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Dear Colleague,
The ICESA Council discussed the main points related to the 'Geology of Africa, JAES Special issues and below are the most important points we would like to submit to your attention.
The Guest Editors of JAES Special Issues should ensure that the selected Senior Authors and their co-authors will submit Review papers and not usual journal's papers. The review papers should cover relatively broad geographical region but still be focused on a consistent topic. An example is, for the cratons, to have only one review paper on the Zimbabwe craton. Where applicable, each paper should include a short historical review and then focus on the presentation of objective data available- (litho) stratigraphy, sedimentology, magmatism, structure, metamorphism and then present a review of geotectonic models available with arguments for and against each, preferably without taking position (neutral account). Geochronology is an important component and should be included where available but a critical assessment of the database is strongly required (quality and reliability of database should be evaluated). We recommend that, where applicable, all geochronological data be re-computed using the same software and we suggest using Excel Software of Ludwig (1999), Berkley Geochronology Center Special Publication. Those who do not have this package can get it from the ICESA Council members. Please, remember that authors should include aspects related to mineral resources as brief information when describing the host rocks, without elaborating much on it. This option has been taken in Cape Town because mineral resources will be covered in an independent book in a near future. The special issues and the book should include review papers on the oceanic domains of the African Plate and this should specifically be covered in the Phanerozoic magmatism and in the Phanerozoic sedimentary basins Special Issues.
The Guest Editors of each issue are requested to consult among themselves and suggest titles of chapters in the issue and send it to A.B. Kampunzu, ideally for end of January latest. The name of the senior author should be included with the chapter title. The ICESA Council will consult and where required make suggestions to the Guest Editors in less than a week after receiving this list. The Guest Editors will then contact the proposed Senior Editors to get their approval and ask them where necessary to suggest eventual changes on the titles of the papers, etc. The Senior Authors will be asked also to send a list of their suggested co-authors. The role of Guest Editors will at this stage be to make sure that the Senior Authors do include all the expertise required in order to produce an excellent review paper. Please, all Senior authors and all contributors to Special Issues should be selected on the basis of efficiency and merit (knowledge of the topic, ability to write a review paper, etc.) and not on the basis of any geopolitical or friendship relations. This is an important key for the success of this enterprise. The Guest Editors should clearly define the deadlines for each specific issue, inform A.B. Kampunzu about these deadlines as soon as possible and make sure that contributors strictly follow the deadlines. Important to keep in mind is that all the volumes should be printed or be in press between end 2001 and early 2003. After consultation, it has to be agreed that there should not be a pre-defined order of submission for printing of the different issues; the first completed issue will be the first to be printed.
These Special Issues will only include invited review papers; therefore the length of the manuscripts will not be restricted to the usual journal's length. The Guest Editors of various issues have large professional experience, they know their topic and have experience in terms of publications; we therefore have to trust them. Please make sure that each review covers the defined topic properly, then make sure that there are no duplications between chapters and obviously ensure that all the data and ideas are presented using a minimum of words! Although at this stage we do not limit the number of pages, as soon as we have the number of papers suggested for each issue, we will consult both the Guest Editors and the journal's management and define some guidelines on page limitations for each specific issue (some flexibility will be however remain allowed).
Each review paper should contain an exhaustive reference list presented in the journal format. A special care should be given to Figures. According to Chinese, 'a good picture is better than thousand words'. We therefore urge all the authors to submit excellent Figures: simplified maps, (litho)stratigraphic columns, synthetic cross-sections, selected geochemical diagrams, etc. All the final figures will be submitted in digital format. Some colleagues from some countries are unable to provide figures on digital format. They are in that case urged to contact A.B. Kampunzu earlier about this and supply hard copies of the figures. One of the Guest Editors (Prof. Abdelsalaam, University of Texas) offered to produce the digital version of some of these figures but, anticipating a higher request than what he can possibly handle, the Council has in addition budgeted the cost of hiring a person to work on such figures at University of Botswana and/or University of Durban-Westville. Therefore excellent quality illustrations will be required for every paper accepted in these Special Issues.
The manuscripts should be submitted in triplicate (not duplicate as usual for JAES) to one of the Guest Editors. The Guest Editors should consult among them and decide who is going to be in charge of receiving all the manuscripts and that name should be sent to A.B. Kampunzu at the same time as the final list of review papers, senior authors and co-authors of each chapter. The ideal is to send this information between January and February so that they can be advertised. The Guest Editors who are ready can submit this information in January; the idea is to have each group evolve independently. Three referees will review each paper (one of them should be one of the Guest Editors). Please apart from that editor, make sure that the two other referees are acknowledgeable international top-experts and at least one of the two should have some (field) knowledge of Africa. The review sheets will be the usual JAES review sheets on which will be added few specific questions requesting the referees to state if the paper is an exhaustive and integrative review of knowledge on the topic and if it integrates up-to-date worldwide techniques and knowledge on similar topic. Where required, the cost of photocopies and mail related to the Special Issues will be paid back to the Guest Editors out of ICESA's fund. In the specific case of some African countries where the normal post service is not working properly, please use courier service (e.g. DHL) for manuscripts sent back to authors and claim for it (see financial section). The revised final manuscripts should be submitted both in hard copies (two) and in digital form to the Guest Editor handling the manuscript. If the Guest Editors are totally happy with the paper in terms of science and formatting (strictly JAES format), they will keep one hard copy in their files and send the second hard copy along with the reviewer's comments and the diskette to A.B. Kampunzu for a final appraisal. A letter of final acceptance will be issued by the journal after this final appraisal. Important to note is that none of the Guest Editors (including the ICESA Council Members) will handle his own manuscript. Internally, one of the co-editors should take care of that and the review procedure should be strictly the same for every contribution in this Special Issue.
A preliminary estimate led to a budget of USD 150,000 for the preparation of the eight JAES volumes. This amount includes USD 120,000 for the payment of contributors and USD 30,000 for the preparation of Figures and for mail (courier and airmail). The base of calculation is an average of USD 1000 per Review paper and the (estimated) number of papers is 120. Obviously, some contributors do not require a financial support and this will therefore raise the real amount granted to the contributors requiring support. Currently, the ICESA account contains about USD 15,000 and we have a commitment from our official sponsors for USD 10,000 per year for the next three years. This gives us a total of USD 45,000. The Council, especially the Treasurer (Prof. McCourt), is currently working on raising funds for the remaining USD 105,000, i.e. about USD 35,000 per year for the next three years. We are confident that we will get support from UNESCO because the current Director of Earth Sciences in Paris as well as the current Earth Science Specialists at UNESCO-ROSTA (Nairobi) are committed to the development of Earth Sciences in Africa. We also expect support from major mining companies operating in Africa such as Anglo-American, BHP, De Beers, Gold Field, Rio-Tinto, etc. We will keep you updated on this issue. Critical at this stage is that we should spend the amount of USD15 000 before end February in order to get the next annual allocation from the sponsors. Therefore, please send urgently (early January) the names, addresses, etc of the contributors already selected by you (Guest Editors) and who require support (see previous mail for the main selection criteria on this question but some flexibility is required there too and the ICESA Council will examine all applications and decide according to the resources available). The applicants will have to sign a contract with ICESA.
The Council takes this opportunity to thank all the Guest Editors, the Senior authors and their co-authors and we hope to hear from you as soon as possible. We are happy to work with you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
ICESA Council
A.B. Kampunzu S. McCourt F. Tembo
Proposed title: Geophysical characteristics of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: Reeves C. (ITC, Netherlands), Ebinger C. (Leeds University, U.K.), Nyblade A. (Pennsylvania State University, USA) and Wright J. (Witwatersrand University, South Africa)
Proposed title: Archaean Crustal Provinces of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: De Wit M. (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Kampunzu A.B. (University of Botswana), McCourt S. (University of Durban-Westville, South Africa) and Rollinson H. (Cheltenham and Gloucester College of HE, UK)
Proposed title: Eburnian Orogenic System of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: Muhongo S. (University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania), Milesi J.-P. (BRGM Orleans, France), Munyanyiwa (University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe), Toteu (CRGM-Garoua, Cameroon),
Proposed title: Kibaran Orogenic System of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: Kampunzu A.B. (University of Botswana), Hanson R. (Texas Christian University, USA), Key, R. (BGS, UK-IGCP 418), McCourt S. (University of Durban-Westville, South Africa), Tack L. (Central Africa Royal Museum, Belgium)
Proposed title: Pan-African Orogenic System of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: Liegeois, J.-P. (Central Africa Royal Museum, Belgium), Abdelsalaam M. (University of Texas at Austin, USA), Dirks P. (University of Zimbabwe), Muhongo S. (University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania)
Proposed title: Phanerozoic Orogenic Belts and Basins of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: Eriksson, P. (University of Pretoria), Mbede E. (University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania), Schlueter T. (UNESCO-Nairobi), Selley R.C. (Royal School of Mines, London, UK), Rubidge B.S. (Witwatersrand University, South Africa)
Proposed title: Phanerozoic Magmatism of the African Plate.
Guest Editors: Bowden P. (University of Saint-Etienne, France), Ali T. Al-Mishwat (Kuwait University), Le Roex A. (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Opiyo-Akech N. (University of Nairobi, Kenya), Tembo F. (School of Mines, University of Zambia)
Proposed title: Pliocene to Holocene Palaeoecology, Palaeoclimate and Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the African Plate and Impact on Hominids.
Guest Editors: Tiercelin J.-J. (University of Brest, France), Lezine A.M. (University of Paris, France-IGCP 431), Odada (University of Nairobi, Kenya)
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Last modified:
November 20, 2007
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