Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2021
Pollution journal rankings 2021
58 ranked journals · Subfield in Environmental Science
Pollution has 58 ranked journals in 2021. The median journal has an OJR of 0.84, below the world average of 1.00, up 0.01 on 2020; Q1 starts at OJR 1.79. The top three are Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology, and Environmental Chemistry Letters.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Environmental Science (11)
58 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Trends in Environmental Analytical ChemistryElsevier BV · Netherlands | 3.79Q1 | 12.70 3.30 up from 2020 | 58 | 23% | $4,430 | ||
2Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/TechnologySpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 3.49Q1 | 16.42 6.71 up from 2020 | 102 | 37% | $5,190 | ||
3Environmental Chemistry LettersSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 3.10Q1 | 14.94 5.15 up from 2020 | 433 | 31% | $3,190 | ||
4Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and TechnologyTaylor & Francis · United States | 3.07Q1 | 13.05 1.39 up from 2020 | 256 | 29% | — | ||
5Water ResearchElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.83Q1 | 12.31 0.54 up from 2020 | 3,048 | 35% | $4,660 | ||
6Journal of Hazardous MaterialsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.59Q1 | 12.19 2.04 up from 2020 | 5,529 | 16% | $4,340 | ||
7The Science of The Total EnvironmentElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.46Q1 | 10.75 2.28 up from 2020 | 18,531 | 33% | $4,250 | ||
8Journal of Environmental ManagementElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.34Q1 | 8.79 1.08 up from 2020 | 4,542 | 27% | $3,750 | ||
9Current Pollution ReportsSpringer Science+Business Media · Switzerland | 2.18Q1 | 9.77 2.95 up from 2020 | 94 | 35% | $4,990 | ||
10Environmental PollutionElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.15Q1 | 9.31 0.56 up from 2020 | 5,596 | 25% | $4,090 | ||
11Bioresource TechnologyElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.07Q1 | 11.14 1.23 up from 2020 | 4,876 | 16% | $4,880 | ||
12Water Research XOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.98Q1 | 9.40 1.27 down from 2020 | 71 | 100% | $3,943 | ||
13Environmental Sciences EuropeOASpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.85Q1 | 6.15 1.37 down from 2020 | 295 | 100% | $3,290 | ||
14Environmental Technology & InnovationOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.81Q1 | 7.61 1.02 up from 2020 | 826 | 30% | $2,930 | ||
15ChemosphereElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.79Q1 | 8.22 0.86 up from 2020 | 8,531 | 19% | $4,010 | ||
16Energy Sustainability and SocietyOASpringer Nature · Germany | 1.63Q2 | 5.56 1.55 up from 2020 | 133 | 100% | $2,190 | ||
17Emerging contaminantsOAKeAi · Netherlands | 1.54Q2 | 6.39 1.39 up from 2020 | 84 | 100% | $1,100 | ||
18Marine Pollution BulletinElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.50Q2 | 7.16 0.60 up from 2020 | 2,640 | 34% | $3,740 | ||
19Energy Sustainable Development/Energy for sustainable developmentElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.49Q2 | 6.44no change | 269 | 28% | $2,750 | ||
20Frontiers of Environmental Science & EngineeringHigher Education Press · China | 1.28Q2 | 6.13 0.14 down from 2020 | 364 | 20% | $2,490 | ||
21EnvironmentsOAMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute · Switzerland | 1.26Q2 | 4.53 1.13 up from 2020 | 362 | 100% | $2,172 | ||
22Aquatic ToxicologyElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.25Q2 | 4.87 0.53 down from 2020 | 762 | 30% | $3,320 | ||
23Environmental Chemistry and EcotoxicologyOAElsevier BV · China | 1.22Q2 | 4.80 3.68 up from 2020 | 41 | 100% | $700 | ||
24International Biodeterioration & BiodegradationElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.19Q2 | 4.87 0.15 up from 2020 | 514 | 22% | $3,870 | ||
25Environmental Geochemistry and HealthSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.16Q2 | 5.11 0.94 up from 2020 | 705 | 25% | $2,590 | ||
26Environmental Monitoring and AssessmentSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.07Q2 | 4.22 1.16 up from 2020 | 2,287 | 17% | $2,790 | ||
27Development EngineeringElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.03Q2 | 2.41 0.59 down from 2020 | 35 | 100% | $2,220 | ||
28BiodegradationSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.87Q2 | 3.71 0.76 down from 2020 | 102 | 24% | $3,590 | ||
29Journal of Environmental Health Science and EngineeringSpringer International Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.87Q2 | 3.91 0.89 up from 2020 | 281 | 100% | $3,890 | ||
30Water Air & Soil PollutionSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.81Q3 | 3.37 0.30 up from 2020 | 1,258 | 19% | $3,890 | ||
31Journal of Renewable EnergyHindawi Publishing Corporation · United Kingdom | 0.80Q3 | 3.50 1.67 up from 2020 | 34 | 100% | $820 | ||
32Integrated Environmental Assessment and ManagementWiley · United States | 0.76Q3 | 2.67 0.45 up from 2020 | 334 | 44% | $3,500 | ||
33Environmental Pollutants and BioavailabilityOATaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.71Q3 | 3.07 1.02 up from 2020 | 58 | 100% | $1,200 | ||
34Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and ToxicologySpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 0.69Q3 | 3.12 0.67 up from 2020 | 787 | 12% | $3,990 | ||
35Journal of EnergyHindawi Publishing Corporation · United Kingdom | 0.68Q3 | 2.11 0.53 down from 2020 | 48 | 100% | $820 | ||
36Water Environment ResearchWiley · United States | 0.67Q3 | 3.18 0.81 up from 2020 | 576 | 12% | $3,240 | ||
37Current Opinion in Environmental Science & HealthElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.66Q3 | 8.92 1.51 up from 2020 | 203 | 37% | $3,700 | ||
38Chemistry and EcologyTaylor & Francis · United States | 0.66Q3 | 2.70 0.46 up from 2020 | 188 | 5% | — | ||
39Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part APublisher not listed | 0.61Q3 | 2.58 0.36 up from 2020 | 420 | 6% | — | ||
40Soil and Sediment Contamination An International JournalTaylor & Francis · United States | 0.60Q3 | 3.29 1.19 up from 2020 | 180 | 5% | — | ||
41Environmental Quality ManagementWiley · United States | 0.54Q3 | 1.58 0.38 up from 2020 | 175 | 6% | $3,300 | ||
42Bioremediation JournalTaylor & Francis · United States | 0.53Q3 | 2.58 0.35 up from 2020 | 68 | 8% | — | ||
43Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry ReviewsTaylor & Francis · Netherlands | 0.48Q3 | 1.75 0.15 up from 2020 | 122 | 18% | — | ||
44Environmental Engineering ScienceMary Ann Liebert, Inc. · United States | 0.48Q3 | 1.87 0.09 down from 2020 | 436 | 12% | — | ||
45CLEAN - Soil Air WaterWiley · Germany | 0.45Q4 | 1.87 0.19 up from 2020 | 216 | 22% | $4,220 | ||
46Environmental Health Engineering and ManagementOAKerman Medical University · Iran | 0.40Q4 | 2.17 0.54 up from 2020 | 97 | 100% | — | ||
47Spanish Journal of Soil ScienceOAUniversia · Switzerland | 0.38Q4 | 1.12 0.15 down from 2020 | 55 | 100% | $1,413 | ||
48PollutionOAPublisher not listed | 0.36Q4 | 1.54 0.06 up from 2020 | 182 | 100% | — | ||
49Journal of Energy in Southern AfricaOAUniversity of Cape Town · South Africa | 0.33Q4 | 1.23 0.14 up from 2020 | 93 | 100% | $271 | ||
50Journal of Environmental ProtectionOAScientific Research Publishing · United States | 0.27Q4 | 0.88 0.05 up from 2020 | 257 | 100% | — |
Subfields of Environmental Science, with Pollution highlighted.
- Ecology279
- Global and Planetary Change221
- Water Science and Technology101
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis93
- Pollution58
- Nature and Landscape Conservation57
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law52
- Environmental Engineering47
- Waste Management and Disposal22
- Environmental Chemistry8
- Ecological Modeling7
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
25 additional Pollution journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 58
- Window papers (baseline)
- 49,249 +31.0% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 0.839 +7.7% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 28 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 39 | 41 | 42 | 44 | 47 | 48 | 51 | 53 | 56 | 58 | 58 | 59 | 61 | 58 | 61 | 67 | 69 | 67 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 11,570 | 12,501 | 12,964 | 14,045 | 14,764 | 16,051 | 17,166 | 18,647 | 20,488 | 22,398 | 24,122 | 25,933 | 27,933 | 30,140 | 32,685 | 34,957 | 36,086 | 36,732 | 37,609 | 39,899 | 43,429 | 49,249 | 56,189 | 62,921 | 68,045 | 73,512 | |
| Median OJR | 0.785 | 0.843 | 0.89 | 0.96 | 0.855 | 0.864 | 0.945 | 0.933 | 0.921 | 0.789 | 0.90 | 1.01 | 0.878 | 0.917 | 0.919 | 0.875 | 0.87 | 0.909 | 0.78 | 0.831 | 0.834 | 0.839 | 0.935 | 0.911 | 0.927 | 1.04 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.