About a year ago, AGU’s journal Earth and Space Science got a new Editor in Chief, Peter Fox from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. This journal, in case you missed my earlier posts about it, is a Gold Open Access journal that encompasses the full range of topics across the AGU scientific spectrum, like GRL and AGU Advances, but it is targeting papers that perhaps do not have the significance level needed for publication in other AGU journals (like, for instance, JGR Space Physics).
The first EiC of ESS focused on methods and data papers. The new EiC, however, is expanding that scope to include papers that are useful. That bar for publication is lower than the significant and original mantra of JGR, but it means that there is a place for a broader mix of studies within the AGU family of journals.
One of the key changes that Prof. Fox implemented for ESS is that he has reshaped and expanded the editorial board of the journal. One thing that I regularly lamented about this journal was that it did not have an editor from the space or planetary science community, but that is no longer the case. I now see that Dr. Astrid Maute of the National Center for Atmospheric Research High Altitude Observatory. Woohoo! Congratulations on the appointment, Astrid! This is a fantastic development and I am very happy for her, for ESS, and for the space physics research community. I look forward to working with her as a fellow editor.
On the topic of the aims and scope of ESS, authors of manuscripts submitted to JGR Space Physics might see more reject-and-transfer decisions from me and my editors, sending your paper on to ESS. While you always have the prerogative to resubmit a rejected paper back to JGR Space Physics, please note that it should address the weakness noted in the decline-to-publish decision letter. If we are suggesting a transfer ESS, then we have most likely consulted with Peter or Astrid about it and they will fully consider it for ESS. So, please seriously consider submitting that manuscript to this other journal. In fact, with AGU Advances now having its own GEMS website and accepting submissions to accompany JGR Space Physics, Earth and Space Science, Radio Science, and Space Weather, space scientists now have a wide expanse of AGU journal options to which they can submit their full-length paper. Please think carefully about which journal is best for each paper that you write.
Notes from the JGR-Space Physics Editor-in-Chief 
Thank you. That is interesting about Earth and Space Science. And congratulations to Astrid.