Top 20 Oceanography Journals of 2022

Whether you are trying to decide where to publish your research findings, searching for a thought-provoking publication to share at journal club, or simply interested in exploring the latest literature, this article is likely to help you to achieve your aims. We have outlined the rankings of the best journals from the field of Oceanography according to impact factor, Google’s h5-index, and the scoring system of the research group SCImago.

Note that this article focuses on the “general” rankings of scientific journals related to Oceanography. If you would prefer to consider the rankings of journals dedicated to particular sub-topics within the field then this article may not satisfy your needs.

If the accessibility of a journal is of importance to you, keep in mind that the journals we have listed may not have open access status.

Historically, quantitative metrics such as impact factor have provided an objective method for comparing the relative influence and prestige of competing journals. However, the quality of a journal should be assessed holistically and not be based on metrics alone.

In addition to considering the data in this article, we encourage you to visit the website of each journal where you can learn about its purpose and scope, editorial board and practices, and detailed metrics beyond impact factor, which will better inform your search.

Google ranks scientific journals using the h5-index, an index that considers publications in the journal over the past 5 years and that is intended to take into account both the number and quality of publications.

Google’s h5-index value is calculated to maximize both the number of published papers and the number of citations. According to wikipedia, the “h-index is defined as the maximum value of h such that the given author/journal has published h papers that have each been cited at least h times.”

SCImago, a data science and visualization research group from Spain, has also ranked the top journals in Oceanography. Their most recent release is for the year 2021.

The SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) considers not only the number of citations but also the relative prestige of the citation sources, with greater rank enhancement provided by citations from high prestige journals. The SJR is normalized to 1 with an SJR greater than 1 indicating “above average” citation potential.

Data regarding the impact factor of each journal represents the current two-year impact factor as identified by the Journal Citation Reports. Check out our article on the history, definition, and implications of impact factor for more information on the metric.

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Top 20 Oceanography Journals Ranked by Google (2022)

1. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans – h5-index: 55
2. ICES Journal of Marine Science – h5-index: 54
3. Limnology and Oceanography – h5-index: 52
4. Annual Review of Marine Science – h5-index: 49
5. Ocean Sciences Meeting – h5-index: 49
6. Global Biogeochemical Cycles – h5-index: 46
7. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science – h5-index: 44
8. Journal of Physical Oceanography – h5-index: 44
9. Progress in Oceanography – h5-index: 42
10. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography – h5-index: 40
11. Marine Geology – h5-index: 39
12. Ocean Modelling – h5-index: 37
13. Oceanography – h5-index: 35
14. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers – h5-index: 34
15. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology – h5-index: 34
16. Journal of Marine Systems – h5-index: 33
17. Continental Shelf Research – h5-index: 32
18. Ocean Science – h5-index: 31
19. Marine Chemistry – h5-index: 30
20. Paleoceanography – h5-index: 29

Top 20 Oceanography Journals Ranked by SCImago (2021)

1. Annual Review of Marine Science – Journal Ranking: 4.801
2. Limnology And Oceanography Letters – Journal Ranking: 3.628
3. Fish and Fisheries – Journal Ranking: 2.242
4. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water – Journal Ranking: 1.839
5. Meteorological Monographs – Journal Ranking: 1.754
6. Journal of Physical Oceanography – Journal Ranking: 1.616
7. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology – Journal Ranking: 1.568
8. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans – Journal Ranking: 1.522
9. Marine Pollution Bulletin – Journal Ranking: 1.508
10. Limnology and Oceanography – Journal Ranking: 1.482
11. Marine and Petroleum Geology – Journal Ranking: 1.424
12. Elementa – Journal Ranking: 1.373
13. Global and Planetary Change – Journal Ranking: 1.371
14. Ocean Modelling – Journal Ranking: 1.364
15. Frontiers in Marine Science – Journal Ranking: 1.355
16. Ocean Science – Journal Ranking: 1.303
17. Marine Chemistry – Journal Ranking: 1.272
18. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology – Journal Ranking: 1.076
19. Oceanography – Journal Ranking: 1.034
20. Marine Geology – Journal Ranking: 1.032

Top 50 Oceanography Journals Ranked by Impact Factor (2022)

1. Annual Review of Marine Science – Impact Factor: 13.850
2. Oceanography and Marine Biology – Impact Factor: 8.000
3. Limnology and Oceanography Letters – Impact Factor: 7.875
4. Limnology and Oceanography – Impact Factor: 4.745
5. Progress in Oceanography – Impact Factor: 4.080
6. Marine Chemistry – Impact Factor: 3.807
7. Ocean Engineering – Impact Factor: 3.795
8. Ocean Modelling – Impact Factor: 3.686
9. ICES Journal of Marine Science – Impact Factor: 3.593
10. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering – Impact Factor: 3.554
11. Marine Geology – Impact Factor: 3.548
12. Journal of Operational Oceanography – Impact Factor: 3.471
13. Ocean Science – Impact Factor: 3.416
14. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans – Impact Factor: 3.405
15. Journal of Physical Oceanography – Impact Factor: 3.373
16. Ocean & Coastal Management – Impact Factor: 3.284
17. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology – Impact Factor: 3.277
18. Applied Ocean Research – Impact Factor: 2.979
19. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers – Impact Factor: 2.955
20. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science – Impact Factor: 2.929
21. Marine Ecology Progress Series – Impact Factor: 2.824
22. Fisheries Oceanography – Impact Factor: 2.786
23. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Topical Studies in Oceanography – Impact Factor: 2.732
24. Marine Geophysical Research – Impact Factor: 2.693
25. Marine Georesources & Geotechnology – Impact Factor: 2.673
26. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods – Impact Factor: 2.634
27. Environmental Fluid Mechanics – Impact Factor: 2.551
28. Journal of Marine Systems – Impact Factor: 2.542
29. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering – Impact Factor: 2.458
30. Journal of Plankton Research – Impact Factor: 2.455
31. Oceanologia – Impact Factor: 2.427
32. Continental Shelf Research – Impact Factor: 2.391
33. Oceanography – Impact Factor: 2.335
34. Ocean Dynamics – Impact Factor: 2.195
35. Journal of Sea Research – Impact Factor: 2.108
36. Marine and Freshwater Research – Impact Factor: 2.070
37. Atmosphere: Ocean – Impact Factor: 2.058
38. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography – Impact Factor: 2.000
39. Journal of Navigation – Impact Factor: 1.995
40. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research – Impact Factor: 1.842
41. Journal of Oceanography – Impact Factor: 1.840
42. Geo-Marine Letters – Impact Factor: 1.836
43. Marine Geodesy – Impact Factor: 1.667
44. Bulletin of Marine Science – Impact Factor: 1.632
45. Polar Research – Impact Factor: 1.612
46. Acta Oceanologica Sinica – Impact Factor: 1.431
47. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans – Impact Factor: 1.319
48. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology – Impact Factor: 1.265
49. Helgoland Marine Research – Impact Factor: 1.241
50. Ocean Science Journal – Impact Factor: 1.053

Interested in learning about the rankings of journals from other fields? Consider checking out our other journal rankings.

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