Most-cited Environmental Science papers of 2025, with free PDFs

The 25 most-cited Environmental Science research papers published in 2025, ranked by citations in OpenAlex, with their original abstracts and free PDFs where available.

1. Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health
   Deyi Hou, Xiyue Jia et al. · 2025 · 1,007 citations
2. Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains
   Alexander J. Nihart, Marcus A. Garcia et al. · 2025 · 934 citations · Free PDF
3. Global Carbon Budget 2024
   Pierre Friedlingstein, Michael O’Sullivan et al. · 2025 · 790 citations · Free PDF
4. Pesticides have negative effects on non-target organisms
   Nian‐Feng Wan, Liwan Fu et al. · 2025 · 434 citations · Free PDF
5. Global Methane Budget 2000–2020
   Marielle Saunois, Adrien Martinez et al. · 2025 · 425 citations · Free PDF
6. Complexities of the global plastics supply chain revealed in a trade-linked material flow analysis
   Khaoula Houssini, Jinhui Li et al. · 2025 · 341 citations · Free PDF
7. One-quarter of freshwater fauna threatened with extinction
   Catherine Overed-Sayer, Eresha Fernando et al. · 2025 · 324 citations · Free PDF
8. The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean
   Shiye Zhao, Karin Kvale et al. · 2025 · 308 citations · Free PDF
9. The global human impact on biodiversity
   François Keck, Tianna Peller et al. · 2025 · 286 citations · Free PDF
10. Artificial intelligence for modeling and understanding extreme weather and climate events
    Gustau Camps‐Valls, Miguel‐Ángel Fernández‐Torres et al. · 2025 · 283 citations · Free PDF
11. Revolutionizing urban solid waste management with AI and IoT: A review of smart solutions for waste collection, sorting, and recycling
    Abderrahim Lakhouit · 2025 · 259 citations
12. Post-growth: the science of wellbeing within planetary boundaries
    Giorgos Kallis, Jason Hickel et al. · 2025 · 248 citations · Free PDF
13. Heavy Metal Pollution in Coastal Environments: Ecological Implications and Management Strategies: A Review
    Mahmoud El‐Sharkawy, Modhi Obaidan Alotaibi et al. · 2025 · 226 citations · Free PDF
14. Nano-island-encapsulated cobalt single-atom catalysts for breaking activity-stability trade-off in Fenton-like reactions
    Zhiquan Zhang, Pijun Duan et al. · 2025 · 221 citations · Free PDF
15. A year above 1.5 °C signals that Earth is most probably within the 20-year period that will reach the Paris Agreement limit
    Emanuele Bevacqua, Carl‐Friedrich Schleussner et al. · 2025 · 213 citations · Free PDF
16. A critical review on textile dye-containing wastewater: Ecotoxicity, health risks, and remediation strategies for environmental safety
    Md. Mynul Islam, Allah Rakha Aidid et al. · 2025 · 210 citations
17. Global increase in the occurrence and impact of multiyear droughts
    Liangzhi Chen, Philipp Brun et al. · 2025 · 209 citations · Free PDF
18. Mapping the chemical complexity of plastics
    Laura Monclús, Hans Peter H. Arp et al. · 2025 · 207 citations · Free PDF
19. Heterogeneous Peroxymonosulfate-Based Advanced Oxidation Mechanisms: New Wine in Old Bottles?
    Xiaoyu Zhao, Zhenghua Zhang · 2025 · 206 citations
20. Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality
    M. Austin Argentieri, Najaf Amin et al. · 2025 · 203 citations · Free PDF
21. Carbonaceous materials in structural dimensions for advanced oxidation processes
    Yunpeng Wang, Ya Liu et al. · 2025 · 201 citations
22. Global Warming Has Accelerated: Are the United Nations and the Public Well-Informed?
    James E. Hansen, Pushker A. Kharecha et al. · 2025 · 200 citations
23. Nanoplastic concentrations across the North Atlantic
    Sophie ten Hietbrink, Dušan Materić et al. · 2025 · 198 citations · Free PDF
24. Microplastics in freshwater and marine ecosystems: Occurrence, characterization, sources, distribution dynamics, fate, transport processes, potential mitigation strategies, and policy interventions
    Toheeb Lekan Jolaosho, Mariam Folashade Rasaq et al. · 2025 · 197 citations
25. Principles of green chemistry: building a sustainable future
    Fatma Kurul, Beyzanur Doruk et al. · 2025 · 181 citations · Free PDF

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