Will Steffen

83.0k total citations · 16 hit papers
150 papers, 29.0k citations indexed

About

Will Steffen is a scholar working on Global and Planetary Change, Atmospheric Science and Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment. According to data from OpenAlex, Will Steffen has authored 150 papers receiving a total of 29.0k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 56 papers in Global and Planetary Change, 29 papers in Atmospheric Science and 28 papers in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment. Recurrent topics in Will Steffen's work include Global Energy and Sustainability Research (28 papers), Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics (21 papers) and Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution (15 papers). Will Steffen is often cited by papers focused on Global Energy and Sustainability Research (28 papers), Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics (21 papers) and Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution (15 papers). Will Steffen collaborates with scholars based in Australia, Sweden and United States. Will Steffen's co-authors include Paul J. Crutzen, Johan Rockström, John McNeill, Katherine Richardson, Owen Gaffney, Carl Folke, Sarah Cornell, Ingo Fetzer, Reinette Biggs and Stephen R. Carpenter and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In The Last Decade

Will Steffen

145 papers receiving 26.9k citations

Hit Papers

5 papers align trajectories

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet

2015 7.1k citations Will Steffen, Katherine Richardson et al. Science profile →
Sustainable development goals for people and planet

2013 1.9k citations David Griggs, Mark Stafford‐Smith et al. profile →
The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration

2015 1.9k citations Will Steffen, Lisa Deutsch et al. profile →
The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature

2007 1.8k citations Will Steffen, Paul J. Crutzen et al. AMBIO profile →
Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene

2018 1.6k citations Will Steffen, Johan Rockström et al. profile →
The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our Knowledge of Earth as a System

2000 1.5k citations Kathy Hibbard, Will Steffen et al. Science profile →
The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives

2011 1.2k citations Will Steffen, Paul J. Crutzen et al. profile →
Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against

2019 1.0k citations Johan Rockström, Katherine Richardson et al. profile →
The Anthropocene: From Global Change to Planetary Stewardship

2011 905 citations Will Steffen, Åsa Persson et al. AMBIO profile →
Global change and the earth system: a planet under pressure

2004 842 citations Will Steffen et al. profile →
Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet

2009 629 citations F. Stuart Chapin, Stephen R. Carpenter et al. Trends in Ecology & Evolution profile →
The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

2016 547 citations Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin N. Waters et al. profile →
Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios

2022 350 citations Johan Rockström, Marten Scheffer et al. profile →
The emergence and evolution of Earth System Science

2020 261 citations Will Steffen, Katherine Richardson et al. profile →
Human impacts on planetary boundaries amplified by Earth system interactions

2019 249 citations Steven J. Lade, Will Steffen et al. profile →
A planetary boundary for green water

2022 179 citations Ingo Fetzer, Dieter Gerten et al. profile →

Peers

Countries citing papers authored by Will Steffen

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Will Steffen's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Will Steffen with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Will Steffen more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Will Steffen

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Will Steffen. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Will Steffen. The network helps show where Will Steffen may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Will Steffen

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Will Steffen. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Will Steffen based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Will Steffen. Will Steffen is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

Sort: Min cites: Since: Top N: Style:

20 of 20 papers shown

#	Work	Indexed citations
1	Large-scale collective action to avoid an Amazon tipping point - key actors and interventions 2021 ·Current Research in Environmental Sustainability ·Mairon G. Bastos Lima, Niklas Harring, Sverker C. Jagers, Åsa Löfgren, U. Martin Persson, Martin Sjöstedt, Bengt Brülde, David Langlet, Will Steffen, Francisco Alpízar	15
2	Current and future threats to human health in the Anthropocene 2021 ·Environment International ·Shilu Tong, Hilary Bambrick, Paul J. Beggs, Lanming Chen, Yabin Hu, Wenjun Ma, Will Steffen, Jianguo Tan	92
3	Extraordinary human energy consumption and resultant geological impacts beginning around 1950 CE initiated the proposed Anthropocene Epoch 2020 ·Communications Earth & Environment ·James P. M. Syvitski, Colin N. Waters, John W. Day, John D. Milliman, Colin Summerhayes, Will Steffen, Jan Zalasiewicz, Alejandro Cearreta, Agnieszka Gałuszka, Irka Hajdas, Martin J. Head, Reinhold Leinfelder, John McNeill, Clément Poirier, Neil L. Rose, William Shotyk, Michael Wagreich, Mark Williams	131
4	Why universities need to declare an ecological and climate emergency 2019 ·Bristol Research (University of Bristol) ·(unknown), Michael Mann, John Cook, Christopher Wright, Will Steffen, Patrick D. Nunn, Stephan Lewandowsky, B Dube, Jean Jouzel, Anne Poelina, Katherine Richardson	4
5	Potential feedbacks between loss of biosphere integrity and climate change 2019 ·Global Sustainability ·Steven J. Lade, Jon Norberg, John M. Anderies, Christian Beer, Sarah Cornell, Jonathan F. Donges, Ingo Fetzer, Thomas Gasser, Katherine Richardson, Johan Rockström, Will Steffen	12
6	On the preconditions for large-scale collective action 2019 ·AMBIO ·Sverker C. Jagers, Niklas Harring, Åsa Löfgren, Martin Sjöstedt, Francisco Alpízar, Bengt Brülde, David Langlet, Andréas Nilsson, Bethanie Carney Almroth, Sam Dupont, Will Steffen	76
7	Local leadership: tracking local government progress on climate change 2017 ·Queensland's institutional digital repository (The University of Queensland) ·(unknown), Martin Rice, Lesley Hughes, Will Steffen, (unknown), Karen Hussey, (unknown)	2
8	Sustainable urban systems: Co-design and framing for transformation 2017 ·AMBIO ·Robert Webb, Xuemei Bai, Mark Stafford‐Smith, Robert Costanza, David Griggs, Magnus Moglia, Michaël Neuman, Peter Newman, Peter Newton, Barbara Norman, Chris Ryan, Heinz Schandl, Will Steffen, Nigel Tapper, Giles Thomson	148
9	Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet breakdown → 2015 ·Science ·Will Steffen, Katherine Richardson, Johan Rockström, Sarah Cornell, Ingo Fetzer, Elena M. Bennett, Reinette Biggs, Stephen R. Carpenter, W. de Vries, Cynthia A. de Wit, Carl Folke, Dieter Gerten, Jens Heinke, Georgina M. Mace, Linn Persson, V. Ramanathan, Belinda Reyers, Sverker Sörlin	7139
10	The Topology of Non-Linear Global Carbon Dynamics: From Tipping Points to Planetary Boundaries 2012 ·Digital Library Of The Commons Repository (Indiana University) ·John M. Anderies, S. R. Carpenter, Will Steffen, Johan Rockström	6
11	A Truly Complex and Diabolical Policy Problem 2011 ·Oxford University Press eBooks ·Will Steffen	18
12	Avoiding bio‐perversity from carbon sequestration solutions 2011 ·Conservation Letters ·David B. Lindenmayer, Kristin B. Hulvey, Richard J. Hobbs, Mark Colyvan, Adam Felton, Hugh P. Possingham, Will Steffen, Kerrie A. Wilson, Kara N. Youngentob, Philip Gibbons	117
13	The Anthropocene: From Global Change to Planetary Stewardship breakdown → 2011 ·AMBIO ·Will Steffen, Åsa Persson, Lisa Deutsch, Jan Zalasiewicz, Mark Williams, Katherine Richardson, Carole L. Crumley, Paul J. Crutzen, Carl Folke, Line Gordon, Mario J. Molina, V. Ramanathan, Johan Rockström, Marten Scheffer, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Uno Svedin	905
14	Himalayan Dreaming : Australian mountaineering in the great ranges of Asia, 1922-1990 2010 ·ANU Press eBooks ·Will Steffen	0
15	Prepare for Impact! When People and Environment Collide in the Tropics 2009 ·CDU eSpace Institutional Repository (Charles Darwin University) ·Natasha Stacey, Guy Boggs, Bruce Campbell, Will Steffen	3
16	Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet breakdown → 2009 ·Trends in Ecology & Evolution ·F. Stuart Chapin, Stephen R. Carpenter, Gary P. Kofinas, Carl Folke, Nick Abel, William C. Clark, Per Olsson, Mark Stafford‐Smith, Brian Walker, Oran R. Young, Fikret Berkes, Reinette Biggs, J. Morgan Grove, Rosamond L. Naylor, Evelyn Pinkerton, Will Steffen, Frederick J. Swanson	629
17	The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature breakdown → 2007 ·AMBIO ·Will Steffen, Paul J. Crutzen, John McNeill	1805
18	Sustainability or Collapse: What Can We Learn from Integrating the History of Humans and the Rest of Nature? 2007 ·AMBIO ·Robert Costanza, Lisa J. Graumlich, Will Steffen, Carole L. Crumley, John A. Dearing, Kathy Hibbard, Rik Leemans, Charles L. Redman, David Schimel	237
19	Sustainability or Collapse? An Integrated History and Future of People on Earth 2006 ·Electronic Green Journal ·Robert Costanza, Lisa J. Graumlich, Will Steffen	201
20	An Overview of the Implications of Global Change for Natural and Managed Terrestrial Ecosystems 1997 ·SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología ·Brian Walker, Will Steffen	127

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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