Get your Hydrology and Earth System Sciences paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.1
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 13 August, 2026
Submitting to Hydrology and Earth System Sciences goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Hydrology Earth System Sci requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract required. For research articles: no word limit specified in guidelines (described as 'short, clear, concise' without numerical limit). For brief communications: maximum 100 words. For LESSONS Reports: 100 words. Abstract should be intelligible to the general reader without reference to the text, recapitulating key points and mentioning possible directions for prospective research. Reference citations and unexplained abbreviations should be avoided |
| Main text | Research articles: No word/page limit specified in guidelines. Brief communications: 2–4 journal pages (maximum 3 figures/tables, maximum 20 references). LESSONS Reports: 1,000–2,000 words in main text. Technical notes: 'short (a few pages only)'. Section order: Introduction (numbered), sections (3 levels allowed: 3, 3.1, 3.1.1), Conclusions, Appendices (if any), Code/Data availability, Author contribution, Competing interests, Acknowledgements, References |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Authors select 'subject areas and index terms' during manuscript registration for editor assignment. At least one index term must be selected from each of two categories: (1) disciplinary field and (2) domain of integration. The guidelines do not specify traditional author-supplied keywords, keyword counts, or MeSH terms - the focus is on subject area/index term selection for editorial matching rather than bibliographic keywords |
| References | Copernicus Publications style. References listed alphabetically by first author's surname. Format: Author(s) (initials after surname), article/book title, abbreviated journal name, volume, page numbers (first and last), DOI, year. In-text citations use name-date format in parentheses (e.g., Smith, 2009 or Smith and Brown, 2010). BibTeX style file (copernicus.bst) available. No numbered references |
| Peer review | Open/transparent peer review. Manuscripts are posted as preprints on EGUsphere followed by interactive public discussion (6 weeks). Referee comments can be anonymous or named; community comments are always named (attributed). This is a fully transparent review process where all comments, responses, and manuscript versions are publicly accessible, not traditional single-blind or double-blind review |
| Submission | editor.copernicus.org/HESS/manuscript_registration |
Read the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Hydrology and Earth System Sciences in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Hydrology Earth System Sci papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Hydrology and Earth System Sciences guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.