INTRODUCING A NEW EDITOR

The year 2010 will be remembered for some time as a significant year for natural disasters, one in which seismological events played a major role—the terrible tragedy of Haiti, the massive subduction event in Chile, and the volcano eruption in Iceland are three events that come to mind. The fact that we have these great natural disasters emphasizes the importance of our Society. In particular, the ability of SSA to foster communication among professionals with wide-ranging interests and expertise is critical for effective scientific and societal responses to these events. How we share ideas, new approaches and innovative results, and distribution of data and information to the public are all key issues for our community, and SRL provides a unique forum where they can be addressed. This year, as we gather at the annual meeting in the Midwest, we might recall, perhaps with trepidation, the implications for large events that occurred 200 years ago in New Madrid, and how similar events might impact our nation today.

How do I plan to approach the challenge of serving as editor-in-chief at SRL? My first inclination is to help create a bimonthly journal that will be fun to read. In the busy world we live in, where do we have time to sit quietly and think broadly about problems related to our profession without getting bogged down with details and technical issues? SRL should be there—filling the void and stimulating our creativity and imagination.

I look forward to helping make sure that future issues of SRL will have significant impact and relevance. How can we influence our surroundings, communicate our ideas, and share our interests in a captivating way? We must draw attention to our contributions and educate the community about our aspirations for, and the limitations of, seismological research and investigation. I hope SRL remains a forum to share ideas on these topics, and I encourage everyone in our community to make this journal a showpiece of our science.

The speed with which news and information on seismic events propagates reminds us of the importance of staying on top of the message and guiding the media in the communication of scientific information to the public. Print media no longer provide our initial source of news—electronic communication has superseded that role. Rather, print media, and SRL in particular, should serve as a medium of reflection on the meaning and implications for seismic events in our times. In my opinion, recent trends toward electronic consumption of all published material are worrisome in their effect on how we digest information. The ephemeral cycle of news and opinion suggests that messages are fleeting and inconsequential. In light of this, I encourage readers to slow down and contemplate a bit. Get the paper version of SRL. Take it on an airline flight. Enjoy a cup of coffee and observe what is going on in our Society. I would like to see engaged readership increase during my tenure as SRL editor.

Seismology has expanded its reach in the last few decades and I hope to see this reflected in articles in SRL. While many researchers are submitting contributions to specialized journals, SRL can function as a cross-disciplinary platform—a meeting place where parties interested in a disparate range of seismically related endeavors gather to exchange thoughts, opinions, and news. I hope and expect to see articles in new areas of research including volcano seismology, infrasound, ambient noise research, data mining, and engineering as well as the more traditional areas covered. Is there a way we can disseminate new and exciting results to our community in a timely and stimulating manner? What about new areas of technology and how they affect our research? Surely young investigators among us, raised on electronic social networking, will have new ways to reach each other and should educate and inform the rest of us elders.

A new kind of article we are considering introducing to SRL will be directed at highlighting the large number of exciting seismic experiments and temporary networks worldwide. All too often experiments take years to mount, and once stations are in the ground there may be delays of years before the data flow and analyses are completed. SRL could be a forum for researchers to describe the ideas and plans for these experiments: what were the underlying motivations and justifications behind the proposals that were funded? Articles would be aimed at experiments already underway, where a station map and perhaps some preliminary waveforms could be shown. The idea would be to create a peer-reviewed forum where principal investigators can present preliminary ideas of a new project and show the ongoing deployment plan as a “showcase article.” A prime motivation for this idea is to provide a standard, general reference for a given dataset that would be citable after the deployment is complete, though before detailed, possibly more technical, papers are being published.

One aspect of SRL that differentiates it from other geophysics- related journals is the attention paid to historical articles and long-running, possibly unresolved, controversies in our field. I hope to see this angle expanded under my editorship. How refreshing it is to learn about a new twist on an old controversy, to see that progress is being made or that some issues remain vexing even after decades of debate and discussion. I implore you to continue submitting opinions on pressing matters and reviews of historical interest to SRL.

I would like to thank Luciana Astiz for the incredible work she has done as SRL editor. Submission rates at SRL have increased significantly in these last few years, due in large part to Luciana’s editorial care and nurture. We are indebted to Luciana for her dedicated work and tireless efforts at making our journal visible and critical to our mission. Our managing editor, Mary George, has provided critical help and has been an invaluable source of advice for me in the last few of months of transition. Susan Hough and Andy Michael gave me numerous suggestions and words of encouragement for which I am grateful. I would like to acknowledge and introduce a new team of editors for SRL. Our new editor for education, Alan Kafka, has expressed a keen interest in developing exciting approaches for sharing our knowledge with others outside of our specialty. John Louie agreed to take on the Electronic Seismologist column, highlighting new ways to analyze and represent our data graphically. Thanks to Erol Kalkan, who has agreed to continue as associate editor, and Jennifer Haase, who has graciously accepted responsibilities as a new associate editor. I am especially pleased to announce that Sue Hough has volunteered to help as associate editor and John Ebel has agreed to continue in the capacity of associate editor for Historical Seismologist articles. I am honored that these seasoned editors will provide expert advice and counsel.

Starting in 2011 we will have instituted a new electronic submission process that will make the submission, review, and editorial procedures much more streamlined and transparent. We are following the lead of our sister publication, the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, in this transition, so most of us will be familiar with the process. I thank the staff at SSA for their considerable help in this move and expect it will be an improvement for all.

I close with a request to my colleagues and comrades. To authors, I extend a plea to continue to consider SRL a prime destination publication for provocative articles that will get us thinking about issues important to the Seismological Society of America. To reviewers, I ask that you continue making this an important journal by offering good counsel and judgment. I look forward to all your efforts on these challenges and hope to see the best fruits of your labors.