Estuary Echoes: Unraveling Research Trends with Bibliometric Analysis in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Estuaries can be found all throughout Sri Lanka’s coasts, but the kinds of research that have been done on them, their relative importance, and the trends in those studies have not been systematically examined until now. Therefore, the aim of the present review is to undertake a bibliometric analysis of estuaries in the context of Sri Lanka, comprising trends in publication, most-cited articles, influential authors, collaborating nations, prominent institutions, journal types, keyword co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling in the field.Articles on Sri Lankan estuary research published in the Web of Science (WoS) database between 1987 and 2023 were analyzed using bibliometric techniques and visual mapping. This study examined 58 papers in total, Visualization of Similarities (VOS) viewer was used to analyze data. 1987 to 2011 had one or two publications per year, however the positive quadratic coefficient (0.0074) indicates an accelerating growth trend in publications over time. Many studies have been conducted focusing on the Negombo estuary. Notably, the majority of articles focused on water quality studies. Further, fisheries, mangroves, and environmental-related research have also been undertaken equally in this regard. However, the findings emphasize the necessity of integrating spatial information techniques, geological and geographical data, coastal sediment dynamics, tourism, and further studies on sea-level rise in estuaries. Many studies have focused mainly on the southern and western parts of the estuaries. The Northern Coastal Zone’s estuaries remain largely unexplored. High-security zones surrounding the estuaries, particularly in the coastal regions to the north and east, restrict researchers’ freedom to conduct certain research. Fewer studies have been conducted, yet those that have are detailed. Therefore, the review indicates that future research should consider an integrated, multidisciplinary, and holistic ecosystem approach to Sri Lanka’s estuaries.