Evolution of modeling approaches in climate change and groundwater recharge research: a bibliometric review

ABSTRACT Infographic summarizing the bibliometric study workflow, dataset statistics, PRISMA screening, publication trends, modeling approaches, research themes, and leading countries for climate change and groundwater research. Climate change has become a major factor influencing groundwater systems, resulting in a rapid increase in research on groundwater recharge and modeling approaches. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric assessment of climate change and groundwater research published between 2000 and 2025, with particular emphasis on the evolution of modeling approaches. A total of 861 publications retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases were analyzed using the bibliometrix package in R, VOSviewer, and the PRISMA 2020 framework. The results show a steady growth in scientific output, with the United States, China, Germany, and Australia leading research productivity. Journal of Hydrology was identified as the most influential publication source. Keyword analyses revealed that groundwater, climate change, and groundwater recharge remain the core research themes, while managed aquifer recharge, remote sensing, stable isotopes, GRACE, and machine learning have emerged as important research directions. Modeling approaches have evolved from conventional groundwater simulation and water balance methods toward integrated frameworks combining climate projections, hydrological models, geospatial technologies, remote sensing, and data-driven techniques. These findings provide an updated overview of the intellectual and methodological development of the field and may support future groundwater research and sustainable groundwater management under changing climatic conditions.