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Subfield · Engineering

Ocean Engineering research

Ocean Engineering is a subfield of Engineering. Science Explorer counts 560k research works in it since 1950. 15.7% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: engineering of devices within the ocean environment.

Research works
560k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
88k
per year above
Top-10% rate
15.7%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
23
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+31%
the tick is no change

What is Ocean Engineering research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are CO2 Sequestration, Drilling Fluids, Well Integrity, Ensemble Kalman Filter, Optimization, Sustainability. Gaining share since 2009–13: Mining, Sustainable Development, Environmental Management, Technology, Power Take-Off. Losing share: Ring Laser Gyroscope, Rotational Seismology, Antifouling Coatings, Biofouling.

▲ 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. CO2 Sequestration18k◆ 1.02×2 topics
  2. Drilling Fluids14k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  3. Well Integrity14k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  4. Ensemble Kalman Filter12k◆ 0.88×1 topic
  5. Optimization12k◆ 0.88×1 topic
  6. Sustainability12k◆ 1.01×2 topics
  7. Ground-Penetrating Radar12k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  8. Sedimentology12k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  9. Wireless Sensor Networks12k◆ 0.88×2 topics
  10. Climate Change11k◆ 0.99×2 topics
  11. Acoustic Communications10k◆ 0.93×1 topic
  12. Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks10k◆ 0.93×1 topic
  13. Technology9,889▲ 1.51×2 topics
  14. Reservoir Operation9,638◆ 1.04×1 topic
  15. Water Resources9,638◆ 1.04×1 topic
  16. Environmental Management9,571▲ 2.1×3 topics
  17. Pore-scale Modeling9,543▲ 1.23×1 topic
  18. X-ray Computed Tomography9,543▲ 1.23×1 topic
  19. Artificial Lift Systems8,092◆ 0.98×1 topic
  20. Fault Diagnosis8,092◆ 0.98×1 topic
  21. Mining7,552▲ 3.2×1 topic
  22. Sustainable Development7,552▲ 3.2×1 topic
  23. Evacuation6,289◆ 0.92×1 topic
  24. Pedestrian Dynamics6,289◆ 0.92×1 topic
  25. Renewable Energy6,217◆ 0.87×2 topics
  26. Collision Avoidance5,893▲ 1.21×1 topic
  27. Maritime Transportation5,893▲ 1.21×1 topic
  28. Environmental Impact5,740◆ 0.87×2 topics
  29. Particles5,661◆ 0.89×1 topic
  30. Turbulence5,661◆ 0.89×1 topic
  31. Remote Sensing5,172▼ 0.86×3 topics
  32. Coal Permeability4,800◆ 1.02×1 topic
  33. Coalbed Methane4,800◆ 1.02×1 topic
  34. Power Take-Off3,879▲ 1.33×1 topic
  35. Wave Energy3,879▲ 1.33×1 topic
  36. Antifouling Coatings3,552▼ 0.85×1 topic
  37. Biofouling3,552▼ 0.85×1 topic
  38. Ring Laser Gyroscope3,207▼ 0.58×1 topic
  39. Rotational Seismology3,207▼ 0.58×1 topic
  40. CFD Simulations3,204▲ 1.17×1 topic

Which countries lead Ocean Engineering research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and the United Kingdom rank highest in Ocean Engineering. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (39k and 12k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 19.2% top 10% · 39k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 12.8% top 10% · 12k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #3 all time 16.8% top 10% · 3.2k works
  4. 4 India · #11 all time 13.0% top 10% · 5k works
  5. 5 Australia · #6 all time 19.6% top 10% · 1.6k works
  6. 6 Italy · #8 all time 17.3% top 10% · 2.1k works
  7. 7 Germany · #4 all time 15.2% top 10% · 2.1k works
  8. 8 Iran · #16 all time 21.1% top 10% · 1.6k works
  9. 9 South Korea · #14 all time 14.1% top 10% · 1.9k works
  10. 10 Russia · #15 all time 4.1% top 10% · 5.4k 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 56 countries ranked in Ocean Engineering. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Ocean Engineering

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 39k works
  2. 2 United States 12k works
  3. 3 Russia 5.4k works
  4. 4 India 5k works
  5. 5 Indonesia 4.3k works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 3.2k works
  7. 7 Japan 2.5k works
  8. 8 Brazil 2.1k works
  9. 9 Germany 2.1k works
  10. 10 France 2.1k 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: 50.5%United States: 14.9%Russia: 7.0%India: 6.4%6 others listed: 21.2%51%largest
China39k · 50.5%United States12k · 14.9%Russia5,390 · 7.0%India4,951 · 6.4%6 others listed16k · 21.2%

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

Which institutions lead Ocean Engineering research?

China University of Mining and Technology (China) ranks first in Ocean Engineering on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Shandong University of Science and Technology and China University of Petroleum, East China.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China University of Mining and Technology China · Xuzhou · #2 all time 26.5% top 10% · 1k works
  2. 2 Shandong University of Science and Technology China · Qingdao · #7 all time 29.7% top 10% · 359 works
  3. 3 China University of Petroleum, East China China · Qingdao · #16 all time 18.8% top 10% · 953 works
  4. 4 China University of Petroleum, Beijing China · Beijing · #6 all time 15.6% top 10% · 1.2k works
  5. 5 Dalian Maritime University China · Dalian · #40 all time 24.4% top 10% · 573 works
  6. 6 Wuhan University of Technology China · Wuhan · #35 all time 20.9% top 10% · 487 works
  7. 7 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #26 all time 24.8% top 10% · 451 works
  8. 8 Dalian University of Technology China · Dalian · #52 all time 27.8% top 10% · 357 works
  9. 9 Chongqing University China · Chongqing · #42 all time 29.3% top 10% · 293 works
  10. 10 China National Petroleum Corporation (China) China · Beijing · #84 all time 9.3% top 10% · 861 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 286 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Ocean Engineering.

Top 100 Ocean Engineering institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China University of Petroleum, BeijingChina 1.2k works
  2. 2 China University of Mining and TechnologyChina 1k works
  3. 3 China University of Petroleum, East ChinaChina 953 works
  4. 4 China National Petroleum Corporation (China)China 861 works
  5. 5 Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and DevelopmentChina 742 works
  6. 6 Southwest Petroleum UniversityChina 735 works
  7. 7 Harbin Engineering UniversityChina 623 works
  8. 8 Dalian Maritime UniversityChina 573 works
  9. 9 Sinopec (China)China 565 works
  10. 10 Abu Dhabi National Oil (United Arab Emirates)United Arab Emirates 527 works

Who are the leading researchers in Ocean Engineering?

Among the most productive authors in Ocean Engineering, Ian F. Akyildiz, Kalyanmoy Deb and Элинор Остром rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Ian F. Akyildiz United States · #45 worldwide 8.2k citations · 173 works
  2. 2 Kalyanmoy Deb United States · #287 worldwide 6.7k citations · 218 works
  3. 3 Элинор Остром United States · #503 worldwide 2.5k citations · 136 works
  4. 4 Johan Rockström Germany · #967 worldwide 3.9k citations · 93 works
  5. 5 Dirk Helbing Switzerland · #1,135 worldwide 3k citations · 163 works
  6. 6 Marc Lambert France · #1,779 worldwide 2.1k citations · 83 works
  7. 7 Y. Arai Japan · #2,486 worldwide 6k citations · 381 works
  8. 8 Soroosh Sorooshian United States · #2,630 worldwide 2.7k citations · 151 works
  9. 9 Hugh Durrant‐Whyte Australia · #2,702 worldwide 1.9k citations · 88 works
  10. 10 John J. Leonard United States · #2,849 worldwide 2k citations · 96 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,129 highest-output authors in Ocean Engineering. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Ocean Engineering researchers

Where is Ocean Engineering research done?

The largest centres of Ocean Engineering research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Wuhan (China), Xi'an (China) and Chengdu (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Arbroath, Alice and Road Town.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 9.4k works
  2. 2 Wuhan China 2.2k works
  3. 3 Xi'an China 2.1k works
  4. 4 Chengdu China 2.1k works
  5. 5 Shanghai China 2k works
  6. 6 Qingdao China 2k works
  7. 7 Moscow Russia 1.6k works
  8. 8 Nanjing China 1.5k works
  9. 9 Houston United States 1.2k works
  10. 10 Harbin China 1.1k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. ArbroathGB · 238.4 works85×
  2. AliceUS · 22.6 works84×
  3. Road TownVG · 247.2 works76×
  4. TanangerNO · 27.3 works71×
  5. Daqing51.1 works65×
  6. FornebuNO · 48.5 works57×
  7. PanjingCN · 48.6 works50×
  8. NewnhamAU · 26.4 works41×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

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

See Ocean Engineering on the map

Ocean Engineering research by country

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

Where is the best place to study Ocean Engineering?

Among universities, judged by research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, China University of Mining and Technology and China University of Petroleum, East 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%mean 22.5%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals: 357, 20.0%China University of Mining and Technology: 1,013, 26.5%China University of Petroleum, East China: 953, 18.8%Dalian Maritime University: 573, 24.4%Saint Petersburg Mining University: 119, 20.8%China University of Petroleum, Beijing: 1,239, 15.6%Harbin Engineering University: 623, 21.3%Shandong University of Science and Technology: 359, 29.7%Xi'an University of Science and Technology: 242, 30.2%Universiti Teknologi Petronas: 144, 17.7%China University of …Dalian Maritime Univ…King Fahd University…China University of …
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 King Fahd University of Petroleum and MineralsSaudi Arabia 68.820.0%9.6×357 +224.4%
2 China University of Mining and TechnologyChina 66.226.5%12.0×1,013 +39.4%
3 China University of Petroleum, East ChinaChina 63.918.8%18.9×953 +82.5%
4 Dalian Maritime UniversityChina 60.124.4%14.6×573 +21.1%
5 Saint Petersburg Mining UniversityRussia 58.820.8%19.6×119 +3783.4%
6 China University of Petroleum, BeijingChina 57.715.6%29.7×1,239 -18.1%
7 Harbin Engineering UniversityChina 56.721.3%11.2×623 -14.9%
8 Shandong University of Science and TechnologyChina 56.729.7%6.9×359 +91.8%
9 Xi'an University of Science and TechnologyChina 56.730.2%9.8×242 +6.9%
10 Universiti Teknologi PetronasMalaysia 53.617.7%8.8×144 +86.5%

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 Ocean Engineering research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 31% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Engineering and Environmental Studies, Stonefly species taxonomy and ecology and Wave and Wind Energy Systems.

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. Engineering and Environmental Studies+458%
  2. Stonefly species taxonomy and ecology+207%
  3. Wave and Wind Energy Systems+183%
  4. Automated Road and Building Extraction+144%
  5. Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques+132%
  6. Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics+106%
  7. Wetland Management and Conservation-21%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Ocean Engineering include?

Reservoir Engineering an…61kReservoir Engineering and Simulation Methods: 61k fractional worksDrilling and Well Engine…58kDrilling and Well Engineering: 58k fractional worksGeophysical Methods and Applications: 50k fractional worksUnderwater Vehicles and Communication Systems: 41k fractional worksWater resources management and optimization: 38k fractional worksEnhanced Oil Recovery Techniques: 37k fractional worksOil and Gas Production Techniques: 33k fractional worksParticle Dynamics in Flu…31kParticle Dynamics in Fluid Flows: 31k fractional worksGeophysics and Sensor Technology: 25k fractional worksEvacuation and Crowd Dynamics: 24k fractional worksMaritime Navigation and Safety: 22k fractional worksMarine Biology and Environmental Chemistry: 21k fractional works

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