Review process

All manuscripts undergo peer review with at least two independent referees. The peer review is organized by the commission chairs, who act as the co-editors.

Once a manuscript has been registered, the author will receive a manuscript number from the online editorial support system, the Copernicus Office Editor, and will be asked to upload the manuscript files as described in the manuscript submission section.

• The Copernicus Publications Editorial Support performs an incoming inspection of the submitted files and consults the author if necessary. A plagiarism check is applied and a report is available to editors and referees, if applicable.
• The Copernicus Office Editor assigns the manuscript to one of the co-editors, who gets access to the entire manuscript.
• The co-editor nominates a minimum of two independent referees. As soon as a referee has agreed, she/he gets access to the manuscript for review and is asked to take into account the review criteria.
• Once at least two independent referee reports have been received, the Copernicus Office Editor approaches the co-editor to study these reports and to make a decision. Besides acceptance/rejection, the co-editor can request technical corrections (no further review), minor revision (further review by co-editor only), as well as major revision (further review by referees and co-editor).
• The Copernicus Office Editor informs the author of the manuscript about the decision and provides a link to the reports of the co-editor and referees.
• The peer-review status of each manuscript is summarized in the manuscript records. Editors, authors, and referees also have access to the parts that concern them.