Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Subfield · Environmental Science

Global and Planetary Change research

Global and Planetary Change is a subfield of Environmental Science. Science Explorer counts 781k research works in it since 1950. 23.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: planetary-scale changes in the Earth system.

Research works
781k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
180k
per year above
Top-10% rate
23.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
30
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+38%
the tick is no change

What is Global and Planetary Change research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Climate Change, Remote Sensing, Sustainability, Biodiversity Conservation, Land Use Change, Global Warming. Gaining share since 2009–13: Renewable Energy, Global Impact, Spatial Dynamics, Flood Inundation Modeling, Surface Water Mapping. Losing share: Environmental Impact, Ecosystem Management, Marine Fisheries, Ecosystem Services.

▲ 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 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change124k◆ 0.99×21 topics
  2. Remote Sensing55k◆ 0.96×8 topics
  3. Sustainability37k◆ 0.92×7 topics
  4. Biodiversity Conservation36k▲ 1.26×4 topics
  5. Land Use Change31k◆ 0.90×3 topics
  6. Global Warming30k◆ 1.09×5 topics
  7. Ecosystem Services30k▼ 0.78×3 topics
  8. Hydrological Cycle28k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  9. Social-Ecological Systems26k▲ 1.69×2 topics
  10. Ecosystem Resilience26k◆ 0.99×3 topics
  11. Satellite Imagery26k▲ 1.68×2 topics
  12. Urbanization23k▼ 0.83×2 topics
  13. Environmental Policy23k▲ 1.66×3 topics
  14. Greenhouse Gas Emissions22k◆ 0.98×3 topics
  15. Global Impact22k▲ 1.80×1 topic
  16. Spatial Dynamics22k▲ 1.80×1 topic
  17. Satellite Observations22k◆ 0.87×2 topics
  18. Drought21k◆ 1.06×2 topics
  19. Evapotranspiration21k◆ 1.06×2 topics
  20. Climate Modeling21k◆ 0.98×1 topic
  21. Extreme Events21k◆ 0.98×1 topic
  22. Flood Risk19k▲ 1.67×2 topics
  23. Flood Inundation Modeling18k▲ 1.74×1 topic
  24. Surface Water Mapping18k▲ 1.74×1 topic
  25. Emissions17k◆ 0.94×2 topics
  26. Air Quality16k▲ 1.33×3 topics
  27. Methane14k◆ 0.91×1 topic
  28. Shale Gas14k◆ 0.91×1 topic
  29. Environmental Impact14k▼ 0.52×3 topics
  30. Carbon Balance13k◆ 0.91×1 topic
  31. Tree Mortality13k◆ 0.91×1 topic
  32. Ecosystem Management12k▼ 0.67×1 topic
  33. Marine Fisheries12k▼ 0.67×1 topic
  34. Renewable Energy11k▲ 2.1×4 topics
  35. Forest Fires11k◆ 1.11×1 topic
  36. Wildfire Activity11k◆ 1.11×1 topic
  37. Environmental Services8,580◆ 1.14×1 topic
  38. Tropical Deforestation8,580◆ 1.14×1 topic
  39. Hydrological8,328▲ 1.43×1 topic
  40. Monitoring8,328▲ 1.43×1 topic

Which countries lead Global and Planetary Change research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and the United Kingdom rank highest in Global and Planetary Change. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (36k and 23k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 27.2% top 10% · 36k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 21.2% top 10% · 23k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #3 all time 26.9% top 10% · 5.8k works
  4. 4 Germany · #4 all time 27.6% top 10% · 5.5k works
  5. 5 India · #11 all time 18.3% top 10% · 9.8k works
  6. 6 Australia · #5 all time 26.4% top 10% · 4.1k works
  7. 7 France · #6 all time 20.2% top 10% · 4.4k works
  8. 8 Italy · #9 all time 24.6% top 10% · 4k works
  9. 9 Canada · #7 all time 21.3% top 10% · 3.7k works
  10. 10 Netherlands · #8 all time 31.7% top 10% · 1.9k 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 72 countries ranked in Global and Planetary Change. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Global and Planetary Change

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 36k works
  2. 2 United States 23k works
  3. 3 India 9.8k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 5.8k works
  5. 5 Germany 5.5k works
  6. 6 France 4.4k works
  7. 7 Australia 4.1k works
  8. 8 Brazil 4.1k works
  9. 9 Russia 4.1k works
  10. 10 Italy 4k 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: 35.5%United States: 23.2%India: 9.7%United Kingdom: 5.8%6 others listed: 25.8%35%largest
China36k · 35.5%United States23k · 23.2%India9,802 · 9.7%United Kingdom5,839 · 5.8%6 others listed26k · 25.8%

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

Which institutions lead Global and Planetary Change research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Global and Planetary Change on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Beijing Normal University and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #2 all time 30.5% top 10% · 1.6k works
  2. 2 Beijing Normal University China · Beijing · #30 all time 38.1% top 10% · 639 works
  3. 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #33 all time 31.8% top 10% · 846 works
  4. 4 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research China · Beijing · #45 all time 37.5% top 10% · 423 works
  5. 5 Peking University China · Beijing · #47 all time 37.5% top 10% · 379 works
  6. 6 Wuhan University China · Wuhan · #82 all time 34.8% top 10% · 475 works
  7. 7 China University of Geosciences China · Wuhan · #95 all time 38.2% top 10% · 356 works
  8. 8 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #80 all time 31.9% top 10% · 364 works
  9. 9 ETH Zurich Switzerland · Zurich · #5 all time 37.4% top 10% · 279 works
  10. 10 Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology China · Nanjing 21.5% top 10% · 718 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 535 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Global and Planetary Change.

Top 100 Global and Planetary Change institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 1.6k works
  2. 2 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 846 works
  3. 3 Nanjing University of Information Science and TechnologyChina 718 works
  4. 4 Beijing Normal UniversityChina 639 works
  5. 5 China Meteorological AdministrationChina 524 works
  6. 6 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 492 works
  7. 7 Wuhan UniversityChina 475 works
  8. 8 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources ResearchChina 423 works
  9. 9 Beijing Forestry UniversityChina 383 works
  10. 10 Peking UniversityChina 379 works

Who are the leading researchers in Global and Planetary Change?

Among the most productive authors in Global and Planetary Change, Элинор Остром, Susan Solomon and Carl Folke rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Элинор Остром United States · #503 worldwide 2.5k citations · 136 works
  2. 2 Susan Solomon United States · #561 worldwide 4.5k citations · 103 works
  3. 3 Carl Folke Sweden · #745 worldwide 3.2k citations · 102 works
  4. 4 W. Neil Adger United Kingdom · #934 worldwide 3.7k citations · 100 works
  5. 5 Eugenia Kalnay United States · #936 worldwide 5k citations · 95 works
  6. 6 Paul J. Crutzen Germany · #943 worldwide 2.7k citations · 120 works
  7. 7 Johan Rockström Germany · #967 worldwide 3.9k citations · 93 works
  8. 8 B. H. Samset France · #1,129 worldwide 3.6k citations · 104 works
  9. 9 Jean‐François Lamarque United States · #1,188 worldwide 2.6k citations · 134 works
  10. 10 Markus Reichstein Germany · #1,232 worldwide 3.2k citations · 155 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,878 highest-output authors in Global and Planetary Change. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Global and Planetary Change researchers

Where is Global and Planetary Change research done?

The largest centres of Global and Planetary Change research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Wuhan (China) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Seogwipo, Zaragoza and Tsukuba.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 11k works
  2. 2 Nanjing China 2.7k works
  3. 3 Wuhan China 1.7k works
  4. 4 Moscow Russia 1.5k works
  5. 5 Shanghai China 1.5k works
  6. 6 Paris France 1.4k works
  7. 7 Guangzhou China 1.4k works
  8. 8 Kyiv Ukraine 1.3k works
  9. 9 Washington D.C. United States 1.1k works
  10. 10 Tokyo Japan 1.1k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. SeogwipoKR · 24.2 works33×
  2. ZaragozaES · 40.4 works28×
  3. Tsukuba41.3 works24×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Global and Planetary Change than the world average.

See Global and Planetary Change on the map

Global and Planetary Change research by country

The best places for Global and Planetary Change research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Global and Planetary Change?

Among universities, judged by research, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University and Aerospace Information Research Institute 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 31.33%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology: 718, 21.5%Beijing Normal University: 639, 38.1%Aerospace Information Research Institute: 174, 30.6%Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: 192, 29.8%Wageningen University & Research: 327, 34.6%China University of Geosciences: 356, 38.2%Beijing Forestry University: 383, 29.6%Czech University of Life Sciences Prague: 98, 29.7%Arba Minch University: 75, 25.7%University of Exeter: 230, 35.5%Beijing Normal Unive…Aerospace Informatio…Swedish University o…Nanjing University o…
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 Nanjing University of Information Science and TechnologyChina 63.721.5%11.3×718 +79.8%
2 Beijing Normal UniversityChina 59.438.1%5.9×639 +23.5%
3 Aerospace Information Research InstituteChina 56.530.6%9.5×174 —
4 Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesSweden 55.229.8%7.9×192 +16.3%
5 Wageningen University & ResearchNetherlands 54.534.6%5.7×327 +2.0%
6 China University of GeosciencesChina 53.838.2%5.0×356 +27.2%
7 Beijing Forestry UniversityChina 52.829.6%8.6×383 -38.6%
8 Czech University of Life Sciences PragueCzechia 51.829.7%6.2×98 +120.9%
9 Arba Minch UniversityEthiopia 51.425.7%7.0×75 +973.2%
10 University of ExeterUnited Kingdom 49.935.5%3.6×230 +62.8%

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 Global and Planetary Change research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 38% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Diverse Scientific Research in Ukraine, COVID-19 impact on air quality and Sustainability and Climate Change Governance.

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. Diverse Scientific Research in Ukraine+1195%
  2. COVID-19 impact on air quality+488%
  3. Sustainability and Climate Change Governance+295%
  4. Impact of Light on Environment and Health+248%
  5. Flood Risk Assessment and Management+243%
  6. Land Use and Ecosystem Services+238%
  7. Environmental Changes in China-77%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Global and Planetary Change include?

Climate variability and …79kClimate variability and models: 79k fractional worksAtmospheric and Environm…64kAtmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics: 64k fractional worksMarine and fisheries research: 63k fractional worksLand Use and Ecosystem Services: 59k fractional worksPlant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics: 56k fractional worksFlood Risk Assessment and Management: 52k fractional worksFire effects on ecosystems: 40k fractional worksMarine Bivalve and Aquac…38kMarine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies: 38k fractional worksAtmospheric aerosols and clouds: 37k fractional worksAmphibian and Reptile Biology: 33k fractional worksConservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management: 30k fractional worksRadioactive contamination and transfer: 28k fractional works

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