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Journal of Geophysical Research
Atmospheres

Topical Collections & Special Sections

JGR Atmospheres Topical Collections/Special sections offer a unique avenue for publication of a collection of papers with a common focus or theme in a regular issue of the journal.

Topical Collection.

Topical Collections will consist of 10 or more published papers that fit predominantly into one of the three JGR - Atmospheres thematic sections (Climate & Dynamics, Aerosols & Clouds, Composition & Chemistry). These collections will usually be handled by a single Editor. These papers will appear as a contiguous cluster under a single heading within the appropriate thematic section.

Special Section.

Special Sections will consist of 20 or more published papers that transcend the three major thematic sections and cannot be conveniently placed in one. In this case, manuscripts will generally be handled by two or more Editors as determined by the primary GAP codes for each paper. All papers will appear at the end of an issue as a Separate Section. Subscribers will have the option of purchasing these Special Sections in addition to purchasing the normal the subsets/thematic sections.

Proceedure

A written request for a Topical Collection/Special Section should be submitted to the editor. The request should include a statement regarding the focus and an explanation of why a Topical Collection/Special Section is justified.

The following policies have been adopted to ensure that manuscripts submitted for potential publication in a Topical Collection/Special Section are judged by the same standards as all others. These policies will also allow our office to improve its responsiveness to the community.

1. One of the Editors of JGR-Atmospheres will edit Topical Collections while two or more will edit Special Sections. Note that there are no guest editors.

2. The identification of a Topical Collection/Special Section Coordinator who will help to organize the papers that will be submitted to JGR-Atmospheres is requested. The Coordinator will also be responsible for the submission of an overview paper and/or preface, if needed.

3. At least one of the reviewers will be selected from colleagues who are not involved in the Topical Collection/Special Section. The Coordinator will supply a list of 4 potential referees (specifying for each suggestion whether they are involved/not involved) for each manuscript to be submitted to the Topical Collection/Special Section. The suggestions provided by the Coordinator should be generated by the Coordinator, not the authors (who will also provide suggestions; see #8 below).

3. Referees will understand from the manuscript references that the paper that they have been asked to review has been submitted for potential publication as part of a specific collection of manuscripts. The reviewers will be instructed that the manuscript must meet the same rigorous standards as all others under consideration for publication in JGR-Atmospheres. Each Topical Collection/Special Section paper will be evaluated on its own merits, and only those that are found to "stand alone" as important contributions will be accepted for publication. It is the responsibility of each submitting author to include copies of other manuscripts which may be used for referencing by the referees.

5. A deadline for manuscript submission, set following consultation with the Topical Collection/Special Section Coordinator, will be enforced by our office. Manuscripts submitted after the deadline will be included in the Topical Collection/Special Section only if they are able to "catch up" in the review/revision process.

6.. At the time that the deadline of submission has been set, the Coordinator should set a cut-off date for the acceptance of manuscripts so that publication can proceed in a timely manner. The Coordinator should establish a cut-off date based upon the standard time allowed for the completion of a typical review cycle. Generally, a manuscript can complete the review process within a three month period if only minor revisions are required. If a paper requires more extensive revision, it will likely be returned to one or both of the referees for a second review. A standard cut-off date could be set for 6-8 months from the submission deadline. The Topical Collection/Special Section should then be published within approximately 3 months after the cut-off date. Papers submitted late and/or requiring extensive revisions are unlikely to catch-up in the review process and be part of the Topical Collection/Special Section. However, if eventually accepted for publication, they will be published in a regular issue of the journal.

7. Submission of a list of manuscripts with a full title and full authorship (not et al.) is requested and should be provided at the earliest possible time before the deadline for manuscript submission is set. New submissions to the Topical Collection/Special Section cannot be processed until the list of manuscripts/authors has been received.

8. Topical Collection/Special Section manuscripts should not be held for one submission, but instead should be submitted as they are ready for review. The corresponding author must include in his/her cover letter a list of 4 potential referees along with the required Primary GAP Index Term and 2-3 Secondary GAP Index Terms.

Guidelines for Overview Papers and Technical Appendices in Special Sections and Topical Collections

The Editors of JGR encourage the organisers of Special Sections/ Topical Collections to submit a single overview paper that provides a synthesis of the Special Section's/Topical Collection's main results and scientific advances, or aspects thereof, and which can serve as a stand-alone paper. Multiple overview papers (e.g., Primary Overview paper, Meteorological Overview paper, Platform "X" overview, etc.) are discouraged because, very often, many of these papers contain material more suitable for a technical report as opposed to a scientific paper.

If additional overview papers are warranted, they should adhere to the same scientific standard as normal stand-alone manuscripts and represent a significant advancement in, or synthesis of, our scientific understanding resulting from activities associated with the Special Section/Topical Collection. Within some Special Sections or Topical Collections it is sometimes necessary to publish supporting data such as instrument platform overviews or basic meteorological overviews which do not present scientific results, analysis, or synthesis of data.

In these situations, authors can submit a Technical Appendix containing information supporting other manuscripts in the Special Section/Topical Collection. The Technical Appendix should be an Appendix to either the main Overview manuscript or a or that manuscript which depends most on the information provided in the Appendix. The Appendix can have its own title and author list which may be different to that on the associated manuscript and will be linked, and consequently (electronically) published with the associated manuscript.

The Technical Appendix will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

(1) Is the subject appropriate to JGR-Atmospheres?

(2) Does the Technical Appendix provide useful and necessary information supporting other manuscripts submitted to the Special Section/Topical Collection?

(3) Is the paper well organized and clearly presented?

(4) Are any parts of the paper (text, tables, illustrations, mathematics) unnecessary?

(5) Can any of the illustrations be clarified, reduced, combined or eliminated?

(6) Have any portions of this manuscript been previously published?

(7) Is the use of mathematics correct and appropriate and are all symbols sufficiently explained?

(8) Is the standard of English usage satisfactory?

(9) Are SI units used in the manuscript?

JGR-ATMOSPHERES TOPICAL COLLECTION/ SPECIAL ISSUE PROPOSAL FORM

Proposers must submit this form to the appropriate Editor and the AGU Director of Publications along with a draft table of contents and a brief description of the scope and nature of the proposed Topical Collection/ Special Issue

American Geophysical Union (JGR-Atmospheres)
2000 Florida Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

Note to the co-ordinator of a Topical Collection/Special Section: The co-ordinator must provide the Editor with the following:

i) The title for the Topical Collection/Special Section

ii) A list of all papers, authors, and affiliation on each paper.

iii) A list of 4 suggested referees for each paper (in addition to the 4 supplied by the authors) along with GAP Index Terms for each paper (one primary term and two secondary terms). It should be highlighted if a suggested referee is involved in the Topical Collection or Special Section.

Content of Proposal Form (available as WORD document on request)

PROPOSER INFORMATION

Name:

Institution:

Mailing Address:

Telephone:

Fax:

Email:

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

1. Journal :

2. Tentative Title :

3. Subject Area :

4. Name any other special issue on the same subject published within the last five years:

5. Is the proposed special issue to be "regular" Topical collection or Special Section, for which papers will appear in one or more groups set apart in normally scheduled issues of the journal

6. Are the papers based on a symposium or conference?

7. Have the papers or major parts of them been published previously?

8. Is this special collection of papers now under consideration by other publishers or has it been?

9. Estimate the number of papers and/or manuscript pages involved (including any tables, figure captions, references, appendices, but excluding the figures themselves): Papers: Manuscript Pages:

10. Estimate the number of figures:

11. Will there be special features such as color printing or foldout pages? Yes/No:

approximate number of pages with color:
approximate number of color photographs/art:
approximate number of foldouts:
approximate number of black & white photographs (excluding line drawings):
other (e.g. maps in back pocket):

11. Front matter to be included in special section (choose one):

Foreword : Yes/No
Introduction : Yes/No
Preface : Yes/No

PROPOSED TIME SCHEDULE

(If the proposal is accepted by the Editor and AGU for publishing and if authorization to proceed is received one month after receipt of this form) Date manuscripts will be ready for peer review: Projected publication date:

Proposer :

Date

Journal Editor :

Publications:Director,

Brief Description, Scope and Nature of the proposed Topical Collection Special Section:

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