Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Eugene Rozanov has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Climatology” in Atmosphere (ISSN: 2073-4433).

Dr. Rozanov works as a senior scientist in PMOD/WRC, Davos, Switzerland, and SPBU, Saint Petersburg, Russia. He is one of the world leaders in the field of climate, atmospheric chemistry, and ozone layer modeling. His outstanding scientific contributions to our understanding of climate and ozone layer responses to different natural and anthropogenic factors, including greenhouse gases, ozone-depleting substances, energetic particle precipitation, solar irradiance variations, etc., are significant. Dr. Rozanov contributed to the IPCC report that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He participated in the preparation of several WMO reports on ozone depletion. He was a member of the International Commission on the Middle Atmosphere, the Swiss SCOSTEP Committee, co-chair of the SCOSTEP PRESTO project, and a member of the Editorial Board of the MDPI journal Atmosphere. He was awarded a SCOSTEP Fellowship in 2023 for his contribution to the understanding of solar influence on climate. Dr. Rozanov is the author of more than 290 publications in high-impact journals, and his citation index (H-index) is 56 (as cited in the Web of Science database).

The following is a short Q&A with Dr. Eugene Rozanov, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area, and offered some advice for young scholars:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take on the role of its Section Editor-in-Chief?
I had a very positive experience with MDPI Atmosphere from my work on the Special Issue about ozone changes, several papers I submitted for publication in this journal, and my work as an editorial team member. The editorial staff is very efficient and supportive, which guarantees a swift publication process despite rigorous quality control. The scientific quality of the published papers is rather good. The coverage of many different aspects of the atmospheric and climate sciences is very impressive. However, many aspects can be improved to increase the value of the journal. I feel that I can better contribute to this process by working as Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Climatology” Section.

2. The Section “Climatology” will be positioned to focus on emerging and cutting-edge research directions within the field. In your opinion, what research topics do you think will garner particular interest from the academic community in the coming years?
The primary focus should be on all possible peculiarities of the ongoing global warming. We need to inform society whether there is a possibility of reaching a point of no return in climate change and which measures could be taken to prevent such a situation.

I believe that despite the disputable reputation of climate intervention projects they should be deeply studied by the climate community to reveal their benefits and possible shortcomings.

Substantial attention should be paid to past climate changes because not all their features are well-known and explained. This part is tightly related to the characterization of the possible forcing mechanisms, such as volcanic eruptions, solar and geomagnetic activities, as well as understanding different coupling mechanisms in the climate system.

From the practical point of view, the climate community should also work on shorter-term (sub-seasonal and decadal scale) climate forecasts, which should inform society about necessary measures to strive for emerging environmental changes.

3. What are your aspirations for the future of Atmosphere and your hopes for driving advancements in related disciplines?
The future growth of the journal should be based on the increased interdisciplinarity of the research, attention to emerging new ideas, and more attention to the potential authors on a personal basis. In the framework of the “Climatology” Section, we can pay more attention to the related disciplines covering different aspects of the climate influence on air quality, public health, and biological and technological aspects. Special attention should be paid to emerging issues related to machine learning and generative artificial intelligence. It may make sense to open a new Section devoted to these problems. I dare even propose a special Section devoted to the publication of AI-generated manuscripts. It could be some response to an anticipated increase in this kind of work submitted to regular Sections.

4. What qualities do you believe researchers need to possess on their scientific journey? Could you offer some advice to young scholars?
There are many, but the main ones are:

• A strong desire to understand what is happening in the world, which will guide you throughout a challenging scientific career;
• High intellectual and analytical potential, as well as the ability to think logically;
• The ability to absorb a large flow of information and grasp new ideas and trends;
• Good personal qualities, willingness to communicate and collaborate with a wide range of colleagues;
• Energy and persistence in working on the chosen problem;
• The desire to constantly improve oral and written communication skills.

My advice to young scholars: If you think you possess some of the above-mentioned qualities, you should not hesitate to devote your life to science. It is not an easy and not very profitable way, but if you succeed you will get an opportunity to have a very interesting and rather safe life, communicate with the most interesting people, get an unforgettable feeling from discovering something new, sharing your ideas with your colleagues, and much more.

We warmly welcome Dr. Eugene Rozanov as Section Editor-in-Chief of “Climatology”, and we look forward to him leading Atmosphere to achieve many more milestones.