World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Journal of Quaternary Science
H-index 23

Journal of Quaternary Science

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Earth Science 140 334 277 23

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 431
Documents by Best Scientists*: 322
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 10
SCIMAGO H-index: 108
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.761
Impact Factor: 2.2

Overview

Top Research Topics at Journal of Quaternary Science?

The journal was organized to reinforce research efforts on Holocene, Oceanography, Glacial period, Paleontology and Physical geography. Journal of Quaternary Science addresses concerns in the field of Holocene by exploring it in line with topics in Radiocarbon dating which intersect with Chronology subjects. Many of the studies tackled connect Oceanography with a similar field of study like Sediment.

The presentations focused mostly on Glacial period in an attempt to further explore topics in Geomorphology. The in-depth study on Geomorphology also explores topics in the intersecting field of Geochemistry. The journal aims to address concerns in Paleontology, specifically in the areas of Quaternary, Pleistocene, Interglacial, Sedimentary rock and Sedimentary depositional environment.

The Pleistocene research presented falls under the domain of Archaeology. The journal holds forums on Physical geography that merges themes from other disciplines such as Peat, Climatology and Paleoclimatology. The journal is focused mainly on Glacier, particularly Moraine.

  • Holocene (30.20%)
  • Oceanography (24.42%)
  • Glacial period (23.63%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six Greenland ice‐core stations: Camp Century, Dye‐3, GRIP, GISP2, Renland and NorthGRIP (906 citations)
  • An event stratigraphy for the Last Termination in the North Atlantic region based on the Greenland ice-core record: a proposal by the INTIMATE group (758 citations)
  • Formal subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch: a Discussion Paper by a Working Group of INTIMATE (Integration of ice‐core, marine and terrestrial records) and the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (International Commission on Stratigraphy) (533 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Journal of Quaternary Science:

The most cited articles facilitate discussions on Holocene, Glacial period, Oceanography, Physical geography and Paleontology. The studies on Holocene discussed at the published articles can also contribute to research in the domains of Ecology, Climate change, Climatology and Radiocarbon dating. Glacial period research presented in the most cited publications falls under the umbrella topic of Geomorphology.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Ecology
  • Paleontology
  • Archaeology

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Journal of Quaternary Science mostly deals with topics like Physical geography, Archaeology, Holocene, Pleistocene and Quaternary. It explores topics in Physical geography which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Glacial period, Last Glacial Maximum, Interglacial and Ice sheet. Journal of Quaternary Science explores issues in Last Glacial Maximum which can be linked to other research areas like Structural basin and Radiocarbon dating.

The journal is concerned with the study of Holocene and Oceanography in general. Pleistocene studies covered in the journal falls within the purview of Paleontology. While the journal focused on Quaternary, it was also able to explore topics like Sedimentary depositional environment, Geochemistry, Sedimentology and Thermoluminescence dating.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Pattern, style and timing of British–Irish Ice Sheet retreat: Shetland and northern North Sea sector (12 citations)
  • Recent progress on combining geomorphological and geochronological data with ice sheet modelling, demonstrated using the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (12 citations)
  • Pattern, style and timing of British-Irish Ice Sheet advance and retreat over the last 45 000 years: evidence from NW Scotland and the adjacent continental shelf (6 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Journal of Quaternary Science (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Melanie J. Leng (29 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • J. John Lowe (27 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Colin K. Ballantyne (27 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition,
  • Chris S. M. Turney (27 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Stefan Wastegård (26 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Journal of Quaternary Science (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Durham University (113 papers) published 11 papers at the last edition,
  • Royal Holloway, University of London (101 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition,
  • British Geological Survey (78 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition,
  • University of Cambridge (72 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Centre national de la recherche scientifique (72 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 1.61% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 30.33% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 5.74% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 7.38% of all publications and 56.56% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Top Publications

  • The Anthropocene as an Event, not an Epoch

    Unknown

    (2022)
    184 Citations
  • The proposed Anthropocene Epoch/Series is underpinned by an extensive array of mid‐20th century stratigraphic event signals

    (2022)
    62 Citations
  • Tephra glass chemistry provides storage and discharge details of five magma reservoirs which fed the 75 ka Youngest Toba Tuff eruption, northern Sumatra

    Nicholas J.G. Pearce;John A. Westgate;Guilherme A.R. Gualda;Emma Gatti

    (2020)
    60 Citations
  • Timing, pace and controls on ice sheet retreat: an introduction to the BRITICE‐CHRONO transect reconstructions of the British–Irish Ice Sheet

    Chris D. Clark;Richard C. Chiverrell;Derek Fabel;Richard C. A. Hindmarsh

    (2021)
    36 Citations
  • Pattern, style and timing of British–Irish Ice Sheet retreat: Shetland and northern North Sea sector

    Tom Bradwell;Tom Bradwell;David Small;Derek Fabel;Chris D. Clark

    (2021)
    36 Citations
  • Machine learning classifiers for attributing tephra to source volcanoes: an evaluation of methods for Alaska tephras

    Matthew S. M. Bolton;Britta J. L. Jensen;Kristi Wallace;Nore Praet

    (2020)
    35 Citations
  • Retreat dynamics of the eastern sector of the British-Irish Ice Sheet during the last glaciation

    David J A Evans;David H Roberts;Mark D Bateman;Chris D Clark

    (2021)
    35 Citations
  • Pattern, style and timing of British-Irish Ice Sheet advance and retreat over the last 45 000 years: evidence from NW Scotland and the adjacent continental shelf

    Tom Bradwell;Tom Bradwell;Derek Fabel;Chris D. Clark;Richard C. Chiverrell

    (2021)
    34 Citations
  • Recurrent outburst floods and explosive volcanism during the Younger Dryas–Early Holocene deglaciation in south Iceland: evidence from a lacustrine record

    Áslaug Geirsdóttir;Gifford H. Miller;Gifford H. Miller;David J. Harning;Hrafnhildur Hannesdóttir

    (2021)
    33 Citations
  • Beach ridges of Dali Lake in Inner Mongolia reveal precipitation variation during the Holocene

    Mengyao Jiang;Zhiyong Han;Xusheng Li;Yong Wang

    (2020)
    33 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying environmental sciences opens doors to diverse career paths that address critical global challenges. If you're considering expanding your expertise, exploring related fields can be highly beneficial. For instance, pursuing the cheapest online master's degree in psychology can complement your understanding of human-environment interactions and foster skills in community engagement and behavioral change strategies.

For those interested in technical applications, an online environmental engineering degree offers practical solutions to pollution, waste management, and sustainable infrastructure development. Combining this with knowledge of environmental science enhances your ability to tackle complex ecological problems.

If you want to know more about the diverse job opportunities this field offers, the article on environmental science degree provides valuable insights into roles ranging from conservation to policy-making.

Lastly, expanding interdisciplinary skills is vital for career growth. Programs like the 5-year accelerated speech pathology programs might seem unrelated initially but can enhance communication skills essential for effective advocacy and education within the environmental sector.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal