In general authors will follow similar guidelines to manuscripts submitted to DSR-I in terms of manuscript length, format and content.
 

Special Issue Size

In most cases the maximum number of published pages for a special issue should not exceed 320 pages. This equates to about 15 to 20 papers whose individual lengths average about 15 to 20 pages.
 

Manuscript Content

Both DSR-I and DSR-II publish papers reporting original research. In rare instances, DSR-II may publish a review paper if it fits within the context of other papers within a special issue.

Papers should stand on their own, but the special issue may be considerably strengthened if authors cross-reference other papers within the special issue. It should be the responsibility of guest editors to point out complementary papers to authors.

Papers dealing with taxonomy and systematics are discouraged, but biogeography papers are acceptable.
 

Manuscript Format

A Conclusions or Summary section is generally needed only if the text is longer than 20-25 pages.

All numerical units should be in metric, with the exception of such standard terms as knots.

The list of references at the end of the article should be in alphabetical order, following the standard DSR format. The prospective author is referred to Manuscript Requirements for Deep-Sea Research I, which appears at the end of most issues, or to any published paper in DSR-I or DSR-II.

Figure captions should be on a separate page of paper, double-spaced.
 

Page Charges

There are no page charges for papers published in DSR-II, except for publication of colour plates, the cost of which is borne by the author. Current prices for colour plate printing can be obtained from Sally Stone at Pergamon/Elsevier s.stone@elsevier.co.uk
 

CD-ROMs

Several DSR-II special issues have contained CR-ROMs. These are particularly useful when the author (or guest editors) want to reproduce large quantities of data, present multi-dimensional models, or present time-lapse images. The cost of reproducing a CD-ROM is small, roughly equivalent to a few pages of published text.
 

Time Schedule

It is recommended that you establish a time schedule and inform contributing authors (as well as the DSR-II editor) of deadlines for submission and revision of the manuscripts. It is particularly important to keep the time between first and last submitted manuscripts to a minimum. Unfortunately, particularly late papers may not be included in the special issue, although it does ensure that the issue is timely. Keeping on schedule also will please those authors who have adhered to the original schedule.

To ensure optimal responses from the DSR-II editor, please keep him informed of possible changes in the schedule as well as advanced notice as to when the revised manuscripts may be submitted.

As soon as the special issue and papers have been finalized (generally when all papers have been submitted and reviewed), the guest editor should initiate contact with Sally Stone at Pergamon/Elsevier.
 

Manuscript Length

Most papers should contain no more than 20-30 pages of text (double spaced);

Most papers should have less than a total of 15 figures plus tables. If the combined number exceeds 20, the guest editor or editor reserves the right to request appropriate revisions to reduce the number.
 

Review Process

Guest editors are responsible for the review of each manuscript submitted for publication within a special issue.

Authors should submit manuscripts in triplicate to the guest editor; do not submit final illustrations or a computer disk. One reviewer can be an author of another paper within the special issue, but least one of the reviewers should be outside the special issue.

Based on the technical reviews, the guest editor can accept the paper, accept it with revisions, or reject the paper. For the most part, the guest editor is only responsible for the scientific or technical editing; grammatical editing (as well as final technical editing) is done by the DSR-II editor. However, the author should respond to any and all comments raised in the technical reviews, even if they deal with writing style.
 

Revisions

When the guest editor accepts a revised manuscript, it is forwarded to the DSR-II editor for final editorial review and subsequent submission to Pergamon/Elsevier for publication.

In most instances, the DSR-II editor will make only minor changes to the manuscript, such that authors are asked to submit one copy of the ms together with a computer disk containing the final version of the paper, together with final illustrations and any special instructions. Specify on the disk which computer and software were used.
 

Special Issue Order

Most authors of papers in a special issue would like to own a copy of the entire special issue, but for non-subscribers to DSR-II, this can be rather costly. As an example, in 1998, an order of 5 to 49 copies of a regular-size special issue is US $50, whereas more than 200 is US$ 35.

To minimize the cost, therefore, guest editors and authors are encouraged to order issues in bulk. A single bulk order is preferable to a number of smaller orders. Bulk-order prices should be negotiated with Sally Stone (e-mail address above).
 

Reprints

Each senior author will receive 50 (fifty) free reprints of his/her paper as well as a complimentary copy of the issue.
 

REMEMBER

The speed at which a special issue is published is usually dependent on the speed at which the slowest author submits his/her revised paper. Unfortunately, the fastest author often suffers at the expense of the slowest. As such, fast authors are encouraged to pester or otherwise harass slow authors; otherwise publication can be delayed for an embarrassingly long time.