# 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](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4409530112) · 1,007 citations
2. [Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407087473) · 934 citations · Free PDF
3. [Global Carbon Budget 2024](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4408460092) · 790 citations · Free PDF
4. [Pesticides have negative effects on non-target organisms](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407549707) · 434 citations · Free PDF
5. [Global Methane Budget 2000–2020](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4410216787) · 425 citations · Free PDF
6. [Complexities of the global plastics supply chain revealed in a trade-linked material flow analysis](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4409329462) · 341 citations · Free PDF
7. [One-quarter of freshwater fauna threatened with extinction](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4406161213) · 324 citations · Free PDF
8. [The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4410019287) · 308 citations · Free PDF
9. [The global human impact on biodiversity](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4408853317) · 286 citations · Free PDF
10. [Artificial intelligence for modeling and understanding extreme weather and climate events](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407870507) · 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](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4406289442) · 259 citations
12. [Post-growth: the science of wellbeing within planetary boundaries](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4406641222) · 248 citations · Free PDF
13. [Heavy Metal Pollution in Coastal Environments: Ecological Implications and Management Strategies: A Review](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4406613137) · 226 citations · Free PDF
14. [Nano-island-encapsulated cobalt single-atom catalysts for breaking activity-stability trade-off in Fenton-like reactions](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4406001551) · 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](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407301524) · 213 citations · Free PDF
16. [A critical review on textile dye-containing wastewater: Ecotoxicity, health risks, and remediation strategies for environmental safety](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4409039670) · 210 citations
17. [Global increase in the occurrence and impact of multiyear droughts](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4406439969) · 209 citations · Free PDF
18. [Mapping the chemical complexity of plastics](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4412150913) · 207 citations · Free PDF
19. [Heterogeneous Peroxymonosulfate-Based Advanced Oxidation Mechanisms: New Wine in Old Bottles?](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4408558687) · 206 citations
20. [Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407752703) · 203 citations · Free PDF
21. [Carbonaceous materials in structural dimensions for advanced oxidation processes](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407081664) · 201 citations
22. [Global Warming Has Accelerated: Are the United Nations and the Public Well-Informed?](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4407099681) · 200 citations
23. [Nanoplastic concentrations across the North Atlantic](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4412151358) · 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](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4408559267) · 197 citations
25. [Principles of green chemistry: building a sustainable future](https://nerdi.pages.dev/paper/W4409208671) · 181 citations · Free PDF

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