World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Tectonics
H-index 35

Tectonics

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Earth Science 61 584 635 34

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 620
Documents by Best Scientists*: 643
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 22
SCIMAGO H-index: 166
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.603
Impact Factor: 3.6

Overview

Top Research Topics at Tectonics?

The journal investigates areas of study like Seismology, Paleontology, Tectonics, Geomorphology and Subduction. The journal holds forums on Seismology that merges themes from other disciplines such as Slip (materials science) and Crust. The Crust study featured in Tectonics draws connections with the study of Petrology.

Cretaceous, Rift, Terrane, Foreland basin and Structural basin are all aspects of Paleontology discussed in Tectonics. The journal holds forums on Tectonics that merges themes from other disciplines such as Sedimentary rock, Neogene, Fold (geology) and Cenozoic. While the journal focused on Geomorphology, it was also able to explore topics like Nappe, Geochemistry, Metamorphism, Thermochronology and Fission track dating.

It facilitates discussions on Subduction that incorporate concepts from other fields like Plate tectonics and Continental margin. Lithosphere research featured in the journal incorporates concerns from various other topics such as Geophysics and Mantle (geology). Shear zone and Shear (geology) are closely related fields of research discussed in it.

  • Seismology (42.74%)
  • Paleontology (39.75%)
  • Tectonics (27.33%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Extension in the Tyrrhenian Sea and Shortening in the Apennines as Result of Arc Migration Driven by Sinking of the Lithosphere (1494 citations)
  • Accretion leading to collision and the Permian Solonker suture, Inner Mongolia, China: Termination of the central Asian orogenic belt (1328 citations)
  • Extensional collapse of orogens (1191 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Tectonics:

The published papers focus on Seismology, Paleontology, Tectonics, Subduction and Geomorphology. While Seismology is the key highlight in the published articles, thet also covered some subjects on Crust and Petrology. Issues in Subduction were discussed in the most cited papers, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Plate tectonics and Continental margin.

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

  • Sedimentary rock
  • Paleontology
  • Plate tectonics

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Tectonics is organized to address concerns in the fields of Paleontology, Tectonics, Seismology, Fault (geology) and Geochemistry. Tectonics concentrated on Paleontology research, specifically Rift, Cretaceous, Thermochronology, Subduction and Terrane. The presented Subduction research focuses mostly on Petrology and, on occasion, topics in Mantle (geology).

Topics in Tectonics were tackled in line with various other fields like Structural basin, Fluvial, Geomorphology and Submarine pipeline. It focuses on Seismology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Quaternary and Deformation (meteorology). The research on Fault (geology) tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Kinematics and Strain partitioning.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Basement-Cover Decoupling During the Inversion of a Hyperextended Basin: Insights From the Eastern Pyrenees (6 citations)
  • Active Faults' Geometry in the Gulf of Aqaba, Southern Dead Sea Fault, Illuminated by Multibeam Bathymetric Data (5 citations)
  • Absolute Age and Temperature Constraints on Deformation Along the Basal Décollement of the Jura Fold-and-Thrust Belt From Carbonate U-Pb Dating and Clumped Isotopes (5 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 Tectonics (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Daniel F. Stockli (56 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Laurent Jolivet (40 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Sierd Cloetingh (37 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • George E. Gehrels (37 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Claudio Faccenna (33 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition the same number as 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 Tectonics (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Centre national de la recherche scientifique (113 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (112 papers) published 18 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Texas at Austin (102 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 9 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Arizona (99 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Potsdam (86 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 10 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, 2.47% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 41.77% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 12.03% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 13.29% of all publications and 32.91% 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

  • Cenozoic Exhumation of the Qilian Shan in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau: Evidence From Low‐Temperature Thermochronology

    Weitao Wang;Dewen Zheng;Chaopeng Li;Ying Wang

    (2020)
    101 Citations
  • Deflating the LLSVPs: Bundles of Mantle Thermochemical Plumes Rather Than Thick Stagnant “Piles”

    Anne Davaille;Barbara Romanowicz;Barbara Romanowicz;Barbara Romanowicz

    (2020)
    91 Citations
  • Evolution of Rift Systems and Their Fault Networks in Response to Surface Processes

    Unknown

    (2021)
    78 Citations
  • Present‐Day Motion of the Arabian Plate

    Unknown

    (2022)
    77 Citations
  • Oligocene Deformation of the Chuandian Terrane in the SE Margin of the Tibetan Plateau Related to the Extrusion of Indochina

    Shihu Li;Shihu Li;Tao Su;Robert A. Spicer;Robert A. Spicer;Congli Xu

    (2020)
    74 Citations
  • Spatial Slip Rate Distribution Along the SE Xianshuihe Fault, Eastern Tibet, and Earthquake Hazard Assessment

    Mingkun Bai;Mingkun Bai;Marie-Luce Chevalier;Philippe Hervé Leloup;Haibing Li

    (2021)
    70 Citations
  • Initiation and Evolution of the Shanxi Rift System in North China: Evidence From Low-Temperature Thermochronology in a Plate Reconstruction Framework

    Peng Su;Peng Su;Honglin He;Xibin Tan;Yiduo Liu

    (2021)
    67 Citations
  • Seismic Hazard Analyses From Geologic and Geomorphic Data: Current and Future Challenges

    Kristin D. Morell;Richard Styron;Mark Stirling;Jonathan Griffin;Jonathan Griffin

    (2020)
    65 Citations
  • Lithospheric Strength and Rift Migration Controls on Synrift Stratigraphy and Breakup Unconformities at Rifted Margins: Examples From Numerical Models, the Atlantic and South China Sea Margins

    (2020)
    51 Citations
  • Reconciling Orogenic Drivers for the Evolution of the Bangong-Nujiang Tethys During Middle-Late Jurassic

    Shi Min Li;Qing Wang;Di Cheng Zhu;Peter A. Cawood

    (2020)
    50 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal