The graphs that helped define how we understand humanity’s impact on the planet are still shaping science today.
“The Trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration,” published in The Anthropocene Review in 2015, has received a 2026 Sage 10-Year Impact Award, recognizing one of the most influential papers published in Sage journals that year.
The paper, co-authored by Will Steffen, Wendy Broadgate, Lisa Deutsch, Owen Gaffney, and Cornelia Ludwig, synthesized decades of Earth system science into a compelling set of indicators showing the rapid acceleration of human activity and its impact on the Earth system since the mid-20th century. Its “Great Acceleration” graphs have become some of the most widely recognized visualizations in sustainability science, informing research, education, policy discussions, and public understanding of global environmental change.
The paper has been cited 3,074 times in scholarly literature and 263 times in policy documents, reflecting its influence both within academia and in decision-making beyond it. One of the paper’s co-authors, Wendy Broadgate, now serves as Interim Executive Director of Future Earth and Director of the Sweden Global Hub.
“Research impact in the social and behavioral sciences unfolds gradually, through complex and long-term processes that conventional metrics can struggle to capture,” said Ziyad Marar, president of global publishing at Sage. “In one attempt to redress that, the 10-Year Impact Awards recognize scholarship whose influence has endured and often grown over time.”
For the first time, Sage also highlighted policy citation data alongside scholarly citations, offering an additional perspective on how award-winning research has informed policy and decision-making. While policy citations were not part of the selection process, they underscore the broader societal influence of the winning papers.
The award recognizes the enduring value of collaborative Earth system science in advancing understanding of the profound changes shaping our planet and informing pathways toward sustainability.
