Question

[Rajko]

Dear Scientometric Scientists,

I have noticed that the research articles and books of Milutin Milankovich (or Milankovic) are more and more cited. Generally, citation shows an opposite trend. Do you know how often it happens?

Sincerely,

Rajko Igic, MD, Ph.D.
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management
Stroger Hospital of Cook County
Chicago, IL 60612
USA


PS. I present here an excerpt of our MS to be published in the "Scrtipta Medica" (Banja Luka), May issue.

"According to the Science Citation Index and Web of Knowledge Milankovic’s publications were quoted 780 times in the period from 1945 to 2005 [6]. His major work concerns the origin of Ice Age, Kanon der Erdbestrahlung und seine Anwendung auf das Eiszeitenproblem [Canon of insulation of the Earth and its application to the problem of the Ice Age]. Figure 1 shows the title page of his book, published in 1941 [5]. This work was the most often cited during this period.
As a rule, the number of citations for most scientific publications decreases over time, but the citation distribution of Milankovic’s works shows the opposite pattern. In the period from 1945 to 1960, citations of his papers were few (2.6 per year on average), but later citations increased steadily [7]. For about 50 years, Milankovic’s theory remained largely unconfirmed until a study by Hayes et al [8] on deep-sea sediment showed that Milankovic’s theory fit with known periods of climate change. Since then, earth scientists have embraced the Milankovitch Cycle model, and contemporary scientists are now familiar with his earlier publications (1920 to 1941)."