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CHECKLIST FOR SUBMITTING
A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO
ANY AGU JOURNAL

Submitting a new manuscript: The process

For your convenience, we encourage you to use our LaTeX or Word templates. You can also submit papers directly using cloud-based authoring tools Overleaf, which is LaTeX-based, and Authorea. If you use any of these templates, the metadata, including title and abstract, from the paper will be automatically loaded into our submission system when you upload the file.

Following our guidelines will ensure that we can immediately proceed with publication, if your manuscript is accepted. Our other author resources can help guide you along your publishing journey.

If you are submitting a revised or resubmitted manuscript that has already undergone peer review, please follow the checklist for revisions and resubmissions.

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What you need for a new submission

You will need to provide the following items with your submission, if, and where, applicable. For new submissions, please upload one complete Word or PDF manuscript file containing text, figures, and any tables that are part of the main text. For LaTeX, convert to PDF. Any supplemental information should be uploaded separately and also be deposited in an appropriate repository.

  • 1
    An email list for all authors (for easy entry of co-authors); otherwise their names, affiliations, and emails. Individual author contributions can be indicated (optional) using the CRediT taxonomy.
  • 2

    Suggestions of at least three reviewers, including at least their names and email addresses.

  • 3

    Permissions to reuse any figures that were previously published by a non-AGU journal.

  • 4

    An optional cover letter explaining your submission to the editors and identifying any conflicts of interest. This will be entered into the online submission form, not uploaded as a separate file.

  • 5

    An explanation of any cited unpublished references in your cover letter. Include copies of any manuscripts from any of the co-authors that are related to this paper and not yet published.

  • 6

    If there are any companion manuscripts at this or any other journal, please indicate their status in your cover letter and provide a copy if a companion is at a different journal.

  • 7

    References to in-preparation or submitted special collection manuscripts should be coordinated with journal staff.

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We encourage all authors to register for an ORCID; it is mandatory for the corresponding author. Published contributions and reviews are automatically registered to your ORCID. We encourage using International Geo Sample Numbers (IGSNs) to identify all relevant samples. IGSNs will be linked in your final paper.

Finally, we strongly encourage following best practices and depositing software and describing samples in repositories that practice the FAIR principles and include in the references.

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Checklist: New manuscripts

To expedite the processing of your paper, please ensure your manuscript meets the following requirements. Our complete guidelines for composing your manuscript are included on our Text Requirements page.

Your title page should include the title, authors with their affiliations, and three key points of your research.

Your abstract should be less than 250 words for all AGU journals, except Geophysical Research Letters (GRL). For Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), your abstract should be less than 150 words.

Your plain language summary should be written for a broad audience that includes journalists and the science-interested public. It should state the general problem, describe what research was conducted, the result, and why the findings are important. The plain language summary improves article discoverability and allows your paper to be more widely accessible. For tips, learn how to write a plain language summary. 

This is required for the following journals: Geophysical Research Letters; Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (G-Cubed); Journal of Advances in Modeling of Earth Systems (JAMES); JGR: Biogeosciences; JGR: Oceans; JGR: Planets; and Reviews of Geophysics. For all other journals, this is optional.

Ensure all key sections have descriptive headings throughout the text for organization.

Ensure that you have continuous line numbers throughout the text for organization.

Check the length of your paper. Papers submitted to Geophysical Research Letters must be 12 publication units (PUs) or less, or they will be returned to the author. AGU assesses excess fees for papers longer than 25 PUs in all other journals, except Reviews of Geophysics. At the time of your submission, be prepared to enter word, table, and figure counts for an automatic PU calculation. More information on publication units and fees, is available on our Publication Fee Table.

Figures and tables should have captions. Both should be placed near where they are cited in the text.

There should be no footnotes in the text.

  • All references must be cited in the main text and reference list for indexing. If they appear elsewhere, your submission will be returned.

  • References should be formatted according to AGU’s publications style. Every reference must be available publicly online or in print before a paper can be accepted; there should be no “submitted” or “in press” references (unless the “in press” reference has a DOI and is available online). Exceptions are considered by the editor.

Your acknowledgements section should include the following items:

  • A statement indicating where readers can access the data, software, and sample information supporting the analysis and conclusions. A typical statement would be “the data are in these repositories and cited in the references.” Statements implying that data are available from authors are not allowed.

  • 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.

  • All data must be made available via data repository web address link.  

      • All data must be made available via data repository web address link. 

Checklist: Supporting information

Files that are uploaded as Supporting Information MUST ALSO be deposited in an appropriate repository. Files that are uploaded as Supporting Information must also be deposited in an appropriate repository. Supporting information may include other images or figures, methods text, and resources needed to explain the results presented in your paper. It should not include discussion or key analysis. Data sets, software, and sample information should be deposited in repositories practicing the FAIR principles and cited in the references.

  • 1
    Use our supporting information template and include text, captions, and figures as part of one supporting information file, saved in PDF format.
  • 2
    Please upload the PDF file. Production staff will not convert, edit, or modify your supporting information files. They will be published as-is.
  • 3
    Please deposit data tables and software to repositories practicing the FAIR principles and cite them as part of the references and according to AGU’s data policy.
  • 4
    Do not include data tables and software as part of the manuscript.
  • 5
    Include any analysis or discussion as part of the main manuscript, not supporting information.
  • 6
    All references are cited in the main text and reference list so that they can be indexed. If references appear in the Supporting Information file and not in the main file, your submission will be returned to you.
  • 7
    Do not include appendices. Appendix text and figures should be included in the main article file.
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