Journal of Service Climatology General Info

The Journal of Service Climatology publishes peer reviewed research articles in applied and service climatology, including but not limited to agricultural and forestry climatology, bioclimatology, climate data quality and instrumentation, environmental climatology, hydroclimatology, human dimensions of climate risk and socioeconomic impact assessments, and climate services administration.

The Journal also publishes review articles on the use of climate information in decision making, climate service tools (web-based or stand alone programs), data sets with detailed meta-data, climate education materials (including stand alone technical presentations), notes, comments to the editor, and invited articles.

Submission for Review

All journal submissions for review should be e-mailed to the chief editor at jsc@engr.uga.edu. The chief editor will determine the appropriateness for publication in the JSC. If deemed appropriate, the chief editor will forward the submission to an associate editor for the review process.

Non-electronic submissions will not be accepted. Submissions must be in one of the following formats: MS-word, WordPerfect, or ASCII text. The text should be doubled spaced with all tables and figures at the end of the text with one table or figure per page.

Page Charges

Page charges are $25 per page for non-AASC members. For AASC members (members, associate, emeritus, and honorary) the charge is $5 per page. Page charges are billed in half page increments. There will be no page charges for invited papers.

Style

All articles should be in appropriate style for a scientific journal such as APA style.

Format

Research Articles

Research articles must include the relevance of the research to the decision making of the user.

Research articles should include at a minimum the following sections:

1. abstract which includes the research question and its importance, critical background information, summary of the methodology, critical results, and the answer to the research question,
2. literature review,
3. methodology,
4. results and discussion,
5. recommendations and conclusions, and
6. references.

All research articles must include a one to two page service summary suitable to be used as a handout to the intended audience of decision makers (e.g., may be high technical if the intended audience is engineers while semi-technical for others). The application summary should include five sections:

1. climate service question,
2. background information,
3. summary of the research methodology,
4. discussion and an example of how to use the information. Units in the service summary should be in metric and English units.

Climate Service Tools (Computer Programs)

Articles describing and documenting web-based and stand alone climate service program must include as a minimum the following sections: 1) abstract which includes a clear description of the intended use of the tool, platforms on which the tool runs, data analysis routine, algorithm used, and graphic requirements, 2) literature review with special emphasis on the data analysis, numerical analysis and algorithms used, 3) methodology section which includes the numerical analysis scheme, plotting routines, graphics, 4) instruction and example section with detailed instructions on the use of the tool with examples, and 5) access to the executable program (mandatory) and access to the computer code is encouraged..

Data Sets

The JSC will publish original or derived data sets of significant importance to service climatology. All data sets published must included detailed meta-data. While the meta-data requirements will vary based on the type of data set, in general the meta-data should include the data source, quality control procedures, handling of missing data, methodology used in data replacement, instrumentation types and changes, location changes, time of observation changes, etc.

Classroom Materials

Course materials such as laboratory exercises, lectures, applets, etc. must include learning objectives and outcomes along with evidence that the material has been classroom tested and can be shown to meet the learning objectives and outcomes. The education material article should include at a minimum the following sections: 1) abstract which includes intended audience, the learning outcomes and objectives, description of the material developed, and results from classroom research, 2) scientific and educational literature review, 3) the educational material or link to it, 4) example of the use of the material showing a completed exercise, 5) recommendations and conclusions, and 6) references.

Electronic Presentations

Electronic presentations (e.g., PowerPoint presentation) must include a detailed and scientifically accurate script which can stand alone. The presentation article should include at a minimum the following sections: 1) abstract which includes the intended audience, learning outcomes and objectives, description of the presentation, and evidence that the learning outcomes and objective have been met, 2) literature review, 3) the presentation script, 4) evidence that the learning outcomes and objectives have been met, 5) recommendations and conclusions, and 6) references. The appendix must include the electronic presentation.

Notes and Comments to the Editor

Notes and comments to the editor will be printed at the discretion of the editorial board.