Geographical region covered - The Journal of the North Atlantic covers archaeology and environmental history of the peoples of the northern North Atlantic, their expansion into the region over time, and their interactions with their changing environment. Manuscripts based on studies outside of this region that provide information on aspects of research within this region may be considered at the Editor's discretion.

Manuscript subject matter - The Journal of the North Atlantic publishes a wide diversity of research papers, as well as research summaries and general interest articles in closely related disciplines, which, when considered together, help contribute to a comprehensive multi-disciplinary understanding of the historical interplay between cultural and environmental changes in the North Atlantic world. Specifically, the journal's focus includes paleo-environmental reconstruction and modeling, historical ecology, archaeology, ecology of organisms important to humans, anthropology, human/environment/climate interactions, climate history, ethnography, ethnohistory, historical analyses, discussions of cultural heritage, and place-name studies.

Special issues - Journal of the North Atlantic welcomes proposals for special issues that are based on a series of invitational articles or on conference or meeting proceedings. Special issue editors can rely on the journal staff’s years of experiences in efficiently handling most details relating to the publication of special issues.