Formatting Guidelines

Abstract
The English-language abstract should be no more than 200 words and should not include references within the text.

 Non-technical summary
To enhance the accessibility of your research, Geomorphica encourages the inclusion of a non-technical summary, limited to 200 words, with the initial manuscript submission. This summary should clearly explain the essential methods and results of your research in a way that is understandable to those unfamiliar with your field. Aimed at a diverse audience including journalists, government staff, other researchers, civil protection and disaster management personnel, and the general public, the summary should be concise—one or two paragraphs. It should address the following key points:

• What is the current issue or problem your research addresses, and why is it significant to your field and the larger community?
• Describe, without excessive jargon, your methods for data collection and analysis.
• What are the main conclusions of your study, and what impact might your research have on society? What societal benefits might be realized?

 Keywords
Provide up to 5 keywords representative for your manuscript. These keywords will only be revealed on the publication page.

 Main text 
Each manuscript should be organized into clear, numbered sections following instructions within the Geomorphica’s manuscript template. The sections within the manuscript include: 1. Introduction; 2. Study Area; 3. Materials and Methods; 4. Results; 5. Discussion; 6. Conclusion. The manuscript file should be anonymized in order to allow our triple-anonymous review process. 

 Word Limit (excluding references, figure captions, and tables) by publication type:

• Research Articles: 3,000 to 10,000 words
• Synthesis Articles: 3,000 to 10,000 words
• Case Studies: Less than 6,000 words. Up to 6 items of figures and tables combined.
• Reviews: Less than 10,000 words
• Comments: Less than 1,000 words and one figure or table.
• Short Communications: Less than 3,000 words and no more than 3 items of figures and tables combined. No limit to the in-text code sections.

 Authors with manuscripts exceeding the word limit per publication type should contact the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission to discuss accommodation.

Figures & Tables
Each figure and table should be named and numbered chronologically in the body of the manuscript. Please refer to the sections below for the specific details about format requirements. There should be a maximum of two tables in the main manuscript. Other tables can be submitted as Supplementary Materials.

Equations
Each equation included in the manuscript must be clearly labelled and numbered in sequential order. Equations should be either typed directly into the text or embedded within the manuscript in a format that is easily readable. Each parameter used in the equation must be explicitly defined within the text. Equations should be appropriately cited as needed. Any complex or lengthy derivations of equations that are not crucial to the main text should be included in the Supplementary Materials to maintain the clarity and conciseness of the manuscript.

Codes
When specific codes are essential for discussions in the main manuscript, such as for papers on ‘Novel Methods’ or ‘Deployment of an Instrument,’ they should be embedded within the text in a readable format. The complete codes, along with all required execution files and comprehensive documentation, should be stored in FAIR-compliant repositories. Links to these repositories must be included in the Code and Data Availability statement of the manuscript, adhering to our Code and Data Availability Guidelines. This ensures that while the manuscript remains clear and concise, detailed computational resources are accessible for thorough review and further research.

The reference list should be alphabetically ordered, contain only those entries that are cited in the text, and include a full (not shortened) Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for each entry. References can appear in the text directly, e.g., Lambda et al. (1989), or can be in brackets (e.g., Lambda et al., 1989). Where relevant, DOIs or URLs for the references cited must be provided. Geomorphica requires references and citations in the APA reference style following the I4OC - Initiative for Open Citations principles.

Example in-text citation:

(Koppes & King, 2020)

Example reference:

Koppes, M. & King, L. (2020). Beyond x,y,z(t); Navigating New Landscapes of Science in the Science of Landscapes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 125, e2020JF005588. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005588

Geomorphica also advocates for diversity in citations. While Citation Diversity Statements are not compulsory, we encourage authors to consider inclusivity in their references, such as citing works in non-English languages, non-academic sources, and policy documents. This approach broadens the perspective of the scientific dialogue.

Regarding post-acceptance procedures, authors using MS Word and bibliography software like Endnote, Zotero, or Mendeley are encouraged to export their references as a BibTeX file (*.bib) along with the plain text reference list to help the copyediting process. For LaTeX submissions, the accompanying .bib file should only include references that are cited in the main text. To ensure accuracy, authors can use the ‘aux2bib’ tool from bibtools to confirm that the .bib file exactly matches the .tex file.

Color Palettes
Authors are required to use scientifically derived color maps and palettes that are compatible with commonly used image visualization software packages, such as QGIS, Adobe products, Kingdom, Petrel, Inkscape, MatLab, Python, and Gimp. It is crucial to ensure that the color schemes are accessible to those with color-vision deficiencies. Tools like Colbis, Color Oracle, and Adobe’s accessibility tools should be used to check color schemes. Additionally, authors should verify that the background-to-foreground color contrast is sufficient for clear visibility via tools such as WebAim's Contrast Checker, Contrast Ratio Checker, or Colour Contrast Analyser.

Text on figures
Text in figures must be printed in a size that is legible without the need for zooming. Adequate contrast between the text and the background is essential, particularly when figures are printed at 300 dpi on a white A4 page. This ensures that all textual information within the figures and tables is easily legible.

Figure format and size
Figures should adhere to specific size limitations to ensure uniformity across the publication. The width of figures should not exceed 180 mm, and their height should not exceed 200 mm. Specific formats include one-column figures, which should not exceed 80 x 200 mm, and two-column figures, which can be up to 175 x 200 mm. Special considerations for oversized or multipage figures should be discussed with the editors. For the review process, high-resolution legible images should be embedded in the submitted manuscript. Upon acceptance, each figure must be provided as an individual file (JPEG or PNG. PNG is preferrable) at a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, compressed to be under 10 MB. Each figure should also include details such as scale, orientation, legend, and location. If country borders are to be displayed on some figures, then these borders should be internationally-recognized borders. 

Figure captions
Each figure included in the manuscript and supplementary materials must include a detailed caption placed below the figure. These captions should provide sufficient context for the reader and include references for any external materials used, such as data from a referenced map. All abbreviations used within the figure must be defined in the legend or the caption itself. 

Use lowercase letters (a, b, c, ...) to label and cite the subfigures (e.g., Figures 1a, 3b, 5e).

Requirement for Data Availability
All raw data associated with figures, graphs, and tables must be made accessible. Authors should upload this data as supplementary material to the manuscript or provide a link to a data repository. Exceptions can be made for data that are restricted under confidentiality agreements. See detailed requirements in our Code and Data Availability Guidelines.

There should be a maximum of two tables in the main manuscript. Other tables can be submitted as Supplementary Materials.

 Tables in the manuscript
The tables should conform to specific size and formatting guidelines to ensure consistency across the publication. The maximum size for a table is 175 x 200 mm per page, although multipage tables are permissible. Tables should primarily contain text, which may include descriptions, equations, and codes. All tables must have concise column headings at the top, with units of measurement clearly indicated in brackets. The font used in tables should match that of the main manuscript text, with a minimum size of 10 pt, aligned to the left and top of each cell. Initially, tables must be embedded in the manuscript text upon submission. After manuscript acceptance, each table should be submitted as an individual file, either as an MS Excel spreadsheet (*.xls, .xlsx) or an MS Word document (.doc, *.docx).

Large extensive tables
For extensive tables that include large datasets, authors should store these in a suitable data repository, with links provided in the Code and Data Availability section of the manuscript, adhering to our Code and Data Availability Guidelines.

Table captions
Every table included in the manuscript and supplementary materials must be accompanied by a detailed caption placed above the table. For extensive tables that are stored in external data repositories, captions should be provided in the supplementary materials document. These captions should provide sufficient context and explain the significance and content of the table. 

Authors are encouraged to include additional non-English translations of the abstract, each similar in length to the English abstract, to be incorporated in the typeset paper. Our MS Word template must be used for these translations, following the instructions provided, and fonts should be embedded during submission (see Microsoft’s instruction for embedding fonts). The translated abstract document should not exceed one page and should include the translated title, abstract text, and keywords while remaining anonymized during the initial submission and the triple-anonymous review process. 

Geomorphica does not guarantee review of the additional abstracts, as the reviewers and editors may not speak the language in which they are written. The authors have the responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the non-English abstracts. If someone from Geomorphica’s team speaks the language of the additional non-English abstract, they may proofread it, but are not responsible to check their content.

Supplemental materials, such as supplementary text, figures, captions, and additional references, should be compiled into a single PDF file and uploaded into the journal submission system for review. These materials are intended to support the conclusions of your paper by providing additional information, such as detailed descriptions of materials and methods, controls, or tabulated data presented in tables or figures. Supplemental materials should not include additional discussion, analysis, or interpretations and should not be used as a forum to critique other publications. 

Our MS Word template should be used for supplemental materials, adhering to the provided instructions to ensure consistency and clarity. During the initial submission and peer-review processes, these documents should be kept anonymized.

Larger or more complex supplementary files that cannot be integrated into a single PDF—such as audio, movie files and large-sized images— should be uploaded to a relevant separate repository. All forms of digital files that are not suitable for the integrated PDF should be stored in a FAIR-compliant repository, following our Code and Data Availability Guidelines. 

Abbreviations that are not standard to the field should not be used in the abstract and must be introduced the first time they appear in the manuscript text, with the abbreviation provided in parentheses. Standard abbreviations such as “Fm.” for “Formation” or “Mbr.” for “Member” should be reserved for use in figures and tables only, with full words used in the text of the manuscript. All units should conform to the International System of Units (SI) or its derivatives (e.g., use meters instead of feet, kilopascals instead of PSI).

General Rules for Abbreviations
Define Your Acronyms (DYA): Introduce and define acronyms upon their first use in the text. In longer papers, it may be beneficial to redefine acronyms at the start of each major section. Distinguish between ‘semi-’ and ‘bi-’: Use ‘semi-annual’, ‘semi-monthly’, ‘semi-weekly’ for events occurring twice within the specified period, and ‘biannual’, ‘bimonthly’, ‘biweekly’ for events occurring once every two years, months, or weeks respectively. 

Examples of unit abbreviations include ‘km’ for kilometer, ‘m’ for meter, ‘sec’ or ‘s’ for seconds, ‘Hz’ for Hertz, ‘°’ or ‘deg’ for degrees (temperature or arc), ‘Pa’ for Pascals, ‘kPa’ for kiloPascals, ‘bar’ for bar, ‘psi’ for pounds per square inch, ‘Nm’ for Newton-meter, ‘dyn-cm’ for dyne-centimeter, ‘azm’ for azimuth, ‘baz’ for backazimuth, ‘ft’ for feet, ‘mi’ for miles, and ‘nm’ for nanometer or nautical miles, depending on the context.

Dates and times
Dates should be written in long form as ‘dd M yyyy’ (e.g., 29 May 2023) to avoid confusion. Times should be expressed in 24-hour format, with UTC as the default time zone. If a different time zone is used, it must be clearly specified (e.g., 14:35, 14:35:22, or 14:35.22 EDT).

Upon acceptance of a manuscript, a graphical abstract is required. This visual summary provides an immediate overview of the study and is intended to attract readers to the paper. It may consist of a diagram or photograph from the manuscript that is representative of the work, or it may be a standalone figure specifically prepared to convey the key message of the study.

The graphical abstract will be displayed as a clickable thumbnail on the journal website and shared on social media platforms, where it may be viewed on mobile devices. To ensure clarity and legibility at small scales, text should be kept to a minimum and fonts should be large. While the image does not need to be perfectly square, extreme aspect ratios, such as very wide and short or narrow and tall, should be avoided. A minimum resolution of 300 dpi is recommended, and the image should be large enough (e.g., at least 20 cm on one side) to remain clear and readable when viewed at full size after clicking the thumbnail.