Science of the Total Environment explained

Science of the Total Environment is a weekly international peer-reviewed scientific journal covering environmental science. It was established in 1972 and is published by Elsevier. The editors-in-chief are Damià Barceló (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Jay Gan (University of California, Riverside) and Philip Hopke (University of Rochester).

Controversies

The October 2020 article suggesting that amulets may prevent COVID-19 has been met with skepticism^[1] even among the listed coauthors.^[2] As of November 2020, the article was under "temporary removal".^[3] It was later withdrawn at the request of the authors.^[4] The editor in-chief, Damià Barceló, was implicated in a €70,000 per year scheme to publish articles under the affiliation of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.^[5] Such schemes are employed to boost a university's rankings and are considered unethical by academics.^{[6] [7]}

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2023 impact factor of 8.2.^[8], the journal's indexation in the Science Citation Index Expanded is "on hold" and pending re-evaluation, with Web of Science citing the concerns on "the quality of the content published in this journal" as a reason for the suspension.^{[9] [10]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Paper Proposing COVID-19, Magnetism Link to Be Retracted . Shawna Williams . 4 November 2020 . The Scientist . 7 December 2020.
2. Web site: Co-authors of paper on COVID-19 and jade amulets blame 'the online press' and social media for misinterpretation in retraction letter . Ivan Oransky . 16 November 2020 . Retraction Watch . 7 December 2020.
3. Bility . Moses Turkle . etal . Can Traditional Chinese Medicine provide insights into controlling the COVID-19 pandemic: Serpentinization-induced lithospheric long-wavelength magnetic anomalies in Proterozoic bedrocks in a weakened geomagnetic field mediate the aberrant transformation of biogenic molecules in COVID-19 via magnetic catalysis . Science of the Total Environment . 8 October 2020 . 142830 . 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142830 . 33071142 . 7543923 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201109181450/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720363592 . 9 November 2020. live.
4. News: Schelp. Diogo. January 7, 2021. Para não espalhar bobagens no zap: 10 estudos desacreditados sobre covid-19. pt-BR. Universo Online. 3 December 2021.
5. Web site: Ansede . Manuel . 2023-04-18 . Saudi Arabia pays Spanish scientists to pump up global university rankings . 2024-02-06 . EL PAÍS English . en-us.
6. Web site: SIRIS Academic - Full International Edition (2014-22): The affiliation game of Saudi Arabian higher education & research institutions . 2024-02-06 . www.sirisacademic.com.
7. Web site: Bachelet . Vivienne C. . 2019-09-26 . What's in a name? How false author affiliations are damaging academic research . 2024-02-06 . Impact of Social Sciences.
8. Book: 2024 . Science of the Total Environment . 2023 Journal Citation Reports . . Science . Web of Science. Journal Citation Reports .
9. Web site: Kincaid . Ellie . eLife latest in string of major journals put on hold from Web of Science . retractionwatch.com . . November 13, 2024 . October 24, 2024.
10. Web site: Web of Science Master Journal List . . Intellectual Property & Science . November 13, 2024.