Scientometrics of the studies conducted regarding the application of remote sensing science and technology in monitoring the climate change phenomenon

Purpose: Due to human activities in the past few centuries and their intensification in the past few decades, most regions of the world have experienced climate change. Iran has also experienced climate change in the past few centuries due to reasons such as industrialization and urbanization. The main objective of this study is to examine the scientometrics of articles published in the field of climate change and remote sensing technology. In this regard, studies conducted in Iran and countries around the world will be examined.

Method: In order to achieve the research objectives, articles published in recent years in two databases, including Pubmed and Web of Science, were used. Countries, universities, and frequently used keywords in Iranian and world studies were considered. All available articles were reviewed from Pubmed. Articles related to the years 2022, 2023, and 2024 were reviewed separately from Web of Science. Moreover, the search results of articles published by Iranian researchers in the Web of Science database were reviewed. The results were analyzed in the VosViewer scientometrics software.

Findings: The results show that studies in the field of remote sensing and climate change monitoring are increasing in the world. China and the United States are among the leading countries in the field of remote sensing and climate change. Among the new keywords in the field of research are machine learning and deep learning. Although Iranian research studies are ranked 10th to 20th compared to other countries in the world, the total number of articles and research conducted in Iran is significantly lower than countries such as India, China, and the United States.

Conclusion: Using machine learning methods to analyze large volumes of data seems to be the solution proposed by researchers around the world. The results show that researchers have paid attention to the field of climate change in the country, but most studies in Iran have focused on drought, precipitation, and temperature changes, which can be also used to prepare products related to air and water pollution from satellite images. In fact, due to the problems related to drought and water in Iran, most researchers have conducted research in these fields. It is also suggested that in order to conduct in-depth and appropriate studies in this field, incentive and macro policies be adopted in Iran.