Terms of References: International Advisory Board of Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

General Description of Organization and Functions:

The International Advisory Board (IAB) of Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (TAO) is formed by distinguished international scholars in earth and space sciences. Members of the IAB should have expertise covering major fields of TAO in order to evaluate the quality of TAO, to provide advice on its improvement and to select best papers for awards every other year. They are also expected to provide opinion in case disputes on the selection and revision of manuscripts occur.
 

Specific Terms:

• Members of IAB are nominated by the Editorial Board members and approved by the Publications Committee of the Chinese Geosciences Union (CGU) located in Taipei. Once approved each member is appointed by the President of CGU with a term of three years. In each field up to three advisors may be appointed. It is preferable to stager the terms of the members in order to keep the continuity of its operation. If a member is re-nominated at the end of his/her term, the appointment is renewable for one additional term upon the consent of the member.
• The President should recommend a member of IAB to serve as the coordinator of the IAB, who should be approved by more than half of all members of the IAB.
• Every year the Chair of the Publications Committee should prompt the IAB to evaluate the quality of TAO issues published in the previous year and to provide advice on improvements. The coordinator of the IAB should report to the Chair of the Publications Committee by summarizing the evaluation comments and recommendations for improvements.
• Every other year, the Editor in Chief should ask the IAB members to select the best papers in each field of TAO published in the previous two years.
• In case of controversies arising in the review of manuscripts, the handling editor may seek advice from the IAB members with appropriate expertise, who is expected to provide opinions on the rejection or revision of the manuscript in question or to refer to appropriate experts in the related field.