cc: wgii.bureau@earth.usgcrp.gov, tar_cla@usgcrp.gov, ipcc@earth.usgcrp.gov
date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 14:58:15 -0400
from: nleary@usgcrp.gov (Neil Leary)
subject: IPCC WGII TAR Progress & RE Role
to: tar_reved@usgcrp.gov

Dear WGII Review Editors,

I am writing to you to give you a status report on preparations of WGII's
contribution to the IPCC's Third Assessment Report and to provide you more
details on your role in this process.  Please note that you are requested
to provide input to the selection of reviewers by JUNE 21 (see below).

The informal zero-order draft was prepared by the authors in March and an
internal review of the draft completed in May.  The draft chapters and
internal review comments are accessible from our website.  If you have not
already done so, you are invited to inspect these documents. If you need to
have instructions for accessing the documents via the website resent to
you, please respond to this message and I will send them by fax.

On May 25-27 the WGII Coordinating Lead Authors (CLAs) met in Washington,
DC to discuss  zero-order draft review comments, needs for strengthening
cross-chapter linkages and eliminating cross-chapter inconsistencies, and
next steps for preparing the 1st draft.  In the coming weeks the WGII
Bureau will prepare some general comments and guidance for authors to
assist them with preparation of the 1st draft.  The WGII Bureau comments
will be distributed to you, as well as to the authors, as they become
available.

The 1st draft is scheduled to be completed by August 16 and distributed for
external expert review on August 30.  At the CLA meeting it was agreed that
authors would, if possible, produce another internal, interim draft prior
to the draft intended for external expert review. Those chapters which
choose to do this will attempt to have an interim draft available by mid to
late July.  The purpose of the interim draft is to provide a further
opportunity for authors to review each others' chapters to identify
cross-chapter inconsistencies and omissions prior to distribution of the
1st draft for external expert review.

Following is some information about your responsibilities as a review
editor and upcoming tasks.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEW EDITORS

Your general responsbilities as a Review Editor include (i) assisting the
WG II Bureau in identifying reviewers for your assigned chapter; (ii)
ensuring that all substantive expert and government review comments are
afforded appropriate consideration; (iii) advising authors of the chapter
on how to handle contentious/controversial issues; and (iv) ensuring that
genuine scientific controversies are reflected adequately in the text.  The
final text of the chapter is the responsibility of the authors of the
chapter, but Review Editors are to communicate any significant unresolved
differences of opinion to the Working Group and may prepare an Annex to the
report to describe such differences.

In addition, working with the Coordinating Lead Authors of the chapter, the
Review Editors are to produce a documented record of the dispensation of
all reviewer comments.  The Technical Support Unit (TSU) will aid you in
this task by providing an electronic collation of reviewer comments at each
round of review. These will need to be annotated with very brief notes on
what changes if any were made to the text by the authors to address each
comment, with an explanation if appropriate.

As a Review Editor, you should not participate as a reviewer of the chapter
to which you have been assigned.  And you should not participate in the
writing of any text for inclusion in the chapter.  Instead, you should
participate in a capacity similar to that of an editor of a peer reviewed
journal.  In this capacity, you should read each draft of the chapter and
all comments submitted by reviewers, provide the authors advice on
appropriate responses to reviewer comments, and provide the authors general
observations on the balance and completeness of the chapter's assessment of
the literature.  It will also be beneficial if you could read and be
familiar with other chapters of the WGII report that are most closely
related to the chapter for which you are a review editor and communicate to
the TSU any cross-chapter inconsistencies or omissions of important topics
that you identify.  These guidelines are intended to assure that Review
Editors provide oversight of the review process that is independent of the
preparation of the report. This is extremely important to the IPCC report
preparation and review process and we ask that you adhere to these
guidelines.


SOME SPECIFIC AND IMMEDIATE TASKS

1.  The first and most immediate task that you are now requested to perform
is to provide the names of suggested reviewers for the chapter to which you
are assigned as a Review Editor.  With the names of recommended reviewers,
I ask that you provide all contact information that you have available
(most particularly an email address if you have it).  Also, please identify
the recommended reviewers' areas of expertise and any specific topics that
you hope the reviewer can give particular attention to. Information about
areas of expertise and specific topics is requested to aid us in
identifying reviewers that might be asked to look at multiple chapters to
check for consistency in the treatment of selected topics.  If you wish to
recommend reviewers for other chapters, that would be welcome as well.
PLEASE SEND NAMES WITH CONTACT AND OTHER INFORMATION TO ME BY JUNE 21.

2.  Make your plans to attend the 2nd meeting of lead authors scheduled for
December 7-10 in Canberra, Australia.  An invitation and logistics for the
meeting will be sent to you in a week.  You should make your flight
reservations as soon as possible, as we have been informed that flights to
Australia in December tend to fill up far in advance.

3.  If possible, read the zero-drafts of chapters most closely related to
your chapter.  Any inconsistencies across chapters that you identify, or
omissions of important topics, should be communicated to the TSU.

4.  When and if they become available, read the interim draft of your
chapter and related chapters.  Announcements of interim drafts will be sent
to you.  Look for them starting mid-July.

UPCOMING TASKS SEPTEMBER -- DECEMBER 1999

1.  Read 1st draft of your chapter (and related chapters if possible).
These should be available by August 30.

2.  Read reviewer comments on the 1st draft of the WGII and prepare written
recommendations to authors for addressing major issues raised by
reviewers.  Collated comments will be distributed by the TSU by November 3,
1999.  Your recommendations to authors should be sent to the authors and
the TSU by November 30 if possible.

3.  Attend the 2nd meeting of lead authors in Canberra, Australia, December
7-10.  Significant time will be spent meeting with the authors of the
chapter for which you are a Review Editor to discuss reviewer comments,
appropriate responses to comments, overall balance and completeness of the
chapter, and possible inconsistencies with other chapters.

Sorry for the long missive, but it's been a while since I've been in touch
with review editors and there's a lot of information to convey.  If you
have any questions about your role as a review editor, schedule, or other
aspects of preparation of the WGII report, please contact me.

Kind regards,

Neil

Neil A. Leary, Ph.D.
Head, Technical Support Unit
IPCC Working Group II
400 Virginia Avenue SW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20024 USA
General number: 1 202 314-2225
Direct number: 1 202 314-2224
Fax: 1 202 488-8678
email: nleary@usgcrp.gov or ipcc@usgcrp.gov


