World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
River Research and Applications
H-index 21

River Research and Applications

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Ecology and Evolution 198 121 144 17
Earth Science 245 66 110 15
Environmental Sciences 382 58 67 14

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 270
Documents by Best Scientists*: 319
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 2
SCIMAGO H-index: 115
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.633
Impact Factor: 1.9

Overview

Top Research Topics at River Research and Applications?

River Research and Applications covers a variety of subjects, including Hydrology, Ecology, Habitat, Floodplain and STREAMS. The concepts on Hydrology presented in the journal can also apply to other research fields, including Sediment and Riparian zone. Sediment transport is part of Sediment studies tackled in River Research and Applications.

Many of the studies tackled connect Riparian zone with a similar field of study like Vegetation. Species richness, Ecosystem, Abundance (ecology), Benthic zone and Invertebrate are among the concentrations of Ecology that garnered much attention in the journal. Topics in Habitat were tackled in line with various other fields like Biodiversity and Fishery.

It focuses on Fishery but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Fish migration and Salmo. The study on Floodplain presented in the journal intersects with the topics under Wetland. Most of the Drainage basin studies addressed also intersect with Tributary.

  • Hydrology (48.30%)
  • Ecology (26.25%)
  • Habitat (21.67%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • A global perspective on environmental flow assessment: emerging trends in the development and application of environmental flow methodologies for rivers (1126 citations)
  • Redundancy and the choice of hydrologic indices for characterizing streamflow regimes (768 citations)
  • Fluorescence analysis of dissolved organic matter in natural, waste and polluted waters—a review (727 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at River Research and Applications:

The published papers mostly deal with topics like Hydrology, Ecology, Habitat, Floodplain and Sediment. The journal papers explore research in Hydrology alongside concepts in Riparian zone and other areas of study in Vegetation. The published papers deal with Ecology in conjunction with Fishery and similar fields in Salmo, Fish migration and Trout.

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

  • Ecology
  • Statistics
  • Habitat

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The main points discussed in River Research and Applications deals with Hydrology, Fishery, Ecology, Habitat and Riparian zone. River Research and Applications concentrates on Hydrology topics that focus on Water quality, Drainage basin, Streamflow and Channelized. River Research and Applications focuses on Drainage basin as well as the interrelated topic of Surface runoff.

The study on Fishery presented in it intersects with the topics under Salmo. Research on Ecology addressed in the journal frequently intersections with the field of STREAMS. While Riparian zone is the focus of River Research and Applications, it also provided insights into the studies of Floodplain and Flood myth.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Real‐time warming of alpine streams: (re)defining invertebrates' temperature preferences (10 citations)
  • Re-operating dams for environmental flows: From recommendation to practice (7 citations)
  • What remains today of pre‐industrial Alpine rivers? Census of historical and current channel patterns in the Alps (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 River Research and Applications (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Angela M. Gurnell (22 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Martin Thoms (21 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • David Gilvear (17 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition,
  • Stewart B. Rood (14 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • Larry Greenberg (14 papers) published 1 paper at the last 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 River Research and Applications (based on the number of publications) are:

  • United States Geological Survey (167 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • United States Fish and Wildlife Service (51 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
  • Colorado State University (50 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of California, Davis (40 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • United States Forest Service (32 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less 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, 4.41% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 18.46% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 13.08% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 10.77% of all publications and 57.69% 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

  • Biomic river restoration: A new focus for river management

    Matthew F. Johnson;Colin R. Thorne;Janine M. Castro;G. Mathias Kondolf

    (2020)
    110 Citations
  • Real‐time warming of alpine streams: (re)defining invertebrates' temperature preferences

    Georg H. Niedrist;Leopold Füreder

    (2021)
    46 Citations
  • Characterizing physical habitat preferences and thermal refuge occupancy of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at high river temperatures

    Nathan M. Wilbur;Nathan M. Wilbur;Antóin M. O'Sullivan;Kerry T. B. MacQuarrie;Tommi Linnansaari

    (2020)
    45 Citations
  • Sediment storage and shallow groundwater response to beaver dam analogues in the Colorado Front Range, USA

    Julianne Scamardo;Ellen Wohl

    (2020)
    37 Citations
  • Predicted impacts of proposed hydroelectric facilities on fish migration routes upstream from the Pantanal wetland (Brazil)

    Marcel Medinas de Campos;Hans M. Tritico;Pierre Girard;Peter Zeilhofer

    (2020)
    37 Citations
  • What remains today of pre‐industrial Alpine rivers? Census of historical and current channel patterns in the Alps

    Severin Hohensinner;Gregory Egger;Susanne Muhar;Lise Vaudor

    (2021)
    34 Citations
  • Adaptation to climate change and conservation of biodiversity using green infrastructure

    Futoshi Nakamura;Nobuo Ishiyama;Nobuo Ishiyama;Satoshi Yamanaka;Motoki Higa

    (2020)
    34 Citations
  • Re-operating dams for environmental flows: From recommendation to practice

    Afua G. Owusu;Afua G. Owusu;Marloes Mul;Pieter van der Zaag;Pieter van der Zaag;Jill Slinger

    (2021)
    34 Citations
  • Reflexive learning in adaptive management: A case study of environmental water management in the Murray Darling Basin, Australia

    Craig A. McLoughlin;Martin C. Thoms;Melissa Parsons

    (2020)
    32 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying Environmental Sciences in the USA opens doors to diverse and impactful career opportunities. Graduates often seek high-paying jobs with environmental science degree, ranging from environmental consultants to sustainability managers. These roles play a critical part in addressing global ecological challenges and shaping policy.

For those interested in a technical focus, pursuing an environmental engineer degree online offers a flexible pathway to develop skills in designing systems that minimize environmental impact. This degree combines engineering principles with environmental science to solve real-world problems.

Beyond environmental science, other related fields also offer accelerated learning options. For example, 5-year accelerated speech pathology programs provide students with a fast-tracked route to careers in communication disorders, illustrating how interdisciplinary studies can complement environmental goals in community health contexts.

Additionally, those interested in behavioral analysis may consider pursuing degrees from bacb accredited schools. These programs prepare students for certification as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA), expanding career avenues in educational and organizational settings focused on sustainable behavior change.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal