Aims and scope
Boundary-Layer Meteorology publishes fundamental research on physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the lowest few kilometres of the Earth’s atmosphere. These processes regulate exchanges of natural and anthropogenic quantities, thus directly affecting contemporary issues at the nexus of sustainability, climate variability, and human health. To this extent, technical results presented in Boundary-Layer Meteorology are aligned with overarching directives recently established in Springer Nature’s “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Programme.” During its existence, Boundary-Layer Meteorology has been the premiere avenue of dissemination of theoretical, numerical, and experimental ABL studies. The technical scope broadly encompasses the role of turbulent mixing in terrestrial land– and ocean–atmosphere interactions, the hydrologic cycle, multiscale meteorology, and the parametrization of small-scale processes. Topics of future interest include processes affecting sustainability and human health, for example, the nitrogen cycle, solar yield, and desertification. Research concerning boundary-layer processes on other astronomical objects – particularly Mars, Venus, and Titan – is also welcomed. Special Issue volumes dedicated to a comprehensive review of a specific topic are occasionally published.
Boundary-Layer Meteorology publishes several types of articles, which are detailed below. Please use this guidance to select the most appropriate category for your submission.
Research Articles are scientific articles that present results from substantial research studies or critical reviews of ongoing research. Articles in this category are generally no more than 30 journal pages long, with a maximum of 15 figures. An article may be accompanied by a limited amount of supplementary online material when necessary, as rigorously prepared and edited as is the main article. Time from initial submission to online publication is typically 4 to 8 months, with initial reviews obtained within two to three months.
Brief Reports are short articles requiring rapid dissemination. These articles are designed to present (i) new findings of timely and compelling interest to the boundary-layer meteorological research community; (ii) notable early results from experimental, observational, model, and theoretical studies that are specifically suitable for brief communication; (iii) preliminary research findings likely to be highly valuable to the scientific community; and (iv) significant extensions of earlier work. Brief Reports are limited in size to 6 journal pages, can include no more than three figures, and must not include supplementary electronic material. Time to first editorial decision does not exceed one month – papers requiring significant revisions will be disqualified from consideration as Brief Reports and will subsequently be processed as Research Articles. Authors submitting Brief Reports must include a note to the Editors justifying the need for rapid publication in view of the above criteria.
Review Articles are similar in format to Research Articles and are processed in the same way, but are intended to benchmark the state-of-art of a particular body of work. These papers provide significant benefit to the community by offering an avenue to summarize preceding work and establishing guidance for future inquiry.
We additionally publish Book Reviews, Editorial Notes, Corrigenda, and Obituaries. These are usually solicited by the journal; please contact the Editor-in-Chief regarding these submission types. Note that all article types should be prepared following our technical guidelines, which are outlined in the submission templates available via the link in the right column of this page.