Microplastic and Heavy Metal Toxicity: a Bibliometric Analysis on Marine Environment

Research on microplastic and heavy metal pollution in marine environments has rapidly expanded, with key publications and institutions contributing to the development of standardised methodologies and definitions. This study employs bibliometric analysis to evaluate research trends, using tools such as VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel to systematically analyse 147 publications from the Scopus database (2014-2024). Accordingly, the analysis reveals significant growth in the field, particularly driven by research from China and India. In addition, the findings indicate that China and India are leading contributors, with a substantial increase in research output since 2018. Recent trends focus on microplastics in wastewater, human consumption, and emerging sources such as synthetic fibres. Furthermore, the study identifies Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science as the most cited journal and highlights the dominance of environmental and marine science in the research landscape. Overall, these results underscore the increasing significance of addressing these pollutants and offer valuable insights for guiding future research and policy development in the management of microplastic and heavy metal pollution in marine environments.