How would you account for the increased citation rate of your journal?

The most important factor, of course, is that climate research is rapidly expanding due in part to concerns about possible anthropogenic climate change. Another factor is that climate research has matured scientifically over the past couple of decades, through both new theoretical perspectives and new observational technologies; this increased maturity has enabled a wide range of new studies that would not have been possible earlier.

  What are the greatest challenges for publishing in this field?

It is a huge challenge to cover the breadth of climate research. The Journal of Climate is only partially successful in this area and I would like to see it do more; in particular I would like to publish more papers on paleoclimate.

A second challenge is to keep the focus on the technical side of the field, without becoming embroiled in the ongoing political nonsense.

Finally, of course, it is a challenge to keep up with the scientific work of our contributors. We are moving to minimize our publication times through a variety of tactics, including electronic submission, review, and publication, and also through a new fast-track "Letters" section that is reserved for particularly timely and important work.

  Are there significant controversies affecting your journal or field at this time?

As I mentioned, we try to stay away from the politics of climate. There are always ongoing technical controversies, of course, and in a sense our primary job as a journal is to provide the battleground for those.

  What kinds of practical or technological applications, if any, is the research published in this journal likely to contribute to?

The most obvious technology is climate prediction. We also report new simulation and analysis methods that have many potential applications.

Journal of Climate
Dr. David Randall, Chief Editor
American Meteorological Society, Publisher