Bibliometric analysis of research progress on karst groundwater pollution

The hydrological conditions in karst areas are complex. Due to the special karst structure, the surface and aquifers are closely connected through surface karsts, sinkholes, etc., making the karst aquifers vulnerable to pollution. In recent years, human activities and climate change have also exacerbated this phenomenon. Understanding the key knowledge and research status of karst groundwater pollution is an important prerequisite for subsequent research. Based on the CiteSpace software, this paper analyzed the related papers on karst groundwater pollution in the core database of Web of Science, intending to sort out the research results in this field and explore potential research hotspots. Analysis results show that: (1) In recent years, the number of publications and citations in this field has gradually increased, and there is a large space for research and development; (2) The United States, China, Germany are the countries that have contributed the most in this field. The number of research results in this field supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China is in a leading position in the world; (3) The identification and protection of the vulnerability of karst aquifers, modeling of groundwater flow and pollutant migration are the main research directions. Water chemical analysis, tracer experiment and numerical modeling are the main research methods in this field; (4) The migration of organic micro-pollution, the trace of groundwater flow, the distribution of biodiversity and control factors, the characterization of karst conduits and the simulation of conduit flow, and the development of new tracer isotope fractions are potential development directions and breakthrough points in this field. In general, the research on karst groundwater pollution in the future is inseparable from the cross-integration of various disciplines, the mutual verification of multiple methods, and the introduction of new technological methods.