What are the best journals for Earth Science?

From a 17,782-venue index, the highest-ranked Earth Science journals include Environmental Chemistry Letters, Nature Sustainability, Reviews of Geophysics, Nature Climate Change, Sustainable Production and Consumption. The top 40 of 1,257 ranked venues are listed on this page; all 40 are Scimago Q1. Each shows its open-access status and indexing, and predatory venues are excluded. For a shortlist matched to your specific paper, use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

How were these Earth Science journals ranked?

Journals are listed when both OpenAlex and Scimago file them under Earth Science, plus any documented corrections; a journal Scimago does not cover is listed on OpenAlex's word alone. 546 journals OpenAlex files under Earth Science are left out because Scimago files them only under other fields. They are ranked by Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4, then journals without one); within a quartile, journals Scimago places in Earth Science come before those it does not cover, and then OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window decides. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor, and journals flagged as predatory are excluded.

Why don't all Earth Science journals show a quartile?

Scimago doesn't cover every journal — many strong regional and open-access venues are absent from it. We show "no Scimago quartile" for those rather than hide them; it's a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

How do I find the best journal for my specific Earth Science paper?

Paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder — it returns a shortlist matched to your paper's topic from the same index, with acceptance-fit signals, open-access status, and predatory flags. A free account starts with 25 welcome credits; each run costs 15.

Earth Science · 1,257 journals ranked · top 40 listed

Best journals for Earth Science

The top 40 of 1,257 Earth Science journals, ranked by Scimago quartile, then OpenAlex cites/paper (2-year window), leaving out journals Scimago files only under other fields, drawn from a 17,782-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded; the FAQ below gives the exact ranking rule. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder (a free account starts with 25 welcome credits).

Match journals to your paper →

All Best open-access journals

1
Environmental Chemistry Letters
27.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
2
Nature Sustainability
19.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3
Reviews of Geophysics
17.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4
Nature Climate Change
12.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5
Sustainable Production and Consumption
12.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
6
Journal of Cleaner Production
11.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
7
Water Research
11.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
8
Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
11.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9
Nature Geoscience
11.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
10
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry
11.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11
Petroleum Exploration and Development
11.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
12
The Science of The Total Environment
10.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusPubMed
13
Nature Ecology & Evolution
10.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14
Earth system science data
10.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Copernicus Publications
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
15
Remote Sensing of Environment
10.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
16
Environmental Science & Technology
9.9 cites/paper · Q1 · American Chemical Society
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
17
Environment International
9.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
18
Desalination
9.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
19
Resources Conservation and Recycling
9.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
20
Global Change Biology
9.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
21
Journal of Hazardous Materials
9.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
22
Earth-Science Reviews
9.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23
Chemosphere
9.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusPubMed
24
Landscape and Urban Planning
9.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
25
One Earth
9.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
26
Environmental Impact Assessment Review
8.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27
Reviews in Aquaculture
8.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
28
ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
8.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29
Journal of Environmental Management
8.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
30
Ecological Indicators
8.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31
Global Environmental Change
8.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
32
Computers Environment and Urban Systems
8.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33
Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering
8.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusPubMed
34
Engineering Geology
8.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
35
Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering
8.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Higher Education Press
ScopusPubMed
36
Archives of Toxicology
7.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
37
Organization & Environment
7.8 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
38
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
7.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
39
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
7.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
40
Ecosystem Services
7.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.