Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics

Guidelines for submitting a 'Comment' and 'Reply'

1. Journals will consider Comments (and Replies) on papers appearing in that journal within the last year.
2. What is a Comment & Reply? A Comment and Reply include discussion and commentary that address significant aspects of the original paper without (a) becoming essentially new papers, (b) delving into too much detail, (c) becoming personal. A Comment and Reply should address non-trivial points of interest to readers other than the authors of the comment and the paper being commented on.
3. Page Length & Charges: The Comment and the Reply are limited to 1 journal page each (page charges waived if one page each), including title, affiliations, abstract (less than 100 words), text, references, figures, and tables. In unusual cases, this limit might be extended to 2 journal pages each (authors pay for the additional page), by the overseeing editor, i.e. a total of four pages. Authors are reminded about the facility to submit as electronic supplements non-essential material.
4. Submission & Format: Both Comments and Replies should be submitted in the form of 'normal' papers using the COSIS system (see Manuscript Submission). (a) The Comment title should start with "Comment on..." and contain the paper reference (e.g. Comment on "Spatio-temporal filling of missing points in geophysical data sets" by D. Kondrashov and M. Ghil, Nonlin. Processes Geophys., 13, 151–159, 2006). (b) The Reply title should start with "Reply to..." (e.g. Reply to A. Smith's Comment on "Spatio-temporal filling of missing points in geophysical data sets").
5. Review: An Executive Editor from the journal will normally oversee the Comment & Reply (and at his/her discretion, involve the Editor who oversaw the original paper being commented upon), ensuring that standards for publication are met, and may elect (a) to decline a Comment without further consideration, (b) to require revisions before further consideration, or (c) to immediately solicit a Reply (with appropriate deadline for return) from the authors of the published work being discussed. If a Reply is submitted in a timely way, the Editor will have both the Comment and Reply reviewed. If the original author chooses not to submit a Reply or is unwilling to respond within the time frame set by the Editor, the Editor may elect to proceed without a Reply.
   
   In most cases, only one referee will be used. The referee will be asked to prepare separate reports on the Comment and Reply (as each has been submitted separately in the COSIS system). If the author of the original paper did not reply, the Comment will be reviewed and a decision concerning publication will be made after the referee's report has been received.
   
   Upon receipt of the referee's reports, the Editor will forward the Reply, along with the referee's report on the Comment, to the author of the Comment. The Comment may be revised one time in response to the Reply and the referee's report. The revised Comment will then be sent, together with the referee's report of the Reply, to the authors of the Reply. One revision of the reply will be allowed. At this point, a final decision will be made whether or not to publish the Comment and the Reply.