Special issue guidelines
Thank you for considering publishing a special issue with The Cryosphere (TC). TC offers an efficient way of publishing special issues that gather thematically linked sets of papers. The individual manuscripts are peer-reviewed and published as soon as they are available in regular issues. They are then labelled as part of the special issue and linked electronically.
The specific advantages of publishing a special issue with TC are the following:
- All papers are published open-access.
- Every individual paper in the special issue is posted as soon as it is available. That means that the publication date is not delayed by late papers.
- Efficient interactive discussion of the common theme takes place on EGUsphere.
- Posting of preprints on EGUsphere allows efficient cross-referencing between the final revised papers in TC.
- All contributions are efficiently linked and coherently presented on dedicated special issue web pages (an appropriate logo is welcome as a *.jpg file), easily accessible from the TC online library.
- Guest editors can define the order of the published papers on the special issue web page.
- Either a non-peer-reviewed editorial preface or a peer-reviewed scientific paper can be used to introduce a special issue.
Inter-journal special issues
A special issue can comprise publications in any number of Copernicus’ open-access journals, of which one should be nominated as the lead journal for administrative purposes. The handling of individual manuscripts follows the standard procedures for special issues in the journal to which the manuscript is submitted. Afterwards, all published papers are co-listed on a joint special issue web page (in addition to the regular chronological volume of each journal).
If you intend to propose an inter-journal special issue, please first send your proposal to the co-editors-in-chief of the lead journal. If your proposal is accepted, please also contact the co-editors-in-chief of the constituent journals to find out if they want to participate in the inter-journal special issue. Only after all journals have agreed, should all information (see above) on the inter-journal special issue be sent to the Copernicus Publications Editorial Support.
Special issue proposal
To make arrangements for a special issue, please contact one of the TC editors covering the relevant subject areas and one of the TC co-editors-in-chief (see editorial board and journal subject areas). Please provide the following information:
- title of the special issue;
- start date & end date of submission;
- a statement of the purpose of the special issue, whether it arises out of a conference, and whether it will include only invited papers or is open for all submissions within its scope.
What is the difference between a collection and a special issue?
| Criterion | Special issue | Collection |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal/setup | Anyone can propose to co-editors-in-chief who then decide | Decided by the co-editors-in-chief |
| Scope statement | Mandatory | Optional |
| Statement on the review | Specified in the scope statement | Obsolete |
| Collaboration with other journals | Yes, but only with SIs | Yes, but only with collections |
| Submission period | Limited | Open |
| Paper submission | Invitation possible | Always spontaneous, no invitation |
| Handling editors | At least supervised by regular journal editors, guest editors possible | Only regular journal editors |
| Peer review | Regular public peer review with all regular criteria | Regular public peer review with all regular criteria |
| Paper assignment | From the beginning, preprint is part of the SI | Only after the final revised journal article is published |
| Retroactive assignment | No | Yes, approval by co-editors-in-chief |
| Prioritized workflow | No | No |
| APC discount (other than regular financial support scheme) | No | No |
| Metadata | SI part of meta data & SI statement in the paper | No information in metadata or in the article itself |