Research guides: Earth & Environmental Sciences: Find Articles

Key Databases for Earth & Environmental Sciences

Databases contain articles, conference proceedings, and reviews: they are great places to get started on your research!

The Library subscribes to many databases to give you access to academic articles you won't be able to find freely available online.

The following databases are particularly helpful for conducting research in Earth and Environmental Sciences:

GEOSCAN
Bibliographic database for scientific publications of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
Coverage: pre-confederation to present
GEOSCAN features records primarily of the Earth Sciences (Geological Survey of Canada publications, National Atlas maps, Topographic maps, Remote sensing publications). It also includes Mining, Materials and Energy, and publications authored by NRCan scientists and specialists.

Geologic Guidebooks of North America Database
The Geologic Guidebooks of North America Database consists of references to geologic field trip guidebooks of North America (United States, Canada, Mexico). Most of the guidebooks cited are from the period 1940-the present. The database is updated monthly and contains more than 10,000 references.

Agricola
Provides citations to agricultural literature. Agricola is now available through SEARCH from the USDA National Agricultural Library.
Coverage: 1970 - present
Categories include animals, livestock, food, nutrition, education, laws, marketing, environment, plants, crops, research, and community development.
AGRIS
Bibliography and some full text of articles, monographs, book chapters, and grey literature including science and technical reports, theses, dissertations and conference papers.
Coverage: 1974 - present
via Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
American Geophysical Union (AGU) Digital Library
Research journals from the American Geophysical Union. Focuses on the Earth and environment.
Coverage: varies
BioOne
Indexes scholarly journals in the fields of biological, ecological and environmental science.
Coverage: Most 2001 - present
BioOne provides a unique aggregation of titles that are produced by societies and non-commercial publishers. Major areas of coverage include: entomology, crustaceans, ecology, botany, ferns, lichen, ornithology, mosses, reptiles, and microbiology.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Property data on chemical compounds and all physical particles that have
been reported in the literature; reviewed by subject experts.
Coverage: 2003-2004 to 2020-2021
Contains important information on data-related subjects such as chemical and
laboratory safety, and nomenclature
Available to students, faculty and staff at the University of Waterloo.
Depending on your method of access, you may be asked to authenticate as a
member of the UWaterloo community.
Earth Observing Dashboard
The European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have produced the Earth Observing Dashboard. Based on accurate remote sensing observations, it provides information on 7 themes: Atmosphere, Oceans, Biomass, Cryosphere, Agriculture, Covid-19 and Economy.
Coverage: 2018/2019-
GeoScienceWorld This link opens in a new window
GeoScienceWorld provides access to several journals and eBooks in the subjects of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Geology.

Coverage: Current
Lyell Collection
Collection of earth science literature.
Coverage: 1811 - present
The Lyell Collection is an online collection of earth science literature comprised of the Geological Society of London's journal titles, Special Publications and key book series. It also includes journals published on behalf of other societies.
MCEER: Earthquake Engineering to Extreme Events
Covers earthquakes and other natural disasters: causes, prediction, effects, mitigation, and aftermath.
Coverage: 1987 - present
MCEER covers the topics of bridges and highways, education, emergency response, geotechnical engineering, hospitals, non-structural components, intelligent and protective systems, public policy, remote sensing, seismology, and social science issues. The disasters it covers are blast, earthquake, fire, hurricane, terrorist attack, tornado, and tsunami.
OnePetro
Technical literature on oil and gas exploration and production.
Coverage: Varies
Operated by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the content varies, comprising mostly journal articles and conference proceedings.
Plant Science
Citations and abstracts of scientific literature on plant science, focusing on all plant scientific aspects.
Coverage: 1994 - present
Plant Science is a bibliographic database containing citations and abstracts of scientific literature on plant science, focusing on all plant scientific aspects, especially pathology, symbiosis, biochemistry, genetics, biotechnology, techniques and environmental biology.
Note: Access A limited number of users may access this database simultaneously. If you are unable to connect, please try later.
RSC Journals (Royal Society of Chemistry Journals)
Peer-reviewed journals that cover the core chemical sciences including related fields such as biology, biophysics, energy and environment, engineering, materials, medicine and physics.
Coverage: Varies
Scopus
Peer-reviewed literature from scientific journals, books and conference proceedings, covering the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Coverage: 1966 - present
Web of Science
Articles and citations in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Coverage: Varies
Web of Science is comprised of several databases. The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI) covers journals in the medical, physical and natural sciences, and engineering fields. The entire database extends back to 1899. The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) covers journals in the social sciences. The entire database extends back to 1898. The Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) covers journals in the arts and humanities. It also selectively covers relevant items from science and technical journals. The entire database extends back to 1975.

Journal articles and books not available in Omni

If the material you need is not available in Omni, you can request it using the blank request form found at the top of the Omni results screen under Interlibrary Loan.

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