Milestone 100th issue sees evolution of JEM scope

This is the 100th issue of the Journal of Environmental Monitoring. We are using this milestone as an opportunity to highlight the continued development of the environmental sciences over the last 5 years and describe how JEM is adapting to advances in the understanding of our environment.

In 2004, the Journal of Environmental Monitoring editorial board stated that the objective of the journal was “to promote physical, chemical and biological research relating to the measurement pathways …in all environments with a particular emphasis on the interface of these subjects with analytical science”.

Journal of Environmental Monitoring has grown considerably in the last 5 years in tandem with the rapid development and maturation of its original core areas. The boundaries between the compartments of environmental science have become increasingly blurred as advances in one area impact on and promote re-evaluation of others. It is in this new multi-disciplinary arena that Journal of Environmental Monitoring now finds itself challenged by how best to interpret and exploit advances in the understanding of our environment with rapid changes in technologies and methodologies. With diversification of our core areas comes the need to establish new goals, new ways of communicating and most importantly new ways of ensuring that Journal of Environmental Monitoring is at the forefront of reporting environmental impacts. This includes understanding of environmental processes along with appreciating the implications of emerging technologies, climate change, sustainability, land use practices, industrial development and economics. How will these areas impact our ecosystem, our health, our lives, and most importantly, our planet?

Journal of Environmental Monitoring began as a journal focused more on measurement and monitoring science and has evolved to one focused on understanding environmental processes and impacts. The overarching areas that the Editorial Board has agreed should be the purview of the journal are consistent with and parallel to the basic components of risk evaluation and management, including contaminant sources, transport, and transformation; contaminant fate; contaminant exposure, and effects; and management and policy. The specific categories of interest include scientific research on nanomaterials, contaminant fate and transport, environmental modelling, environmental economics, alternative and renewable energies, ecological processes, environmental and chemical engineering, environmental health, climate change, and geological sciences. Of course these areas overlap to some degree, and we welcome those contributions that provide greater understanding of the interconnectedness of environmental issues. It has been rewarding to see the journal grow in concert with the field, and to see its quality continuing to improve. Our impact factor is now at 2.0 (compared to 1.4 in 2004) and our time from submission to acceptance is under 100 days (128 days in 2004). Our published papers come from authors from around the world, also reflecting the changes in the last five years in the demographics of where environmental research is being conducted.

On consideration of the great challenges that now face our environment, Journal of Environmental Monitoring has taken considerable steps which will lead to a fuller awareness of the consequences of our activities and remediation actions. It is the impacts of environmental research in addressing these great challenges that are now of special concern to Journal of Environmental Monitoring and its readers. With this in mind, in the future we will require all articles submitted to Journal of Environmental Monitoring to provide a statement explaining how the research presented in the paper impacts the environment directly and how the work provides immediate insight into environmental processes. We call this an Environmental Impact statement, and this will replace the justification/novelty statement. This statement should be no more than 120 words long and describe why/how the paper contributes to a multi-level understanding of environmental phenomena (impacts and processes). This is to clarify the appropriateness of the article for a technical but broad environmental audience. It should categorically state how the work contributes to an improved knowledge of the environment and will lead to a better understanding of the subject in question. The environmental impact box is intended to show that the authors have given serious consideration to problems that are environmental in nature rather than analytical.

Environmental research is at this point entering a stage where analytical science is playing a supporting role in augmenting decision making and facilitating detailed environmental studies. The future development of Journal of Environmental Monitoring will see it move from measurement science to a fuller interpretation of measurement data with serious consideration of what these data really mean, what their implications are, and what they can predict.

Our intention is that these changes will increase and further develop the environmental relevance of Journal of Environmental Monitoring which will not only help strengthen the quality of the journal but also increase its value to our readers and subscribers. We hope to challenge researchers into thinking more fully in terms of multi-layered environmental science and the environmental consequences of their work.

Finally, we intend to make JEM a catalyst for the discussion and exchange of ideas and information on complex environmental issues. May the next 100 issues of the journal serve to significantly increase and advance our understanding of environmental hazards, processes, and impacts, and offer solutions to today's and future problems.

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