Climate warming effects on temperature structure in lentic waters: A bibliometric analysis from the recent 20 years

Abstract

Global climate warming and intensified summer heatwaves have exacerbated thermal stratification in inland lakes and reservoirs, leading to increased issues of deep-water hypoxia and harmful algae blooms. This study aims to systematically review the developments, barriers, and future directions of thermal phenology in freshwaters under warming conditions through a visualized meta-analysis. According to the Web of Science Core Collection database, we retrieved 3262 articles published between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2023, using an advanced search query that included terms related to global warming, temperature stratification, and freshwater bodies. The data was then analyzed via bibliometric visualization tools to create comprehensive visual maps, highlighting research hotspots and development trends. Key findings include a significant upward trend on this topic, in the annual number of published articles post-2015, in which China and the USA are leading in the publication output. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified climate change, global warming, and temperature as central themes, with specific environmental issues linking to lake eutrophication and runoff being prominent as well. The study also delves into the collaboration networks among researchers, institutions, and countries, revealing strong international partnerships primarily between China, the USA, and European nations. Based on the analysis, we recommend future research should focus on integrating machine learning and advanced modeling techniques to better predict and mitigate the impacts of climate warming on thermal dynamics of inland waters. By upscaling the research from traditionally local (or regional) to global perspective, our work is vital, not just for science, but also for management of the aquatic systems under rapidly changing climate conditions.