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The Journal of Physical Oceanography (JPO) publishes research related to the physics of the ocean and to processes operating at its boundaries. Observational, theoretical, and modeling studies are all welcome, especially those that focus on elucidating specific physical processes. Papers that investigate interactions with other components of the Earth system (e.g., ocean–atmosphere, physical–biological, and physical–chemical interactions) as well as studies of other fluid systems (e.g., lakes and laboratory tanks) are also invited, as long as their focus is on understanding the ocean or its role in the Earth system.

  • Articles: Full length, up to 7500 words or 26 double-spaced pages of text (not including abstract, references, figure and table lists, and figures).
  • Expedited Contributions: Shorter articles with an expedited peer-review and publication cycle, limited to 2500 words (approximately nine double-spaced text pages), not including abstract, references, figure and table lists, and figures, and no more than a combined total of six figures and tables. Multipart papers are not allowed. For Expedited Contributions the Editor will expedite the review process and the AMS Publications Department will accelerate manuscript preparation for publication in final form. Authors will have a deadline of four weeks to complete revisions. Expedited Contributions should be published 4–7 weeks after final acceptance. If the manuscript grows beyond the maximum length or figure criteria specified above during the review and revision, the Editor will decide if the paper remains an Expedited Contribution or becomes a regular article. If, however, the paper requires a second round of reviews, the contribution must move out of the expedited contributions category and will be considered as a regular article.
  • Comment and Reply Exchanges: Comments are written in response to a published article. The author of the article being commented upon always has the opportunity to write a reply. These exchanges are published together. Generally, comments should be submitted within two (2) years of the publication date of the original paper, although the Editor can waive this time limit based on extenuating circumstances.