World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
83
Citations
22271
World Ranking
435
National Ranking
232

James Leonard Best publication distribution in Earth Science in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Earth Science in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where James Leonard Best sits on this spectrum.

38–47 publications: 5 scientists 48–57 publications: 33 scientists 58–67 publications: 94 scientists 68–77 publications: 161 scientists 78–87 publications: 278 scientists 88–97 publications: 376 scientists 98–107 publications: 404 scientists 108–117 publications: 484 scientists 118–127 publications: 540 scientists 128–137 publications: 557 scientists 138–147 publications: 491 scientists 148–157 publications: 495 scientists 158–167 publications: 458 scientists 168–177 publications: 490 scientists 178–187 publications: 414 scientists 188–197 publications: 401 scientists 198–207 publications: 333 scientists 208–217 publications: 292 scientists 218–227 publications: 290 scientists 228–237 publications: 262 scientists 238–247 publications: 243 scientists 248–257 publications: 208 scientists 258–267 publications: 185 scientists 268–277 publications: 147 scientists 278–287 publications: 128 scientists 288–297 publications: 119 scientists 298–307 publications: 120 scientists 308–317 publications: 107 scientists 318–327 publications: 93 scientists 328–337 publications: 87 scientists 338–347 publications: 64 scientists 348–357 publications: 87 scientists 358–367 publications: 60 scientists 368–377 publications: 60 scientists 378–387 publications: 34 scientists 388–397 publications: 50 scientists 398–407 publications: 44 scientists 408–417 publications: 31 scientists 418–427 publications: 39 scientists 428–437 publications: 27 scientists 438–447 publications: 36 scientists 448–457 publications: 27 scientists 458–467 publications: 29 scientists 468–477 publications: 30 scientists 478–487 publications: 19 scientists 488–497 publications: 15 scientists 498–507 publications: 18 scientists 508–517 publications: 19 scientists 518–527 publications: 16 scientists 528–537 publications: 10 scientists 538–547 publications: 11 scientists 548–557 publications: 14 scientists 558–567 publications: 11 scientists 568–577 publications: 7 scientists 578–587 publications: 14 scientists 588–597 publications: 5 scientists 598–602 publications: 4 scientists 603+ publications: 100 scientists
38 publications 603+

This scientist: 492 publications — 97th percentile

97% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 603 publications or more.

James Leonard Best D-index placement in Earth Science in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Earth Science scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where James Leonard Best sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index: 144 scientists 31 D-Index: 215 scientists 32 D-Index: 278 scientists 33 D-Index: 379 scientists 34 D-Index: 366 scientists 35 D-Index: 372 scientists 36 D-Index: 389 scientists 37 D-Index: 366 scientists 38 D-Index: 344 scientists 39 D-Index: 349 scientists 40 D-Index: 296 scientists 41 D-Index: 289 scientists 42 D-Index: 277 scientists 43 D-Index: 279 scientists 44 D-Index: 248 scientists 45 D-Index: 257 scientists 46 D-Index: 212 scientists 47 D-Index: 202 scientists 48 D-Index: 207 scientists 49 D-Index: 204 scientists 50 D-Index: 183 scientists 51 D-Index: 178 scientists 52 D-Index: 182 scientists 53 D-Index: 178 scientists 54 D-Index: 163 scientists 55 D-Index: 117 scientists 56 D-Index: 163 scientists 57 D-Index: 120 scientists 58 D-Index: 113 scientists 59 D-Index: 136 scientists 60 D-Index: 135 scientists 61 D-Index: 96 scientists 62 D-Index: 103 scientists 63 D-Index: 83 scientists 64 D-Index: 103 scientists 65 D-Index: 83 scientists 66 D-Index: 89 scientists 67 D-Index: 92 scientists 68 D-Index: 89 scientists 69 D-Index: 78 scientists 70 D-Index: 75 scientists 71 D-Index: 53 scientists 72 D-Index: 62 scientists 73 D-Index: 54 scientists 74 D-Index: 35 scientists 75 D-Index: 52 scientists 76 D-Index: 50 scientists 77 D-Index: 32 scientists 78 D-Index: 37 scientists 79 D-Index: 20 scientists 80 D-Index: 33 scientists 81 D-Index: 36 scientists 82 D-Index: 34 scientists 83 D-Index: 34 scientists 84 D-Index: 24 scientists 85 D-Index: 19 scientists 86 D-Index: 18 scientists 87 D-Index: 26 scientists 88 D-Index: 30 scientists 89 D-Index: 17 scientists 90 D-Index: 21 scientists 91 D-Index: 19 scientists 92 D-Index: 15 scientists 93 D-Index: 14 scientists 94 D-Index: 20 scientists 95 D-Index: 9 scientists 96 D-Index: 10 scientists 97 D-Index: 15 scientists 98 D-Index: 13 scientists 99 D-Index: 3 scientists 100 D-Index: 13 scientists 101 D-Index: 3 scientists 102 D-Index: 9 scientists 103 D-Index: 4 scientists 104 D-Index: 6 scientists 105 D-Index: 6 scientists 106+ D-Index: 98 scientists
30 D-Index 106+

This scientist: 83 D-Index — 96th percentile

96% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 106 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2015 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Overview

James Leonard Best is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States. Their research primarily focuses on Earth and Planetary Sciences with 75 publications, and Environmental Science with 66 publications. Their subfields include Earth-Surface Processes, Ecology, Atmospheric Science, Soil Science, and Global and Planetary Change.

The scientist has contributed extensively to topics related to Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes, Geological formations and processes, Soil erosion and sediment transport, Geology and Paleoclimatology Research, Aeolian processes and effects, Flood Risk Assessment and Management, and Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies.

Frequent coauthors include:

  • Daniel R. Parsons
  • Kenneth T. Christensen
  • Andrew Nicholas
  • Gianluca Blois
  • Nathaniel Bristow

James Leonard Best's frequent publication venues reflect a focus on sediment and fluid dynamics, featuring:

  • Sedimentology
  • Journal of Fluid Mechanics
  • Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface
  • Geology
  • Water Resources Research

Selected recent papers include:

  • "River bank instability from unsustainable sand mining in the lower Mekong River" (2020, Nature Sustainability)
  • "Sand, gravel, and UN Sustainable Development Goals: Conflicts, synergies, and pathways forward" (2021, One Earth)
  • "Dunes in the world's big rivers are characterized by low-angle lee-side slopes and a complex shape" (2020, Nature Geoscience)
  • "River Damming Impacts on Fish Habitat and Associated Conservation Measures" (2023, Reviews of Geophysics)
  • "An integrated process-based model of flutes and tool marks in deep-water environments: Implications for palaeohydraulics, the Bouma sequence and hybrid event beds" (2020, Sedimentology)

James Leonard Best has also published books with notable presses. These include:

  • "The Economy of a Norse Settlement in the Outer Hebrides" (2020, Oxbow Books)
  • "The World Atlas of Rivers, Estuaries, and Deltas" (2024, Princeton University Press)

Recognition for their scientific contributions includes being named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2015.

Best Publications

  • Anthropogenic stresses on the world’s big rivers

    Jim Best

  • The fluid dynamics of river dunes: A review and some future research directions

    Jim Best

  • Sediment transport and bed morphology at river channel confluences

    James L. Best

  • Mean flow and turbulence structure over fixed, two-dimensional dunes: implications for sediment transport and bedform stability

    S. J. Bennett;J. L. Best

  • Separation Zone at Open‐Channel Junctions

    James Leonard Best;Ian Reid

  • Flow Dynamics at River Channel Confluences: Implications for Sediment Transport and Bed Morphology

    James L. Best

  • Three-Dimensional Sedimentary Architecture of a Large, Mid-Channel Sand Braid Bar, Jamuna River, Bangladesh

    James Leonard Best;Philip J. Ashworth;Charles S. Bristow;Julie Roden

  • Morphological evolution and dynamics of a large, sand braid-bar, Jamuna River, Bangladesh

    Philip J. Ashworth;James Leonard Best;Julie E. Roden;Charles S. Bristow

  • Depositional processes, bedform development and hybrid bed formation in rapidly decelerated cohesive (mud–sand) sediment flows

    Jaco H. Baas;James L. Best;Jeffrey Peakall

  • Braided rivers: perspectives and problems

    C. S. Bristow;James Leonard Best

  • Morphology and flow fields of three-dimensional dunes, Rio Paraná, Argentina: Results from simultaneous multibeam echo sounding and acoustic Doppler current profiling

    Daniel R. Parsons;James L. Best;Oscar Orfeo;Richard J. Hardy

  • Flow, sediment transport and bedform dynamics over the transition from dunes to upper‐stage plane beds: implications for the formation of planar laminae

    John S. Bridge;James Leonard Best

  • Effects of Bed Discordance on Flow Dynamics at Open Channel Confluences

    Pascale Biron;James Leonard Best;André G. Roy

  • A Phase Diagram for Turbulent, Transitional, and Laminar Clay Suspension Flows

    Jaco H. Baas;James L. Best;Jeffrey Peakall;Mi Wang

  • River bank instability from unsustainable sand mining in the lower Mekong River

    Christopher R. Hackney;Stephen E. Darby;Daniel R. Parsons;Julian Leyland

  • Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity

    Stephen E. Darby;Christopher R. Hackney;Julian Leyland;Matti Kummu

  • Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT): A processing and visualization suite for moving-vessel ADCP measurements

    D. R. Parsons;P. R. Jackson;J. A. Czuba;F. L. Engel

  • Three-dimensional structure of flow at a confluence of river channels with discordant beds

    Bernard De Serres;André G Roy;Pascale M Biron;James L Best

  • Scour in large braided rivers and the recognition of sequence stratigraphic boundaries

    James L. Best;Philip J. Ashworth

  • An experimental study of turbulent flow over a low-angle dune

    Jim Best;Ray Kostaschuk

  • Coherent Flow Structures in Open Channels

    Philip Ashworth;S.J. Bennett;J.L. Best;S.J. McLelland

  • The fluid dynamics of river dunes : A review and some future research directions : Marine sandware and river dune dynamics

    Jim Best

Frequent Co-Authors

Daniel R. Parsons
Daniel R. Parsons University of Hull
Philip Ashworth
Philip Ashworth University of Brighton
Kenneth T. Christensen
Kenneth T. Christensen University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Andrew Nicholas
Andrew Nicholas University of Exeter
Stuart N. Lane
Stuart N. Lane University of Lausanne
Jeff Peakall
Jeff Peakall University of Leeds
Jaco H. Baas
Jaco H. Baas Bangor University
Gregory H. Sambrook Smith
Gregory H. Sambrook Smith University of Birmingham
Marcelo H. Garcia
Marcelo H. Garcia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ray Kostaschuk
Ray Kostaschuk Simon Fraser University

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