A university’s position within the ranking is determined by aggregating the D-indexes (Discipline H-indexes) of all ranking scholars affiliated with the institution, whose primary publication area falls within the domain of Earth Science. The D-index is a refined metric that exclusively considers publications and citation data pertinent to the discipline under examination, ensuring an accurate representation of scholarly impact within Earth Science.
Scope of Research Considered
In assembling the ranking, a total of 279,971 scientist profiles were initially identified from a diverse range of bibliometric sources. From these, a focused analysis was conducted on 32,177 scientists who specialize specifically in Earth Science. The qualifying D-index threshold for individual scientist inclusion was set at 30, with the majority of their tier publications required to fall within Earth Science.
Further considerations included each scientist's awards and achievements within their field, thereby adding qualitative depth to the quantitative measures. Notably, the D-index threshold for selecting top researchers is adjusted incrementally by 10 points depending on the estimated total number of scholars in each discipline, while consistently incorporating the top 1% of leading scholars. Additionally, a proximity criterion ensures the D-index is within 30% or less of the scientist’s overall H-index, aligning disciplinary specialty with general research output.
Additional Verification Practices
At Research.com, we recognize that raw bibliometric data alone cannot serve as an absolute measure of a scholar's output. Consequently, all scientist profiles were meticulously manually verified and cross-referenced against publications catalogued in a wide range of trustworthy sources. While the number of papers published in prominent journals and conference proceedings does not directly affect rankings, it serves as an important secondary signal of a researcher’s substantive contribution to Earth Science.
The final position in the ranking is established using each researcher’s H-index, calculated based on information aggregated principally from OpenAlex and CrossRef—two of the most prominent and widely recognized bibliometric databases available to the global research community.
For further details on the comprehensive methodology employed, we encourage readers to visit our methodology page.
Research.com’s Mission
Research.com is dedicated to motivating scientists, business leaders, and policymakers worldwide to explore the trajectories of leading experts in research. Our mission is to provide an authoritative platform that enables the global research community to identify top specialists in specific disciplines, across various countries, and within individual academic institutions. By illuminating these insights, we seek to foster improved collaboration, informed decision-making, and enhanced support for cutting-edge scientific endeavor.
Summary of Key Results
- Top 3 Institutions by Number of Leading Scientists:
- China University of Geosciences (81 scientists)
- The University of Texas at Austin (76 scientists)
- ETH Zurich (72 scientists)
- Most Prominent Scholars in Earth Science Worldwide Represent:
- Xi'an Jiaotong University
- University of Technology Sydney
- University of Hong Kong
- University of California, Berkeley
- Utrecht University
- Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
- Pennsylvania State University
- University of California, Los Angeles
- National Taiwan University
- Princeton University
- Top Individual Scholars:
- Professor Hai Cheng, Xi'an Jiaotong University – D-index of 144
- Biswajeet Pradhan, University of Technology Sydney – D-index of 140
- Fu-Yuan Wu, Chinese Academy of Sciences – D-index of 138
- Aggregate Metrics:
- Average total D-index for top 5% universities: 2401 (compared to 375 average for all 845 institutions)
- Average number of published Earth Science articles by scientists affiliated with top 5% universities: 9,925 (versus 1,557 average across all institutions)
- Average number of citations for researchers affiliated with top 1% universities: 831,661 (compared to 80,202 average for all universities)
