Soil and Unsaturated Flow
Soil and Unsaturated Flow is a research topic within Civil and Structural Engineering. Science Explorer counts 42k research works in it since 1950. 26.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the mechanics and transport phenomena in unsaturated soils, with an emphasis on soil hydraulic properties, pedotransfer functions, soil water characteristic estimation, hydraulic conductivity, soil water retention, clay minerals behavior, macropore flow, thermal effects on soil, and root water uptake.
- Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
- Soil Hydraulic Properties
- Pedotransfer Functions
- Soil Water Characteristic
- Hydraulic Conductivity
- Soil Water Retention
- Clay Minerals Behavior
- Macropore Flow
- Thermal Effects on Soil
- Root Water Uptake
- Research works
- 42k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 11k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 26.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +35% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Soil and Unsaturated Flow research?
By volume, China and the United States publish the most (2.7k and 658 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 2.7k works
- 2 United States 658 works
- 3 India 419 works
- 4 France 204 works
- 5 Germany 194 works
- 6 Canada 179 works
- 7 Japan 171 works
- 8 Brazil 158 works
- 9 Iran 157 works
- 10 United Kingdom 150 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Soil and Unsaturated Flow research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes the most Soil and Unsaturated Flow research, followed by Tongji University and Hohai University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 85 works
- 2 Tongji University China 72 works
- 3 Hohai University China 64 works
- 4 Chang'an University China 59 works
- 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 53 works
- 6 Northwest A&F University China 46 works
- 7 Zhejiang University China 40 works
- 8 China University of Mining and Technology China 36 works
- 9 China University of Geosciences China 35 works
- 10 Wuhan University China 34 works
Who are the leading researchers in Soil and Unsaturated Flow?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Soil and Unsaturated Flow include Martinus Th. van Genuchten, Pete Smith and Marc A. Rosen.
- 1 Martinus Th. van Genuchten 5.1k citations
- 2 Pete Smith 3k citations
- 3 Marc A. Rosen 2.9k citations
- 4 Rattan Lal 2.8k citations
- 5 Yakov Kuzyakov 2.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Soil and Unsaturated Flow research done?
The largest centres of Soil and Unsaturated Flow research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Wuhan (China) and Xi'an (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Yangling, Yangling and Champs-sur-Marne.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- YanglingCN · 25.8 works90×
- YanglingCN · 45.9 works17×
- Champs-sur-MarneFR · 24.0 works14×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Soil and Unsaturated Flow than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Soil and Unsaturated Flow?
Among universities, judged by research, Chang'an University, Northwest A&F University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 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.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chang'an University China | 81.8 | 35.8% | 23.4× | 59 | +199.1% |
| 2 | Northwest A&F University China | 74.9 | 35.0% | 17.5× | 46 | +123.3% |
| 3 | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong | 71.4 | 43.5% | 7.5× | 19 | +89.4% |
| 4 | China University of Geosciences China | 71.3 | 42.0% | 11.6× | 35 | +17.8% |
| 5 | Shenyang Agricultural University China | 66.1 | 39.9% | 9.7× | 8 | +249.7% |
| 6 | Hohai University China | 62.5 | 17.8% | 17.5× | 64 | +59.2% |
| 7 | Chengdu University of Technology China | 62.5 | 31.4% | 9.7× | 18 | +112.1% |
| 8 | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Sweden | 61.3 | 43.9% | 8.6× | 9 | +1.7% |
| 9 | BOKU University Austria | 60.8 | 37.7% | 12.4× | 8 | +7.3% |
| 10 | Tongji University China | 59.5 | 16.2% | 8.4× | 72 | +83.8% |
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 Soil and Unsaturated Flow research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 35% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Soil and Unsaturated Flow.
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.