Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution is a research topic within Pollution. Science Explorer counts 48k research works in it since 1950. 23.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the production, use, fate, and environmental impact of microplastics in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. It covers topics such as sources, distribution, accumulation, ingestion by organisms, potential health effects, and waste management strategies for mitigating microplastic pollution.
- Microplastics
- Marine Environment
- Terrestrial Ecosystems
- Pollution
- Plastic Debris
- Environmental Impact
- Waste Management
- Human Health
- Freshwater Systems
- Recycling
- Research works
- 48k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 11k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 23.5% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +180% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Microplastics and Plastic Pollution research?
By volume, China and India publish the most (5.2k and 1.9k works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 5.2k works
- 2 India 1.9k works
- 3 United States 1.5k works
- 4 Italy 754 works
- 5 Indonesia 681 works
- 6 Brazil 674 works
- 7 Spain 575 works
- 8 South Korea 558 works
- 9 United Kingdom 557 works
- 10 Germany 551 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Microplastics and Plastic Pollution research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes the most Microplastics and Plastic Pollution research, followed by Nankai University and Ocean University of China.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 144 works
- 2 Nankai University China 69 works
- 3 Ocean University of China China 66 works
- 4 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 63 works
- 5 Hohai University China 63 works
- 6 Zhejiang University China 60 works
- 7 Vellore Institute of Technology University India 59 works
- 8 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 56 works
- 9 Northwest A&F University China 52 works
- 10 South China Agricultural University China 52 works
Who are the leading researchers in Microplastics and Plastic Pollution?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Microplastics and Plastic Pollution include Guangming Zeng, Seeram Ramakrishna and Carlos M. Duarte.
- 1 Guangming Zeng 5.6k citations
- 2 Seeram Ramakrishna 5.1k citations
- 3 Carlos M. Duarte 4.1k citations
- 4 Ying Liu 3.6k citations
- 5 Shaobin Wang 3.5k citations
- 6 Yong Sik Ok 3.3k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Microplastics and Plastic Pollution research done?
The largest centres of Microplastics and Plastic Pollution research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Guangzhou (China) and Shanghai (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Plymouth.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- PlymouthGB · 45.5 works13×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Microplastics and Plastic Pollution than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Microplastics and Plastic Pollution?
Among universities, judged by research, Nankai University, Northeast Agricultural University and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nankai University China | 60.8 | 34.6% | 5.2× | 69 | +183.5% |
| 2 | Northeast Agricultural University China | 60.5 | 43.9% | 5.7× | 30 | +376.0% |
| 3 | Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Malaysia | 60.2 | 23.5% | 8.6× | 25 | +360.9% |
| 4 | Wageningen University & Research Netherlands | 58.4 | 31.2% | 7.0× | 52 | +50.3% |
| 5 | Northwest A&F University China | 58.2 | 41.2% | 6.6× | 52 | — |
| 6 | University of Plymouth United Kingdom | 58.1 | 16.6% | 14.0× | 33 | +135.4% |
| 7 | Korea University of Science and Technology South Korea | 56.0 | 31.9% | 6.6× | 17 | +397.9% |
| 8 | Hohai University China | 55.5 | 22.0% | 5.7× | 63 | +275.8% |
| 9 | University of Technology Sydney Australia | 54.6 | 56.4% | 1.9× | 17 | +113.6% |
| 10 | University of Aveiro Portugal | 54.3 | 17.5% | 6.4× | 42 | +288.2% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Microplastics and Plastic Pollution research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 180% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Microplastics and Plastic Pollution.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.