Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society

Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society is a peer‑reviewed scientific journal publishing research on atmospheric science, synoptic analysis, climate dynamics, and applied meteorology. Founded in the 19th century, the journal has chronicled developments in observational networks, theoretical meteorology, numerical weather prediction, and paleoclimatology while engaging scholars associated with institutions across Europe, North America, and Asia. The periodical regularly features contributions reflecting collaboration among researchers affiliated with organizations such as the Royal Society, the Met Office, and major universities.

History

The journal was established in 1871 amid contemporaneous initiatives by figures linked to the Royal Meteorological Society and the broader scientific community that included associations with Royal Society, British Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Admiralty, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and municipal observatories in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Early contributors interacted with researchers from the Great Britain hydrographic and naval services, corresponded with scientists at the Smithsonian Institution, and exchanged data with the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Académie des Sciences. Over decades the journal chronicled the work of notable individuals and institutions: correspondence with meteorologists at Met Office, theoretical papers referencing scientists associated with Trinity College, Cambridge, observational campaigns connected to Kew Observatory, and synoptic charts influenced by practices from Service météorologique de France and the United States Weather Bureau. The 20th century saw integration of methods promoted by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, University of Toronto, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, with editorial decisions reflecting influences from editors linked to Royal Holloway, University of London and Imperial College London.

Scope and Content

The journal covers studies spanning dynamics, thermodynamics, boundary‑layer processes, remote sensing, and paleoclimatic reconstructions, often citing datasets from projects run by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, National Center for Atmospheric Research, NOAA, NASA, Met Éireann, and climate modelling groups at ETH Zurich and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Articles frequently reference instrumental records from observatories such as Kew Observatory, Greenwich Observatory, and Mount Weather and include analyses of phenomena like cyclones studied by teams at University of Reading, tropical research associated with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, monsoon studies involving Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and polar research connected to British Antarctic Survey and Alfred Wegener Institute. Content types include original research, long‑form review articles, technical notes about instrumentation used by groups at National Observatory of Athens, and model intercomparison studies coordinated with centres like Hadley Centre and European Geosciences Union working groups.

Editorial and Publication Information

The journal is published by the Royal Meteorological Society with an editorial board drawn from academics and professionals affiliated with institutions such as University of Reading, University of Exeter, University of Leeds, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Melbourne, University of Tokyo, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, University of Hamburg, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Washington, and research centres including Met Office and NOAA. Peer review follows standards used by scholarly journals in fields where editorial policies are informed by guidance from organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics and partnerships with indexing services run by Clarivate Analytics and Elsevier. The journal moved from quarterly to a more frequent publication cadence in response to submission volume and now operates on a monthly schedule with options for open‑access articles under terms compatible with funders like UK Research and Innovation and the European Research Council.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed by major services and databases that serve atmospheric and geoscience communities, including listings in Web of Science, Scopus, GeoRef, and subject indexes maintained by ProQuest and EBSCO. Metadata are harvested by aggregators run by CrossRef and preserved in repositories connected to libraries at institutions such as British Library, Bodleian Library, Library of Congress, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Citation metrics and impact indicators are tracked in platforms maintained by Clarivate Analytics (including Journal Citation Reports), Elsevier (including Scopus metrics), and bibliometric analyses produced by research groups at Leiden University and Centre for Science and Technology Studies.

Impact and Reception

The journal has been cited in classic and contemporary studies that influenced fields represented at conferences organized by American Meteorological Society, European Geosciences Union, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, and has informed assessments by panels within Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and policy briefs to agencies such as United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, and national meteorological services including Met Office and NOAA. Its articles have been referenced alongside landmark works by scientists at Royal Society meetings, in monographs from Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press, and in technical reports issued by National Academies and think tanks linked to Stockholm Environment Institute. The journal’s longevity has fostered influence across academic programmes at universities like University of Reading, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and research institutes including National Center for Atmospheric Research and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology.

Category:Meteorology journals