Building on the legacy of Carol Harden

In the 40th year of publication, Carol Harden announced her retirement as Editor-in-Chief for Physical Geography. Carol joined the editorial board of Physical Geography in 2003 and joined the founding editor, Antony Orme, as co-Editor in 2008. Her role as sole Editor-in-Chief began in 2011. It was during her time as Editor-in-Chief that publication of Physical Geography transferred from Bellwether Publishing to Taylor & Francis, allowing the journal to become international in its scope, authorship, and reach.

Taking over from Antony Orme, who held the journal close to his heart, and helping the journal transition from its founding publisher, Victor Winston, must have been intimidating at first. Carol rose to the challenge and helped to broaden the scope of the journal to include more papers exploring changes on the physical landscape, and to embrace the application of new and increasingly integrated techniques for studying physical processes.

It was a challenging decade during which the number of outlets available to physical geographers expanded, including the explosion of online and open-access journals. She met the challenge of maintaining high-quality submissions in this era through extraordinary hard work, including spending time to vet and edit a greater number and diversity of papers. Carol took the role of editor very seriously. Her generous manuscript editing contrasts sharply with the experience that authors can expect when they submit to most other journals today. Key to improving the quality of the journal (as reflected in a rising Impact Factor) was Carol’s attention to detail, her concern for clear presentation of results, and her interest in good writing. She also insisted that papers tackle a well-stated scientific problem.

Carol has been a strong supporter of Physical Geography during her professional career. Her first contribution to the journal described how rural roads and footpaths are the most active runoff-generating components in developed mountain landscapes (Harden, 1992). While her research focused on geomorphology, soil erosion, watershed dynamics and the interaction between humans and the environment in mountain regions, she has maintained a broad understanding and appreciation for the breadth of physical geography. She has provided leadership for physical geography, indeed for the whole discipline of geography, notably in her roles as President of the American Association of Geographers (2009/2010) and Head of the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee (1995–2000, 2006–2007, 2010–2012). Her editorial role with Physical Geography has been a natural component of her disciplinary leadership.

Physical Geography was founded to elevate research on the physical features of the earth’s surface, on landscape change, and on the interrelationship between people and environment. Carol’s broad vision of the role of physical geographers ensured that this founding goal was maintained and strengthened. As Carol noted in her editorial back in 2013, “physical geography is particularly important and relevant in today’s world, which is undergoing rapid rates of environmental change” (Harden, 2013). Now more than ever is there a need for physical geographers to generate fundamental knowledge about the earth’s surface and to apply this knowledge to predicting and managing resources in the face of anthropogenic pressures on our biophysical landscape. It is for this reason that we will remain committed to publishing high-quality research that improves our understanding of our physical environment and how it is responding to the direct and indirect effects of human activities.