date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 09:52:11 +0100 (MET)
from: John Birks <John.Birks@bot.uib.no>
subject: Re: Holocene review
to: Keith Briffa <k.briffa@uea.ac.uk>

Dear Keith,

I'm glad you got my review OK. I agree with you that this is an important
and interesting piece of work, that should definitely be published. I was
actually pretty disappointed that it was written up rather badly, so that
it needed some major revision. Stomatal studies face fierce 'competition'
from ice-core people, who do not like it at all, so we have to be sure
that our science is spot on. Apart from the methodological aspects, the
discussion part of the paper was really rather astonishing.

I hope the authors can revise the paper. I would be quite happy if they
took some more space to write a full-length manuscript that can carefully
address the implications of their results, rather than skate over
interesting points just to make it small enough for 'fast-track'. As far
as I know, no-one else is near completion of a Holocene stomata/CO2 study.

I will be glad to look at the revised manuscript in due course, and hope
that it will be more enjoyable next time.

With best wishes,
Hilary

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Hilary Birks                                                          |
| Botanical Institute, University of Bergen,                            |
| Allegaten 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway                                   |
| Phone: (47) 55 583325  or  (47) 55 588134                             |
| Fax:   (47) 55 589667       e-mail: Hilary.Birks@bot.uib.no           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+




