cc: "p.jones" <p.jones@uea.ac.uk>, mann@virginia.edu
date: Mon, 19 May 2003 16:35:04 -0400
from: "Michael E. Mann" <mann@virginia.edu>
subject: Fwd: Problesm with the review process at Climate Research
to: f034 <C.Goodess@uea.ac.uk>, Clare Goodess <C.Goodess@uea.ac.uk>, Mike Hulme <m.hulme@uea.ac.uk>

     From: harvey@cirque.geog.utoronto.ca
     To: mann@virginia.edu, trenberth@ucar.ncar.edu, wigley@ucar.edu,
        jhansen@giss.nasa.gov, jto@u.arizona.edu, simon.shackley@umist.ac.uk,
        Robert wilby <rob.wilby@kcl.ac.uk>, tim.carter@vyh.fi,
        p.martens@icis.unimaas.nl, peter.whetton@dar.csiro.au, c.goodess@uea,
        Mike Hulme <m.hulme@uea.ac.uk>, p.jones@uea,
        PITTOCK Barrie <abp@dar.csiro.au>, a.minns@uea.ac.uk,
        Wolfgang Cramer <Wolfgang.Cramer@pik-potsdam.de>, j.salinger@niwa.co.nz,
        simon.torok@csiro.au, harvey@geog.utoronto.ca
     Illegal-Object: Syntax error in To: address found on bureau6.utcc.utoronto.ca:
             To:     N.W.Arnell<N.W.Arnell@soton.ac.uk>
                               ^-missing end of address
     Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 13:12:19 -0400
     Subject: Problesm with the review process at Climate Research
     Reply-to: harvey@cirque.geog.utoronto.ca
     Priority: normal
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     h3MHF3105779
     Dear All:
     Tom Wigley forwarded to me recent correspondance over concerns
     about another bad paper that was published in Climate Research
     (by Baliunus), and suggested that I forward a copy of an email that
     we (after some procrastination) have just sent to de Freitas (see
     below).
     I might add that we were both independently informed that the
     reviewer's "were split". Since both Tom and I were strongly against
     publishing the paper, that implies that there were four reviewers,
     which of course is highly unusual. We have chosen not to raise
     questions about that at this time.
     Regards
     Danny Harvey
     Dear Dr. de Freitas:
     We have discovered that we were both reviewers of the paper
     Revised 21st
     century temperature projections by Michaels et al. recently
     published in
     your journal (vol. 23, pp. 19, 2002). In our reviews, we both judged
     the
     paper to be in category d (Publication not recommended) because
     of
     numerous flaws in the arguments, which we carefully documented.
     We now see that the paper has been published almost without
     alteration
     from the original submission, except for a few added paragraphs
     that
     either do not address or inadequately address the main objections
     that we
     raised. The revised manuscript was apparently not subjected to re-
     review
      at least not by us. We find this to be most unusual  even if the
     authors presented a counter-argument to each of our objections, it
     is the
     normal procedure among reputable journals for the authors reply to
     be
     forwarded to the original reviewers for further comment.
     We note in this regard that even under the less damning evaluation
     category c (Revise and re-submit for additional review), responses
     and
     revisions should be sent back to the original referees. Your
     decision that
     a paper judged totally unacceptable for publication should not
     require re-
     review is unprecedented in our experience.
     We therefore request that you forward to us copies of the authors
     responses to our criticisms, together with: (1) your reason for not
     sending these responses or the revised manuscript to us; (2) an
     explanation for your judgment that the revised paper should be
     published in the absence of our re-review; and (3) your reason for
     failing
     to follow accepted editorial procedures.
     Yours truly,
     Danny Harvey and
     Tom Wigley

   ______________________________________________________________
                       Professor Michael E. Mann
              Department of Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall
                         University of Virginia
                        Charlottesville, VA 22903
   _______________________________________________________________________
   e-mail: mann@virginia.edu   Phone: (434) 924-7770   FAX: (434) 982-2137
            [1]http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/faculty/people/mann.shtml

