination and mitigation: 21k fractional worksMine drainage and remedi…18kMine drainage and remediation techniques: 18k fractional worksEnvironmental Chemistry and Analysis: 13k fractional worksTurfgrass Adaptation and Management: 12k fractional worksMarine Toxins and Detection Methods: 12k fractional worksPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research: 10k fractional worksSustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis: 8,214 fractional works

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