Review article: Global flood research across four decades: An analysis of 57,474 research articles based on a large language model

Abstract. The proliferation of research literature has resulted in increasingly fragmented information and diversified knowledge structures, making it increasingly difficult to develop a systematic understanding of disciplinary research systems. This study employed a large language model to screen and organize flood research articles from 1985 to 2024, provided visual spatiotemporal insights into the quantity and quality of publications, contributions of institutions and countries, evolution of keywords, research types and topics, as well as the geographic characteristics of river basin and urban units. Findings indicate that annual publications on flood studies now exceed 5,500, with the average number of authors and institutions per publication increasing from 2.1 to 4.8 and from 1.4 to 2.6, respectively. Chinese and American institutions lead in publication quantity, while European and American institutions dominate in research influence. The disciplines of climate and remote sensing have gradually gained an undeniable influence in flood research field. The evolution of keywords focus traces a conceptual progression from “ecological-hydrological system interactions,” through “hydrological and hydrodynamic processes analysis” and “flood disaster prevention and management,” to “flood prediction and risk assessment under climate change.” River flood remains a consistent focus (averaging 55 % of research), while urban flood has seen a notable rise in attention (increasing from 8 % to 15 % over the past decade). Research topics concentrate on management, simulation, monitoring, and risk assessment. River basin flood research has evolved from Mississippi River Basin leadership to bipolar dominance with the Yangtze River Basin. Urban flood research has shifted from leadership by Texas in the United States to a dual-core structure with Guangdong Province in China. This study aims to advance the application of large language models in flood research literature review, thereby enabling a more systematic and efficient understanding of the comprehensive characteristics of the field’s development.