Research Guides: Environmental Science: Topic Specific Resources

Links to sections below

Related Resources

Because environmental science is so multidisciplinary, there are many databases and sources that contain relevant and useful information that are not specifically focused on the environment. Consider the other disciplines that will be interested in your topic. For example,

If you are interested in ways to improve access to clean water, engineering databases might help you discover systems that have proven effective.
If you're looking at political or regulatory issues, you may want to search databases focused on public policy.
For biodiversity information, you may need to reference very early sources of information not available in most online databases.

The resources on this page are organized by topic (see contents on the left). Don't forget to search some of the environmental science-focused databases listed on the Getting Started tab.

Ecology & Biodiversity

Biosis Citation Index This link opens in a new window
Part of the Web of Science, this database indexes over 5,300 high quality journals and serials back to 1926, as well as providing indexing for selected relevant patents, conference proceedings and books.
ProQuest Biological Science Database This link opens in a new window
This interdisciplinary database offers abstracts and citations to a wide range of research in biomedicine, biotechnology, zoology and ecology and some aspects of agriculture and veterinary science. Supporting over two dozen areas of expertise, this database provides access to literature from over 6000 serials, as well as conference proceedings, technical reports, monographs and selected books and patents.
Agricultural & Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new window
This database includes the renowned AGRICOLA, TOXLINE, ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact
Statements (EIS) databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. This database includes specialized, editorially curated A&I resources covering such topics as the effects of pollution on people and animals and environmental action and policy responses. Coverage: 1960-current.

Biodiversity Heritage Library
The "legacy literature of biodiversity" held in individual collections that has been digitized to make it openly available to a global audience.
Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER)
The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network was created by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1980 to conduct research on ecological issues that can last decades and span huge geographical areas.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Free and open access to biodiversity data.
Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity
International repository where you can share, discover, access and interpret complex ecological data.
UICN Red List of Threatened Species
Taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. The main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those plants and animals that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable).
Biological Sciences research guide
For more biology resources at Gelman

Environmental Health & Toxicology

PubMed This link opens in a new window
Public access version of the Medline database. Includes life and health sciences articles including clinical, basic sciences, and public health information. Incorporates Himmelfarb Library's customized search filters for EBM/Clinical Reviews, EBM/Clinical Trials, and Reviews. Includes links to related genetic, chemical and taxonomic information. Produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry
Data resources include National Exposure registry, World Trade Center Registry, Asbestos Registry, Interactive map and links to hazardous waste site documents. Evaluations of hazardous substances and health effects
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
Describes and reports on the burden of cancer worldwide. Find publications and data.
EPA Risk Assessment Guidance & Tools
How tos, frameworks, guidelines, databases and models from the Environmental Protection Agency.
HERO: Health & Environmental Research Online
HERO contains the key studies EPA uses to develop environmental risk assessments for the public. EPA uses risk assessments to characterize the nature and magnitude of health risks to humans and the ecosystem from pollutants and chemicals in the environment. You can browse through the bibliographic references in HERO by topic or assessment, or search for articles by author, title, etc

Ocean/Marine Environments & Water Resources

NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center
Temperature, currents, salinity, pH, oxygen, sea level and more.
Marine Geoscience Data System
Providing free public access to a wide variety of primarily marine geoscience data collected during expeditions throughout the global oceans.

ProQuest Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database This link opens in a new window
The Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database contains full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications.

Earth & Atmosphere

ProQuest Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database This link opens in a new window
The Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database contains full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications.
GEOBASE This link opens in a new window
Available through Engineering Village. GEOBASE is a multidisciplinary database of indexed research literature on the earth sciences, including geology, human and physical geography, environmental sciences, oceanography, geomechanics, alternative energy sources, pollution, waste management and nature conservation.

US Geological Survey
Check the "Maps, Images and Publications" tab for data sets, pubs, maps (you can make your own!) and more.
NASA Global Change Master Directory
Data sets, software and projects worldwide.
NOAA National Geophysical Data Center
Bathymetry & Global Relief, Earth Observations from Space, Geomagnetic Data & Models, Marine Geology & Geophysics, Natural Hazards, and Space Weather & Solar Events

Climate

NOAA National Climatic Data Center
Surface, satellite, model, radar, balloon, marine & ocean, historic (paleoclimate), and severe weather data.
Climate Data Guide
National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation
NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center
Temperature, currents, salinity, pH, oxygen, sea level and more.
EPA: Climate Change
This is a snapshot of the page from January 19, 2017.

Energy

Energy Information Administration
US government reports and data on energy usage, forecasts, sources and more.

OSTI.GOV This link opens in a new window
OSTI.GOV is the primary search tool for DOE science, technology, and engineering research and development results and the organizational hub for information about the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information. It consolidates OSTI's home page and our now retired primary search tool SciTech Connect.

DOE Pages
beta Department of Energy's prototype gateway to publicly funded research. "When DOE PAGES moves beyond the "beta" period, it will offer distributed full-text access to all DOE-affiliated accepted manuscripts or articles after an administrative interval of 12 months."
DOE Data Explorer
Discovering data and non-text information in the Department of Energy

Public Policy

Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
Policy File Index includes full-text report, paper, document and other sources on U.S. public policy research including over 75 public policy topics (both foreign and domestic) from over 350 public policy think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, research institutes, university centers, advocacy groups, and other entities.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Covers journal articles, books, conference proceedings, and other literature on the full range of political, social, and public policy issues. Also included is information about websites, publications and organizations.

Public Policy research guide
For more resources on this topic.

Business & Economics

ABI/Inform Complete Plus This link opens in a new window
A great starting place for business research, this database covers business conditions, trends, management techniques, corporate strategies, and industry-specific topics worldwide. Includes articles from magazines, trade publications, and scholarly journals.
Business Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Business Source Ultimate provides both bibliographic and full text content covering all fields of business including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included. In addition, searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 journals.
EconLit This link opens in a new window
Premier source for economic literature in scholarly journals (including book reviews), books, dissertations, and working papers. Covers accounting, capital markets, econometrics, economic forecasting, government regulations, labor economics, monetary theory, urban economics and more. Published by the American Economic Association.

Social & Environmental Aspects of Business research guide
For more resources on this topic.

Chemistry & Engineering

SciFinderN This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the following databases: Chemical Abstracts--Chemical literature (journals, patents, books, etc.; 1907 - present); Registry File--Chemical compound information (structure, molecular weight, spectral information, etc.); Medline--Medical literature (journals, books, conferences, etc.; 1958 - present); CASREACT--Information on chemical reactions (1985 - present); CHEMCATS--Chemical sources (i.e., supplier information); CHEMLIST--Regulatory information (1979 - present).
Engineering Village This link opens in a new window
Database platform that links to materials in physics, engineering and related fields. Provides access to the databases Compendex, GEOBASE, and Knovel which can be searched separately or together. NOTE: For the FindIt button to work, you must allow the computer to access pop-ups when asked. Users accessing this title should use the GW VPN. Also IE 8 is no longer supported for this database.

Chemistry research guide
For more chemistry resources at Gelman
List of engineering databases
For more engineering resources at Gelman

Agriculture

Agricola - National Agricuture Library Online Catalog
Provides information about books and articles in the field of agriculture. Note: If off campus, you may need to use the VPN or paste articles titles in the library search bar for full-text or ILL access.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Link directly to:
Data, Maps & Analysis
Tools & Applications
USDA Office of Environmental Markets
The Office of Environmental Markets (OEM) supports the Secretary in the development of emerging markets for water quality, carbon sequestration, wetlands, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services. Environmental markets have the potential to become a new economic driver for rural America.
USDA Life Cycle Assessment Data
Data sets and toolkits for assessing environmental impacts.
USDA Library Collections
USDA research, historical publications, rare books, nursery seed trade catalogs catalogs, photographs, posters and other unique or historical materials.