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Environmental Sciences
South Africa
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Discipline name D-Index World Ranking Current World Ranking National Ranking Current National Ranking Publications Citations
Environmental Sciences 71 1596 1518 1 1 219 17630

Michel M. Verstraete publications per year

The chart shows the history of publications by Michel M. Verstraete between 1978 and 2020, highlighting the no. of papers published in each year and offering an overview of the publication velocity of this scholar. Michel M. Verstraete published across 43 years, from 1978 to 2020, averaging 5.2 papers a year. Output peaked at 18 publications in 2001. 7 of the 224 publications appeared in the last two years.

No. of publications
5 10 15
Bar chart. Horizontal axis: year, 1978 to 2020. Vertical axis: number of publications, 0 to 18. Peak 18 publications in 2001. 1978: 2 publications 1979: 0 publications 1980: 0 publications 1981: 1 publication 1982: 0 publications 1983: 0 publications 1984: 0 publications 1985: 0 publications 1986: 6 publications 1987: 1 publication 1988: 1 publication 1989: 4 publications 1990: 5 publications 1991: 4 publications 1992: 3 publications 1993: 4 publications 1994: 7 publications 1995: 4 publications 1996: 4 publications 1997: 2 publications 1998: 12 publications 1999: 4 publications 2000: 15 publications 2001: 18 publications 2002: 15 publications 2003: 10 publications 2004: 18 publications 2005: 7 publications 2006: 12 publications 2007: 6 publications 2008: 8 publications 2009: 9 publications 2010: 3 publications 2011: 10 publications 2012: 2 publications 2013: 5 publications 2014: 9 publications 2015: 2 publications 2016: 0 publications 2017: 1 publication 2018: 3 publications 2019: 3 publications 2020: 4 publications
1978 2020

224 publications in total across all disciplines

View publications per year as a table
Michel M. Verstraete: publications per year, 1978 to 2020
Year Publications
1978 2
1979 0
1980 0
1981 1
1982 0
1983 0
1984 0
1985 0
1986 6
1987 1
1988 1
1989 4
1990 5
1991 4
1992 3
1993 4
1994 7
1995 4
1996 4
1997 2
1998 12
1999 4
2000 15
2001 18
2002 15
2003 10
2004 18
2005 7
2006 12
2007 6
2008 8
2009 9
2010 3
2011 10
2012 2
2013 5
2014 9
2015 2
2016 0
2017 1
2018 3
2019 3
2020 4
Total 224
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Michel M. Verstraete publication distribution in Environmental Sciences in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Environmental Sciences in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Michel M. Verstraete sits on this spectrum.

No. of scientists
200 400 600
Bar chart with 66 bars. Horizontal axis: publications, 41–50 to 690+. Vertical axis: number of scientists, 0 to 617. Most scientists, 617, have 121–130 publications. The last bar groups every scientist with 690 publications or more. The highlighted bar, 211–220 publications, is where this scientist sits. 41–50 publications: 21 scientists 51–60 publications: 62 scientists 61–70 publications: 133 scientists 71–80 publications: 257 scientists 81–90 publications: 361 scientists 91–100 publications: 440 scientists 101–110 publications: 492 scientists 111–120 publications: 541 scientists 121–130 publications: 617 scientists 131–140 publications: 544 scientists 141–150 publications: 541 scientists 151–160 publications: 539 scientists 161–170 publications: 444 scientists 171–180 publications: 444 scientists 181–190 publications: 400 scientists 191–200 publications: 377 scientists 201–210 publications: 318 scientists 211–220 publications: 282 scientists 221–230 publications: 263 scientists 231–240 publications: 220 scientists 241–250 publications: 217 scientists 251–260 publications: 180 scientists 261–270 publications: 181 scientists 271–280 publications: 155 scientists 281–290 publications: 130 scientists 291–300 publications: 127 scientists 301–310 publications: 130 scientists 311–320 publications: 85 scientists 321–330 publications: 106 scientists 331–340 publications: 80 scientists 341–350 publications: 83 scientists 351–360 publications: 75 scientists 361–370 publications: 69 scientists 371–380 publications: 52 scientists 381–390 publications: 54 scientists 391–400 publications: 56 scientists 401–410 publications: 44 scientists 411–420 publications: 40 scientists 421–430 publications: 36 scientists 431–440 publications: 25 scientists 441–450 publications: 25 scientists 451–460 publications: 32 scientists 461–470 publications: 29 scientists 471–480 publications: 21 scientists 481–490 publications: 26 scientists 491–500 publications: 26 scientists 501–510 publications: 17 scientists 511–520 publications: 19 scientists 521–530 publications: 15 scientists 531–540 publications: 22 scientists 541–550 publications: 12 scientists 551–560 publications: 15 scientists 561–570 publications: 11 scientists 571–580 publications: 19 scientists 581–590 publications: 9 scientists 591–600 publications: 9 scientists 601–610 publications: 7 scientists 611–620 publications: 11 scientists 621–630 publications: 5 scientists 631–640 publications: 5 scientists 641–650 publications: 6 scientists 651–660 publications: 3 scientists 661–670 publications: 3 scientists 671–680 publications: 4 scientists 681–689 publications: 4 scientists 690+ publications: 100 scientists
41–50 publications 690+

This scientist: 219 publications — 70th percentile

70% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 690 publications or more.

View publications distribution as a table
Number of Environmental Sciences scientists by publication count, Research.com 2026 ranking edition. Based on 9,676 ranked scientists.
Publications Scientists This scientist
41–50 21
51–60 62
61–70 133
71–80 257
81–90 361
91–100 440
101–110 492
111–120 541
121–130 617
131–140 544
141–150 541
151–160 539
161–170 444
171–180 444
181–190 400
191–200 377
201–210 318
211–220 282 219
221–230 263
231–240 220
241–250 217
251–260 180
261–270 181
271–280 155
281–290 130
291–300 127
301–310 130
311–320 85
321–330 106
331–340 80
341–350 83
351–360 75
361–370 69
371–380 52
381–390 54
391–400 56
401–410 44
411–420 40
421–430 36
431–440 25
441–450 25
451–460 32
461–470 29
471–480 21
481–490 26
491–500 26
501–510 17
511–520 19
521–530 15
531–540 22
541–550 12
551–560 15
561–570 11
571–580 19
581–590 9
591–600 9
601–610 7
611–620 11
621–630 5
631–640 5
641–650 6
651–660 3
661–670 3
671–680 4
681–689 4
690+ 100
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Michel M. Verstraete D-index placement in Environmental Sciences in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Environmental Sciences scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Michel M. Verstraete sits on this spectrum.

No. of scientists
100 200 300
Bar chart with 97 bars. Horizontal axis: D-Index, 30 to 126+. Vertical axis: number of scientists, 0 to 348. Most scientists, 348, have 45 D-Index. The last bar groups every scientist with 126 D-Index or more. The highlighted bar, 71 D-Index, is where this scientist sits. 30 D-Index: 12 scientists 31 D-Index: 26 scientists 32 D-Index: 51 scientists 33 D-Index: 88 scientists 34 D-Index: 123 scientists 35 D-Index: 163 scientists 36 D-Index: 206 scientists 37 D-Index: 267 scientists 38 D-Index: 265 scientists 39 D-Index: 275 scientists 40 D-Index: 321 scientists 41 D-Index: 343 scientists 42 D-Index: 305 scientists 43 D-Index: 336 scientists 44 D-Index: 330 scientists 45 D-Index: 348 scientists 46 D-Index: 291 scientists 47 D-Index: 275 scientists 48 D-Index: 272 scientists 49 D-Index: 273 scientists 50 D-Index: 263 scientists 51 D-Index: 232 scientists 52 D-Index: 266 scientists 53 D-Index: 217 scientists 54 D-Index: 198 scientists 55 D-Index: 177 scientists 56 D-Index: 202 scientists 57 D-Index: 204 scientists 58 D-Index: 166 scientists 59 D-Index: 177 scientists 60 D-Index: 166 scientists 61 D-Index: 152 scientists 62 D-Index: 143 scientists 63 D-Index: 150 scientists 64 D-Index: 124 scientists 65 D-Index: 119 scientists 66 D-Index: 120 scientists 67 D-Index: 118 scientists 68 D-Index: 82 scientists 69 D-Index: 98 scientists 70 D-Index: 94 scientists 71 D-Index: 105 scientists 72 D-Index: 74 scientists 73 D-Index: 84 scientists 74 D-Index: 70 scientists 75 D-Index: 67 scientists 76 D-Index: 78 scientists 77 D-Index: 60 scientists 78 D-Index: 59 scientists 79 D-Index: 52 scientists 80 D-Index: 47 scientists 81 D-Index: 38 scientists 82 D-Index: 48 scientists 83 D-Index: 42 scientists 84 D-Index: 42 scientists 85 D-Index: 43 scientists 86 D-Index: 29 scientists 87 D-Index: 37 scientists 88 D-Index: 29 scientists 89 D-Index: 30 scientists 90 D-Index: 34 scientists 91 D-Index: 20 scientists 92 D-Index: 22 scientists 93 D-Index: 17 scientists 94 D-Index: 19 scientists 95 D-Index: 24 scientists 96 D-Index: 21 scientists 97 D-Index: 20 scientists 98 D-Index: 24 scientists 99 D-Index: 17 scientists 100 D-Index: 17 scientists 101 D-Index: 21 scientists 102 D-Index: 25 scientists 103 D-Index: 18 scientists 104 D-Index: 26 scientists 105 D-Index: 20 scientists 106 D-Index: 15 scientists 107 D-Index: 10 scientists 108 D-Index: 13 scientists 109 D-Index: 15 scientists 110 D-Index: 12 scientists 111 D-Index: 8 scientists 112 D-Index: 7 scientists 113 D-Index: 9 scientists 114 D-Index: 6 scientists 115 D-Index: 12 scientists 116 D-Index: 7 scientists 117 D-Index: 8 scientists 118 D-Index: 3 scientists 119 D-Index: 5 scientists 120 D-Index: 7 scientists 121 D-Index: 2 scientists 122 D-Index: 4 scientists 123 D-Index: 8 scientists 124 D-Index: 7 scientists 125 D-Index: 9 scientists 126+ D-Index: 92 scientists
30 D-Index 126+

This scientist: 71 D-Index — 84th percentile

84% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 126 D-Index or more.

View D-Index distribution as a table
Number of Environmental Sciences scientists by D-index, Research.com 2026 ranking edition. Based on 9,676 ranked scientists.
D-Index Scientists This scientist
30 12
31 26
32 51
33 88
34 123
35 163
36 206
37 267
38 265
39 275
40 321
41 343
42 305
43 336
44 330
45 348
46 291
47 275
48 272
49 273
50 263
51 232
52 266
53 217
54 198
55 177
56 202
57 204
58 166
59 177
60 166
61 152
62 143
63 150
64 124
65 119
66 120
67 118
68 82
69 98
70 94
71 105 71
72 74
73 84
74 70
75 67
76 78
77 60
78 59
79 52
80 47
81 38
82 48
83 42
84 42
85 43
86 29
87 37
88 29
89 30
90 34
91 20
92 22
93 17
94 19
95 24
96 21
97 20
98 24
99 17
100 17
101 21
102 25
103 18
104 26
105 20
106 15
107 10
108 13
109 15
110 12
111 8
112 7
113 9
114 6
115 12
116 7
117 8
118 3
119 5
120 7
121 2
122 4
123 8
124 7
125 9
126+ 92
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Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in South Africa Leader Award

Overview

Michel M. Verstraete is a researcher affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Their work mainly focuses on environmental science and engineering, contributing to various subfields such as global and planetary change, ecology, aerospace engineering, ecological modeling, and atmospheric science.

Their research themes include remote sensing in agriculture, calibration and measurement techniques, land use and ecosystem services, species distribution and climate change, atmospheric aerosols and clouds, atmospheric and environmental gas dynamics, as well as atmospheric ozone and climate.

Michel M. Verstraete has published multiple papers, with notable recent works including:

  • Parametric Models to Characterize the Phenology of the Lowveld Savanna at Skukuza, South Africa (2020) in Remote Sensing
  • Replacing missing values in the standard Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) radiometric camera-by-camera cloud mask (RCCM) data product (2020) in Earth system science data
  • Improving the usability of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) L1B2 Georectified Radiance Product (2000-present) in land surface applications (2020) in Earth system science data

They have frequently collaborated with a range of co-authors, including Hugo De Lemos, L. A. Hunt, Mary C. Scholes, Larry Di Girolamo, and Veljko Jovanović.

Their publications have appeared mainly in the journals Earth system science data and Remote Sensing, reflecting their engagement with earth observation data and applications.

Best Publications

  • Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument description and experiment overview

    D.J. Diner;J.C. Beckert;T.H. Reilly;C.J. Bruegge

  • The Concept of Essential Climate Variables in Support of Climate Research, Applications, and Policy

    Stephan Bojinski;Michel Verstraete;Thomas C. Peterson;Carolin Richter

  • GEMI: a non-linear index to monitor global vegetation from satellites

    B. Pinty;M. M. Verstraete

  • Coupled surface-atmosphere reflectance (CSAR) model: 2. Semiempirical surface model usable with NOAA advanced very high resolution radiometer data

    Hafizur Rahman;Bernard Pinty;Michel M. Verstraete

  • Techniques for the retrieval of aerosol properties over land and ocean using multiangle imaging

    J.V. Martonchik;D.J. Diner;R.A. Kahn;T.P. Ackerman

  • Designing optimal spectral indexes for remote sensing applications

    M. M. Verstraete;B. Pinty

  • Estimation of vegetation canopy leaf area index and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation from atmosphere‐corrected MISR data

    Y. Knyazikhin;J. V. Martonchik;D. J. Diner;R. B. Myneni

  • Optical remote sensing of vegetation: Modeling, caveats, and algorithms

    R.B. Myneni;S. Maggion;J. Iaquinta;J.L. Privette

  • The structural and radiative consistency of three-dimensional tree reconstructions from terrestrial lidar

    Jean-François Côté;Jean-Luc Widlowski;Richard A. Fournier;Michel M. Verstraete

  • Third Radiation Transfer Model Intercomparison (RAMI) exercise: Documenting progress in canopy reflectance models

    Jean-Luc Widlowski;Malcolm Taberner;Bernard Pinty;Véronique Bruniquel-Pinel

  • Raytran: a Monte Carlo ray-tracing model to compute light scattering in three-dimensional heterogeneous media

    Y.M. Govaerts;M.M. Verstraete

  • Potential and limitations of information extraction on the terrestrial biosphere from satellite remote sensing

    Michel M. Verstraete;Bernard Pinty;Ranga B. Myneni

  • Advanced vegetation indices optimized for up-coming sensors: Design, performance, and applications

    N. Gobron;B. Pinty;M.M. Verstraete;J.-L. Widlowski

  • Estimating leaf area distribution in savanna trees from terrestrial LiDAR measurements

    Martin Béland;Jean-Luc Widlowski;Richard A. Fournier;Jean-François Côté

  • On seeing the wood from the leaves and the role of voxel size in determining leaf area distribution of forests with terrestrial LiDAR

    Martin Béland;Martin Béland;Dennis D. Baldocchi;Jean-Luc Widlowski;Richard A. Fournier

  • A physical model of the bidirectional reflectance of vegetation canopies: 1. Theory

    Michel M. Verstraete;Bernard Pinty;Robert E. Dickinson

  • Evaluation of the performance of various vegetation indices to retrieve vegetation cover from AVHRR data

    Catherine Leprieur;Michel M. Verstraete;Bernard Pinty

  • A climate model-based review of drought in the Sahel: Desertification, the re-greening and climate change

    Alessandra Giannini;Michela Biasutti;Michel M. Verstraete

  • The fourth phase of the radiative transfer model intercomparison (RAMI) exercise: Actual canopy scenarios and conformity testing

    Jean Luc Widlowski;Corrado Mio;Mathias Disney;Jennifer Adams

  • A physical model for predicting bidirectional reflectances over bare soil

    Bernard Pinty;Michel M. Verstraete;Robert Earl Dickinson

  • Determination of land and ocean reflective, radiative, and biophysical properties using multiangle imaging

    J.V. Martonchik;D.J. Diner;B. Pinty;M.M. Verstraete

  • Described is the concept of Essential Climate Variables developed under the Global Climate Observing System for a range of applications, as well as to provide an empirical basis for understanding past, current, and possible future climate variability and change. THE CONCEPT OF ESSENTIAL CLIMATE VARIABLES IN SUPPORT OF CLIMATE RESEARCH, APPLICATIONS, AND POLICY

    Michel VerStraete;Michael ZeMp

Frequent Co-Authors

Nadine Gobron
Nadine Gobron European Commission Joint Research Centre
Bernard Pinty
Bernard Pinty University of Clermont Auvergne
Jean-Luc Widlowski
Jean-Luc Widlowski European Commission Joint Research Centre
David J. Diner
David J. Diner Jet Propulsion Lab
John V. Martonchik
John V. Martonchik Jet Propulsion Lab
Anthony B. Davis
Anthony B. Davis California Institute of Technology
Michael E. Schaepman
Michael E. Schaepman University of Zurich
Ralph A. Kahn
Ralph A. Kahn Goddard Space Flight Center
Massimo Menenti
Massimo Menenti Delft University of Technology
Robert J. Scholes
Robert J. Scholes University of the Witwatersrand

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