Abstract
The earth and planetary sciences have shown remarkable changes during the present century. The relative coverage of earth and earth-planetary science in the journalScience (from the USA) was studied quantitatively at 5-year intervals for the period 1900–1976. Similar data, but more widely spaced, (10-year intervals) were obtained from the journalNature (from Great Britain) as corroboration.
It was found in both journals that the relative attention given to earth science and to the combination of earth and planetary sciences dropped through the century to a low point about 1955. Thereafter the trend reversed, with both of these elements rising almost twice as rapidly as they had previously fallen. A comparison with previous work on the production of American periodical literature showed similar trends but a consistently greater proportion of coverage of these subjects inScience than that in the literature, suggesting that the former is reflecting a wider spectrum of impact of these subjects than is the latter. General science journals may be a better indicator of impact of a science than is the specialized literature.
The similarity of results in the two journals indicates that the idea of patterns in world science is a valid one, in which the USA and Great Britain belong to a common pattern.
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Notes and References
D. M. HALL, 1976.History of the earth sciences during the scientific and industrial revolutions. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., 297. See 1–7 and Fig. 4. 1, 238.
J. NEEDHAM,Science and civilization in China. University Press, Cambridge, 1965, vol. 4, pt. 1, 42–51.
For a discussion of the earlier burst of exploration and its effect on the science of gravitation and related areas, see. E. G. R. TAYLOR, The geographical ideas of Robert Hook.Geographical Journal, 89 (1937) 525–538.
For a discussion of nineteenth century geology and major ideas which came out of it see A. F. HAGNER, Philosophical aspects of the geological sciences. In: C. C. ALBRITTON (Ed.),The Fabric of Geology Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass. 1963, 233–234.
For a discussion of this point, see HALL (1976) op. cit. note 1, 71–74. A basic reference on the scientific projects characteristic of this phase of development is: N. H. de V. HEATHCOTE, A. ARMITAGE. The first international polar year.Annals of the International Geophysical Year, 1, (1959) 6–100 (in English), and 105–205 (in French).
This point is discussed by HAGNER (1963)op. cit. note 3.
This burst of exploration is separated out and summarized in standard histories of geographical exploration, such as the following: J. N. L. BAKER.A history of geographical discovery and exploration 2 nd. Harrap, London, 1937, 533.
HALL, op. cit. 1976.History of the earth sciences during the scientific and industrial revolutions. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., 297. See 1–7 and Fig. 4. 1, 238. note 1, 258–260.
The combination of earth and planetary science is being increasingly recognized as a separate unit within science. For example, see a recent analysis of world science: D. J. FRAME, F. NARIN, M. P. CARPENTER, The distribution of world science.Social Studies of Science, 7 (1977) 501–516.
The leading status in science of these two countries is confirmed quantitively in the publication by FRAME et al. (1977),op. cit.. note 8.
Encyclopedia of science and technology, McGraw-Hill Vol. 4, 1960, p. 345.
A comprehensive summary of growth models may be found in the paper: C. STARR, R. RUDMAN. Parameters of technological growth.Science, 182 (1973) 358–364.
For growth models in earth science, see HALL, op. cit. 1976.History of the earth sciences during the scientific and industrial revolutions. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., 297. See 1–7 and Fig. 4. 1 238. note 1, p. 159–206, and H. W. MENARD.Science: growth and change. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass 1971. 215 p. Of particular importance to the present paper isMenard's Fig. 3. 1, p. 41.
The subfields used by MENARD, op. cit.Science: growth and change. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1971, 251 p. Of particular importance to the present paper isMenard's Fig. 3. 1, p. 41. note 12 to define “geology” are listed in his footnotes on p. 40 and p. 54. These comprise more than are generally taken to constitute the science of geology.
These figures were obtained from MENARD (1971),op cit.. note 11, Fig. 3. 1, p. 41 by dividing the subtotal for “geology” by the total.
This analysis forms a major part of the paper by FRAME et al. (1977)op. cit.. note 8.
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Hall, D.H. The earth and planetary sciences in science during the twentieth century. Scientometrics 3, 349–362 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02017573
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02017573