The Global Pattern and Development Trends and Directions on the Drought Monitoring Research from 1983 to 2020 by Using Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Abstract As impacted by climate change and further global warming, drought turns out to be the most frequent meteorological extreme event worldwide, which severely affects agriculture, ecosystem, water management, and even human survival. In this study, the global pattern and development trends and directions on drought monitoring were presented based on Web of Science database by conducting a bibliometric analysis from 1983 to 2020. The following conclusions were drawn. 1) The United States and China were found as the most productive and influential nations, accounting for 24.63% and 14.30% in publication outputs and taking up 5,023 and 2,040 in local citations, respectively. 2) Chinese Academy of Science was reported as the core institution with 5.73% publication outputs and 829 local citations. 3) Remote Sensing of Environment and Remote Sensing were found as the most influential journals and the most productive journals with 1,045 local citations and 210 publication outputs, respectively. 4) Agricultural drought profoundly affecting food security was found as the most concerning drought type in the world. The drought monitoring research mainly focus on the research and development of drought index, the response of terrestrial ecosystems to drought, and the trends and dynamics of drought in context of climate change. This study explored key findings, contradictions, and limitations of drought monitoring studies were summarized and explored. In addition, the development trend and research direction of drought monitoring research in the future were also explored.