ACS establishes new journal for Earth and space chemistry

Scientists exploring the complex chemical nature of materials and processes that occur on Earth, in our solar system, and beyond our solar system have a new peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal in which to disseminate their research findings.

The American Chemical Society is establishing ACS Earth & Space Chemistry as a venue for publication of high-impact research in the fields of geochemistry, atmosphere and ocean chemistry, astrochemistry, and analytical geochemistry. The journal began accepting submissions on Oct. 25, and the first issue will be published in early 2017.

Joel D. Blum will serve as the journal’s inaugural editor-in-chief. Blum is the John D. MacArthur Professor and Gerald J. Keeler Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

“With the advent of this new journal, ACS Publications is excited to offer a preeminent venue to publish both fundamental and applied advances in newly emerging areas of inquiry across the Earth and space sciences,” says James Milne, senior vice president of the ACS Journals Publishing Group.

ACS Earth & Space Chemistry will publish applications of analytical, experimental, and theoretical chemistry to investigate research questions relevant to Earth and space. It will include articles, letters, reviews, and features.

Blum says that, in the past, “some scientists focusing on the chemistry of natural materials have had a hard time finding the ideal place to publish their work. There has been a lot of shoehorning of various research papers into a variety of different venues.”

This journal gives those researchers a new home. “It’s an exciting opportunity to create a journal that fulfills a need that’s out there that hasn’t been filled previously,” Blum says. “ACS Earth & Space Chemistry is the first journal that brings this community together under the common theme of chemistry and with the prestige and efficiency that are characteristic of ACS Publications. My aim is to rapidly establish ACS Earth & Space Chemistry as a preeminent forum for discussing the application of chemistry methodologies across the geological, planetary, and astronomical sciences.”

Blum’s most recent research has focused on understanding the chemistry of heavy metals in aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems—in many cases utilizing mercury stable-isotope methods developed in his laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. in geochemistry from California Institute of Technology, where he conducted research on the cosmochemistry of the early solar nebula and the chemistry of impact glasses.

“We are confident that professor Blum’s significant editorial expertise, vision for the journal, broad knowledge of the field, and widespread relationships within the global scientific community will serve to make this new journal a publication of choice for both authors and readers,” Milne says.