Research Progress and Trends in Remote Sensing Retrieval of Water Quality Parameters: A Knowledge Graph Analysis

Remote sensing inversion of water quality parameters is a critical interdisciplinary field integrating remote sensing technology, environmental science and water resources management, providing key technical support for precise water resources monitoring and ecological governance. To address the lack of comprehensive systematic reviews in this field, this study conducted a bibliometric-based narrative review, selecting 1058 valid English literatures published during 1995–2025 from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) and performing in-depth knowledge mapping analysis via CiteSpace software. The results showed that global research in this field has gone through three stages: initial exploration (1997–2009), slow growth (2010–2017) and rapid explosion (2018–2025). China ranks first in publication volume worldwide, with a collaborative research pattern dominated by core institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The core research hotspots focus on multi-source data fusion, AI-driven inversion model optimization, and the research shift from coastal to inland water bodies. Current research faces three key challenges: poor adaptability of multi-source data fusion technologies to water quality monitoring, inadequate integration of geospatial and thematic factors in inversion models and insufficient systematicness of inland water body research. Accordingly, future research should focus on strengthening inland water body studies, advancing remote sensing data fusion methods, and further optimizing water quality inversion models. This study clarifies the field’s development context and research characteristics, providing valuable references for subsequent academic exploration and practical applications in water resources management.