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A bibliometric analysis on microplastic pollution in groundwater
Summary
Researchers conducted a bibliometric analysis of publications on microplastic contamination in groundwater, identifying 695 relevant studies published between 2011 and 2022. They found that while microplastic research has surged overall, groundwater as a specific focus area remains significantly understudied compared to ocean and surface water environments. The study highlights critical knowledge gaps in understanding how microplastics transport through and contaminate subsurface water sources.
Abstract Publications on microplastics have most widely focused on identifying their presence in the ocean or surface water and have ignored their existence in groundwater systems. The aim of this study was to identify publications and citation trends of microplastics in groundwater. VOS viewer software is done for analyzing the data, and maps are used for showing relationships between countries, journals, authors, and keywords related to the distribution of microplastics in groundwater. This search yielded 695 documents published between the year 2011 to 2022. The most popped-up keyword was “microplastics” (302 occurrences with total link strength of 340) which had strong links to “transport”, “adsorption” and “drinking water”, while the word “groundwater” appeared only 13 times and total link strength was 16. It shows that research on microplastics in groundwater is still limited. The journal Science of the Total Environment publishes the highest number. China is the country with the most publications and the most cited citations. Microplastics research in groundwater development not only analyzes the abundance and characteristics of microplastics, but also the transport processes of microplastics from soil to groundwater, contribution of groundwater to microplastic contamination in drinking water, potential ecological risks, and their impact on human health.
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