An Interview with the Editors-in-Chief of Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences

We asked Editors-in-Chief, Dr. Gabriele Morra and Dr. Hua Wang, to tell us a little more about the new journal Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences.

What can authors and readers expect from the journal Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences?
Our journal aims to cover all the topics of artificial intelligence (AI) in geosciences, from robotics and sensors applied to Earth sciences, to the vast range of machine learning algorithms and implementations used to process Earth Sciences data. Another interesting field that we welcome is cloud computing and high performance computing (HPC) in the context of big data processing. Overall, we want to attract geoscientists who are transitioning into the big data world, as well as data scientists who analyse geo-related data.

How long will the peer-review process take? 
We have an excellent board of editors who quickly find experts in all the above-mentioned fields. We strive to review papers in less than two months and provide the fastest possible response to submissions without compromising on quality. 

What is your view on journal metrics such as the Impact Factor? 
The Impact Factor (IF) measures what it says, how influential a paper is, by measuring its citation rate. Our goal is to achieve a high IF. However, we are aware that it takes time to build a reputation in the field, it’s not something that can be done in one year. Some funding agencies request that authors publish in journals with established IFs, I find this unfortunate as it hampers the emergence of new journals. New fields and fertile ideas need new journals where they find editorial boards with open minds. In order to encourage colleagues to support our new journal, we have decided to waive article processing charges for the first two years of publication, when we hope an IF will be assigned to our journal.

How can the new journal help increase its authors’ research impact?
At this very early stage, we promote every single paper on social media–Facebook, Twitter, and so on. In reality, papers that successfully pass through the peer review process will be promoted everywhere in the first two years. We will be your impact factor.
 
How is the journal different from the existing Journals?
The journal will build its character with time. We are definitively more on the technological side of things compared to many other journals. AI is a rapidly changing field and we will change with it. We are young, ambitious and open minded to new and original ideas. I recommend potential authors contact us if you have an idea that you want to develop. We will encourage you to write and guide you through the publication process.

AI and Geosciences are two big topics in the world. How do you think the two areas will interact in the future?
Many aspects of machine learning are reaching maturity, such as deep learning. Others are well established like regression, clustering and support vector machines. Sensors, robotics and other tools that need AI to function independently from human intervention are in their infancy. Geoscientists will have to increasingly adapt to changes. There is no way back. We can expect many great and interesting new discoveries to emerge from these two combined fields.
 
What are the current hot topics for the journal? 
There are many. AI-based support systems, smart sensors and robotics to name a few. Computational methods for signal processing, pattern recognition, neural networks, expert systems, with particular interest in HPC performances and cloud computing applications. Not to forget AI-based visual, interactive human-machine interfaces and visual and manual interactions.  

What is the role of the editorial board?
They are experts in a variety of fields related to the different aspects of Earth Sciences. Their role is to review or find competent available reviewers. Reviewing is a service that scientists do for our community and it is an act of generosity because nobody is paid to review articles, so we are very grateful for their service and for guaranteeing the quality of our published papers.