Author Guidelines
ABOUT OCEANOGRAPHY
Oceanography is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by The Oceanography Society. The journal presents significant research, noteworthy achievements, exciting new technology, and articles that address public policy and education. The overall goal of Oceanography is cross-disciplinary communication in the ocean sciences.
Starting with the March 2015 issue, full issues of the journal are available on the Oceanography Digital Kiosk. Visitors to the open-access kiosk can page through full issue digital flipbooks that can include videos, animations, photo galleries, and audio files (learn more). In addition, individual articles beginning with Volume 1 are available from the Oceanography Archive.
1. General Information
2. Manuscript Categories
3. Preparing and Submitting Your Manuscript
4. Permissions/Agreements
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1. GENERAL INFORMATION
LANGUAGE STYLE. Submitted manuscripts should be of broad interest to our readership. The desired writing style is less technical and more compact than that typically used in scientific papers. Strive for clarity and simplicity. Target your manuscript to graduate students, professional oceanographers of all traditional disciplines, and other scientifically literate audiences. Avoid technical or mathematical jargon.
AUTHORSHIP. When considering authorship, include as coauthors only those persons who have made significant scientific contributions to the work; who have contributed to the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or who have contributed to writing or editing the manuscript. Determine the order of authorship in a manner appropriate to the contribution. Pay careful attention to inclusion and appropriate attribution of student work. All coauthors share responsibility for the quality, accuracy, and integrity of the submitted and published work. Acknowledgments may be used to denote contributions to the work that do not meet authorship criteria. Authorship obligations apply to all papers submitted to Oceanography and Oceanography supplements, as well as research abstracts, and oral and poster presentations at meetings.
AUTHORSHIP AND AI TOOLS. As a result of the increased popularity of using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or Large Language Models (LLMs) in research publications, the Oceanography Editorial Board, and the TOS Council, endorse the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) position statement on authorship and AI tools, which states:
AI tools cannot be listed as an author of a paper.
AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, they cannot assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest nor manage copyright and license agreements.
Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data must be transparent in disclosing in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper how the AI tool was used, and which tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics.
PUBLICATION FEE. The fee for publishing Feature Articles that are not part of invited special issue sections is $2,000. The publication fee for Breaking Waves, Meeting Reports, Commentaries, Perspectives, Ocean Education, and Ocean Policy articles of up to six magazine pages in length is $1,000. The publication fee for short Rip Current news articles is $500. There is no charge for invited book reviews and The Oceanography Classroom columns. Payment information (credit card number or purchase order number) must be provided at the time a proof of the manuscript is distributed to the corresponding author. Authors can request a waiver from TOS (email to [email protected]) for all or part of the publication fee if they document their inability to cover the expense.
MANUSCRIPT REVIEW PROCESS. Unsolicited manuscripts will be reviewed for style, relevance to The Oceanography Society’s mission, content, and quality by the Editor or Associate Editors upon receipt. All manuscripts will be given unbiased consideration by the editors. In additon, all manuscripts are checked for plagiarism upon receipt. If signifcant overlap with other published manuscripts is identified, the manuscript will either be desk rejected or the authors will be asked to correct the identified issues. If the manuscript passes initial internal review, a minimum of two external reviewers will be sought. Consistent with our effort to publish papers on rapidly advancing topics in oceanography, all submissions will move expeditiously through the peer-review and publishing process. Our goal is to publish papers no more than two issues (i.e., six months) after submission.
TOS POLICY ON PUBLICATION. As part of the "TOS Policy on Professional Integrity, Ethics, and Conduct, and Guidelines on Implementation,” Section 3 includes the TOS Policy on Publication. In this document, you can read about the obligations of editors, authors and contributors, and reviewers of manuscripts, among other important information.
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2. MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES
SPECIFICATIONS BY CATEGORY
2 Authors can request a waiver from The Oceanography Society (email to [email protected]) for all or part of the publication fee if they document their inability to cover the expense. |
CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS
FEATURE ARTICLES
The purpose of the Feature Articles section is to provide an outlet for making significant advances in oceanography accessible to a broad readership. While these papers should be thought-provoking for professional oceanographers, they should also be written to engage the educated non-experts. Feature articles can include review papers that summarize the current state of knowledge of a particular topic, synthesis papers that discuss new findings and how they significantly revise our thinking about a topic, and more traditional scientific research papers from across the full spectrum of oceanography and marine technology.
TITLE PAGE GRAPHIC. If relevant, include a high resolution photo or image (preferably a high-resolution photo of related fieldwork) or a visual abstract (a concise, graphical representation of the key findings) for the title page of the article.
SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLES
Oceanography regularly publishes special issues, most of which are sponsored by outside organizations. Submission of special issue manuscripts may be by invitation of the guest editors or through a process that includes submitting expressions of interest. If you have any questions about special issue manuscript submission, please contact one of the guest editors for that special issue.
BREAKING WAVES
The purpose of the Breaking Waves section is to provide an outlet for short peer-reviewed papers that describe novel approaches to multidisciplinary problems in oceanography. These provocative papers will present findings that are synthetic by design and have the potential to move the field of oceanography forward or in new directions.
Authors should submit a brief email to the Breaking Waves Editor, Alistair Hobday ([email protected]), that outlines their ideas for papers prior to actual manuscript preparation. This step will ensure that authors receive appropriate feedback prior to investing their time and energy in preparing manuscripts that may be unsuitable for publication in this forum.
MEETING/WORKSHOP/CONFERENCE REPORTS
We welcome short articles that describe the goals, activities, and accomplishments of meetings/workshops/conferences in all aspects of ocean science. Articles should not include agendas, programs, and attendance, but rather focus on consensus products and recommendations for future work.
OCEAN EDUCATION
Ocean Education articles should inspire teachers in higher education to try new active, student-centered instruction (ranging from short activities to curricula) and provide ideas/materials to do so. Articles should include a description of the activity (location of activity, education level targeted, number of participants), an evaluation and critical discussion, and recommendations for other instructors based on the lessons learned. Including student perspectives and/or sustainability aspects is encouraged.
OCEAN POLICY
We seek provocative articles that start a community discussion on future directions of ocean science.
COMMENTARIES AND PERSPECTIVES
• Commentaries present analyses of issue of interest to Oceanography readers, written by experts in the field. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome.
• Perspectives articles should add a dimension to a newly published Oceanography Feature Article and not just a summary of that article’s content. Perspectives are usually invited.
DIY OCEANOGRAPHY
In this Oceanography section, contributing authors share all of the relevant information on a homemade sensor, instrument, or software tool(s) so that others can build, or build upon, it. These short articles also showcase how this technology was used successfully in the field. Initial inquiries can be made to the guest editors for this article category, Emmanuel Boss and Camille Pagniello. Visit the DIY Oceanography web page to read previously published articles.
DIY Oceanography articles should include:
• Purpose of Instrument (or Sensor/Gizmo/Device/Software)
• Background
• Materials and Costs
• Assembly Steps
• Code (should be posted where publicly available)
• Field Application Example (if available)
• Possible Modifications and/or Possible Future Development (if appropriate)
• References and/or Additional Resources
NOTE: Please be sure to include an estimate of the amount of time/funds/skills needed to complete the instrument.
RIP CURRENT – NEWS IN OCEANOGRAPHY
We seek short articles that describe newsworthy items in the field of oceanography.
THE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM
A recurring column in Oceanography magazine provides guidance and insights into teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in the ocean sciences. The columns can be opinion pieces or convey general ideas in education applied to oceanography. Visit The Oceanography Classroom web page to read previously published articles.
CAREER PROFILES
This recurring column highlights marine scientists who have pursued successful and fulfilling careers outside of academia. These profiles, invited by the Oceanography editor, are intended to advise ocean sciences graduate students about all marine science career options, not just teaching and/or research in a university setting. Visit the Career Profiles web page to read previously published articles.
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3. PREPARING AND SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
INITIAL MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
For all new manuscript submissions, please go to the Scholastica Submission System and click on the red Submit Manuscript button at the top right.
• Authors will need to create a login if they have not previously used this web app.
• Choose a Manuscript Category for your article.
• Input all authors' names, affiliations, and ORCID numbers.
• Upload a file(s) for peer review in MS Word and/or PDF format that contains all text, figures, and tables. Include continuous line numbering throughout. Line spacing should be 1.5–2.
• Provide any supporting information (including supplementary materials) in a separate file(s) for review purposes.
• Include a cover letter.
• Provide three or more suggested reviewers who do not have any real or perceived conflicts of interest, including personal or competitive relationships.
Scholastica's manuscript submission guide can be accessed here.
QUESTIONS? Please email Oceanography Editor Dr. Ellen S. Kappel ([email protected])
IMPORTANT. All authors are expected to adhere to The Oceanography Society’s Policy on Professional Integrity, Ethics, and Conduct when submitting a manuscript.
SPECIAL ISSUE MANUSCRIPTS. If a manuscript has been invited and is being submitted as part of a special issue, please check with guest editors for that issue for guidance on word count and the number of figures and tables, and as to whether they are using the Oceanography manuscript online submission portal.
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PREPARING YOUR FINAL MANUSCRIPT
• Final manuscripts must be in MS Word (.docx) format. LaTeX users, please submit your article in .pdf format.
• Final figures must be submitted as separate files in graphics formats (see acceptable formats below).
• Final manuscripts must follow Oceanography’s style conventions.
TEXT
IMPORTANT. Word count includes all text—author information, abstract (if applicable), main body text, boxes and sidebars, references, acknowledgments, and captions. See the Manuscript Categories section above to find the word count for your article.
TITLE PAGE
Your title page should include:
• Manuscript title
• Author names and organizational affiliations, including state/province, and country
• Contact information for the corresponding author, including email address
ABSTRACT
• Abstracts should not exceed 200 words (exceptions include DIY Oceanography, which has a different format and has no abstract requirement)
REFERENCES
• All references included in the bibliography must be cited in the main text
• References should be formatted according to Oceanography’s Style Guide
• The Oceanography reference style is also available for download for use in EndNote
• All articles cited must be available publicly online or in print before a paper can be accepted
• “Submitted” or “in prep” references are not acceptable (exceptions are considered by the editor)
CAPTIONS
Include all figure and table captions in the main article text.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Your acknowledgments section should include the following items:
• All funding information from each author pertaining to this work
• Any conflicts of interest for any author that are not apparent from their affiliations or funding
• Any additional information on author contributions
FIGURES AND TABLES
See our Manuscript Categories section above to determine the maximum number of tables and figures your article may include. In addition to the use of scientific figures to illustrate a paper’s main points, we encourage the inclusion of color photographs of instrumentation and scientists conducting fieldwork to bring topics alive for the journal’s readership.
• Figures and tables must have captions and must be called out in the text
• Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permissions, if required
FIGURE FILES
• Acceptable figure formats include eps, ai, pdf, jpg, tiff, png
• For best results, rasterized artwork should be at least 300 dpi resolution
TABLE FILES
• All tables must be in an editable format (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, and .csv)
• Tables should be set up to fit within a standard 8.5 x 11 inch page
• Text font size should be no smaller than 7 pts
If there is a problem with any file, we will contact you for a revised file. The Editor reserves the right to reject poor-quality graphics.
Graphics embedded in Microsoft Word are not acceptable.
FLIPBOOK ASSETS
An exciting enhancement now available to Oceanography authors is the ability to embed videos, animations, photo galleries, and audio files in the flipbook version of their articles. All additions must be directly associated with a figure in the article—the link to media is embedded within the figure. Any captions and credits should be provided at the time of submission of the media to Oceanography so that we can include them appropriately. View previous flipbooks on the Oceanography Digital Kiosk.
VIDEOS
• We recommend that videos not exceed a few minutes in length
• Videos must be in mp4 format and no larger than 100 MB
ANIMATED GIFS
• GIFS must be no larger than 5 MB
AUDIO
• Audio files must be in mp3 format and no larger than 100 MB
PHOTO GALLERIES
• Photos for a photo gallery must be in jpg or png format and no larger than 5 MB per photo
• For best results, all photos should have the same dimensions
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
• Additional figures and data tables will be accepted if directly relevant to the article.
• Audio and video clips and animations that are called out in the article and that enhance understanding of the article are also acceptable supplementary materials.
• References cited in supplementary materials should be included in the reference list in the print article.
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4. PERMISSIONS/AGREEMENTS
GRAPHICS PERMISSIONS
Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permissions, if necessary, from other publishers for the figures/images they submit to Oceanography. The websites of most publishing companies and journals have instructions on how to obtain copyright permission.
Please send a copy of the letter(s) granting permission via email or regular mail to:
| Vicky Cullen Oceanography Assistant Editor PO Box 687 West Falmouth, MA 02574 USA [email protected] |
REQUIRED AGREEMENTS
Upon submission of your manuscript to Oceanography, all authors must sign and return the appropriate agreement. Authors can sign and send forms individually.
There are two different types of agreements:
• The certification form to be signed by US government employees only
• The license to publish form to be signed by all others
Send agreements via email or regular mail to:
| Vicky Cullen Oceanography Assistant Editor PO Box 687 West Falmouth, MA 02574 USA [email protected] |
If you have any questions regarding the agreements, contact the Assistant Editor.
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE CONTENT
Oceanography makes articles available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). For additional information on content usage, please go to the Permissions page.