On this day in history, ...
...in 2014, Frontiers in Marine Science published its very first article, marking the official launch of a new open-access platform dedicated to marine research across disciplines. The inaugural publication, titled “Grand challenges in marine ecosystems ecology”, was authored by Ángel Borja of AZTI-Tecnalia, and appeared in the journal’s Marine Ecosystem Ecology section.
Borja’s article outlined the major research priorities in marine ecosystem science at the beginning of the 21st century, including biodiversity, ecosystem functionality, environmental impacts, and the effects of climate change. The piece was not a research article in the traditional sense, but a Specialty Grand Challenge: a genre aimed at mapping the future of a specific field. As such, it set a programmatic tone for the journal—forward-looking, interdisciplinary, and accessible.
From its inception, Frontiers in Marine Science positioned itself as a modern journal: fully digital, open access, and topic-driven, with a strong editorial structure and a commitment to community engagement. Over the following decade, it grew rapidly to become one of the most prolific journals in marine science worldwide.
The publication of Borja’s article represents not only the launch of a journal, but also a shift in how ocean knowledge is created, curated, and shared—with openness, speed, and collaboration as its core values.
Sources
Borja, A. (2014). Grand challenges in marine ecosystems ecology. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2014.00001
Frontiers in Marine Science journal homepage: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science