2024-06-18

Chen-Tung Arthur Chen, an adjunct Chair Research Professor at the Department of Oceanography at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), was ranked first marine scientist in Asia and Australia. In the latest ranking data among 15,542 Oceanographers worldwide, his lifetime scientific influence ranking rose from eighth last year to seventh worldwide.

Stanford University in the United States regularly publishes a list of the world's top 2% scientists based on Scopus paper impact data every year, covering 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields, divided into "Career-Long Scientific Impact Ranking" and "Single Recent Year Scientific Impact Ranking," reflecting the influence of scholars' academic papers. In the last Career-Long Scientific Impact Ranking, Professor Chen-Tung Arthur Chen ranked first in Asia and Australia and eighth worldwide. According to the latest ranking of the university, Professor Chen ranked first consecutively in Asia and Australia and was promoted to seventh worldwide.

NSYSU emphasized that Chair Research Professor Chen is one of the global pioneers in carbon cycle and ecological research. He won the Biwako Prize for Ecology in Japan, symbolizing the highest honor in the ecology field, and an award of 5 million Japanese yen (equivalent to 50,000 US dollars at the time). The Biwako Prize for Ecology is awarded to two outstanding researchers every two years, one Japanese and one non-Japanese. Chair Research Professor Chen is the first scholar in Taiwan to receive the Prize. In addition, he also served as the Vice-Chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme of the International Council for Science for seven years. The research scope covers the three oceans, as well as the Antarctic and Arctic.

Chen-Tung Arthur Chen stated that since he was recruited back to Taiwan in 1984, he has begun to pay attention to global change issues and has combined scientific research with humanistic care for 40 years. In the large-scale international ocean margins research project he co-led, he pointed out for the first time that in the past, the Yangtze River was mistakenly believed to be the main source of nutrients in the East China Sea fisheries. In fact, the Kuroshio deep water rises to the East China Sea continental shelf, bringing phosphorus needed for biological growth, and has been confirmed and corrected by scientific research data. His relevant research has given Taiwan a place in the field of global change.

Chen-Tung Arthur Chen pointed out as early as 1999 that the deep waters of the Sea of Japan may run out of oxygen in two hundred years. Now, this sign is even more obvious. In 2017, Nature Climate Change, the world's top global change journal, reported that due to global warming, the acidification caused by the consumption of oxygen in the deep water of the Sea of Japan is even worse than the acidification caused by fossil fuel carbon dioxide dissolving into surface water. This warning has been included in the five-year report (IPCC AR6) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

NSYSU pointed out that this ranking is based on 15,542 Oceanographers worldwide. It evaluates Career-Long achievements based on comprehensive indicators. It requires a long period of published papers rather than the number of single papers or the citation numbers. It is considered to be a more objective evaluation. Chen-Tung Arthur Chen said that besides thanking the National Science and Technology Council, Taipower, and the school's Higher Education SPROUT Program (HESP) for their long-term funding, he also wanted to thank NSYSU for providing such a good environment. The laboratory has not changed in 40 years. A stable research environment is crucial, allowing him to concentrate on long-term research work. Therefore, he can receive this honor thanks to the support of the school and the team.