Overall journal goals

Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists is an open access collection of articles, essays, commentaries, memorials, debates, and insights by those working in the Earth and space sciences. Contributions reflect on important scientific discoveries, advances, and events in the Earth and space sciences. These open access articles are intended to be read and understood by the larger Earth and space science community, including early-career and student scientists, serving as a forum for multiple forms of communication.

Perspectives pieces can take several different formats, each with a different set of guidelines and target length.

• Article. The primary format of the journal, articles provide an author or authors’ perspective on either a geophysical science topic or aspect of the field of geophysics. Although these articles should have a geophysical focus and are not meant to be biographies or memoirs, they may also incorporate personal reflections/examples/lessons learned from the author’s scientific career, such as research breakthroughs, challenges that are overcome, and cultural differences in scientific research systems. The journal also encourages topics around diversity, equity, and inclusion in geosciences. Articles are encouraged from all parts of the geophysical community to represent the diversity in nationality, ethnicity, gender, and career stage of Earth and space scientists. [Peer reviewed]

A sub-category of an Article is a:

• Memorial. A single author or group of authors may contribute a memorial to highlight the scientific accomplishments of a deceased AGU member.

• Commentary. Commentaries state a brief position on a scientific or science-related topic without the full documentation and research behind it that is expected for a Perspectives article. Commentaries may address aspects of geoscience policy, education, and infrastructure, as well as research. [Not normally peer reviewed, but can be at the discretion of the editor]

Sub-categories of Commentaries include:

• Debate. Commentaries may be used by two debating individuals or research communities. As a debate, the Commentary format will allow each side to contribute an initial statement and then a follow-up rebuttal to the other’s statement.
• Opinion. Along the lines of a letter to the editor, an Opinion can be used for an author or authors to state a particular viewpoint or opinion without the requirement of referenced documentation.

• News update. Shorter than articles and commentaries, news updates provide authors with a forum to update the geophysical community with timely information about research programs, funding opportunities, conference directions, professional organizational news, etc. [Not peer reviewed]

A sub-category of a News Update is a:

• Regional Report. A News Update may have specific relevance for a particular geographic region or community, and a Regional Report can meet the specific needs of that region.

We welcome submissions from all parts of the geophysical community to represent the diversity in nationality, ethnicity, gender, and career stage of Earth and space scientists.

Publishing requirements

Recommendations for manuscript length:

Article Type	Length
Article / Memorial	12 PU
Commentary	6 PU
News Update	4 PU

Each article type has separate length recommendations as mentioned in the table above, where a publication unit (PU) is 500 words or 1 display element, such as a figure or table.

· Authors are encouraged to submit a small personal photo. Please include photo credits for any images taken that are not your own

· Because these are not research articles, authors should consider the value of figures and pictures, considering length limitations. Any tables, images, or charts should be submitted with permissions information.

· A modest number of references is appropriate, though this is not a venue to recount a publication history.

· All authors are expected to uphold AGU's ethical guidelines.

· While data sets or data tables should be used sparingly, authors are expected to follow  AGU’s data and software availability guidelines, if appropriate.

· ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is required for all authors.

· All authors are required to include a Plain language summary with their submission in addition to their abstract; details can be found at https://www.agu.org/Share-and-Advocate/Share/Community/Plain-language-summary.

If you would like to submit a video, use these specs.

• Recommended size: 1280 by 720 pixels.
• Minimum size, landscape video: 600 by 315 pixels (1.9:1 aspect ratio)
• Minimum size, square video: 600 by 600 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)
• Recommended specs: .MP4 or .MOV format, maximum file size 4GB, maximum length 120 min, maximum frame rate 30fps.

Telling a story

Articles are intended to give scientists a chance to tell a story. There are many ways to write stories. The information here talks about the story arc and may help you frame your story. 

Not sure how to focus your perspective? Here are some ideas:

· How were you drawn to your chosen field?

· What were some interesting events or turning points in your career or science?

· What obstacles did you overcome to gain a footing in your science? 

· What was the origin of a particular research field or program?

· What are some highlights and reflections on the current status of the field and where do you think it is going?

· How will this be interesting, informative, and/or inspiring to future Earth and space scientists?

Here are some things to avoid in preparing your perspective:

· Avoid unnecessary details, either professional or personal, that do not pertain to your story. This is not an autobiography.

· Avoid unnecessary references, particularly to one’s own work. This is not a research paper, nor is it a retelling of one’s CV. However, do provide references for research or programs that are part of the story.

· Do not use this as an opportunity to publish research not published elsewhere.

· Do not use this as an opportunity to critique another research program or result. Scientific controversies can make for interesting and important Perspectives articles, but must be addressed in a fair and appropriate manner.

All Perspectives articles, except News Updates, will be peer-reviewed, though articles may be returned without review if they do not meet Perspectives guidelines.

These resources can provide you guidance on telling your story:

• AGU’s Sharing Science program provides multiple resources of how to think of writing and communicating beyond the scientific community
• The Scientist article talks about embracing the challenge of communicating your story
• Dan’s Wild Wild Science Journal blog pulls out good science reporting; the elements of storytelling and language can translate to your story

  If you have questions, please email perspectives@agu.org

 Authorship Policy

Each author must read and approve the paper and will be informed about all reviews and revisions. It is expected that authors will have: (1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data, or creation of new software used in the work; or have drafted the work or substantively revised it; (2) approved the submitted version (and any substantially modified version that involves the author’s contribution to the study); and (3) agreed to be personally accountable for their own contributions and for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and documented in the literature. AGU will notify each co-author about a submission and all revisions. A deceased person who met the criteria described here may be designated as an author.

The corresponding author accepts the responsibility of including as authors all persons who meet these criteria for authorship and none who do not. Other contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria should be appropriately acknowledged in the paper. The corresponding author also attests that all living co-authors have seen the final version of the paper, agree with the major conclusions, and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Policies for Authors

• Publication policies (e.g. authorship, peer review, conflict of interest, dual publication, preprints, self-archiving, copyright, permissions, corrections)
• Publication ethics and integrity policies and procedures (e.g., author ethical obligations, plagiarism, ethics, appeals, Comment/Reply)