MTS Journal Submissions

The Marine Technology Society Journal is a peer-reviewed quarterly publication of the Marine Technology Society. Papers regarding original and significant findings in the field of marine technology and ocean engineering are particularly encouraged. Technical and scientific papers and notes, and commentaries on ocean policy, law, economic—and especially those dealing with scientific and technical aspects of the ocean—are solicited for the Journal.

Managing Editor: Amy Morgante at [email protected]

Review Process

All papers are submitted to a review procedure directed by the editor and editorial board. It is requested that the author(s) provide names and addresses of four persons who are not closely affiliated with the author(s) but who are experts in the area of the paper topic and can provide an objective review. Please use an Author’s Information Form, available on the MTS website, to provide your contact information and the names, affiliations, and email contacts of potential reviewers. Reviewers remain anonymous. The author(s) is given the opportunity to incorporate the reviewers' comments and revise his/her paper prior to publication.

Contributors should keep in mind that manuscript reviewers are asked to assess whether a paper should be included in the Journal or in a more specialized publication, whether it is of broad interest to the marine community or several significant portions thereof, and how the work ranks within the particular field discussed.

Categories of Submissions

1. Technical/Scientific Paper

Manuscripts should be no longer than 25 pages (double-spaced, one column, and in a font size of 12 points with margins of at least 1 inch all around), not including figures and references, with no more than 10 figures. Papers should fully address a topic that is timely and significant to the ocean and marine community. Use headings in accordance with Journal style, include references, and include a 150–250-word abstract stating the subject of the paper, methods used, principal results and test significance. Following the abstract, please provide 3–5 Keywords or phrases, all lowercased and separated by commas.

2. Technical/Scientific Note

Manuscripts should be no longer than 10 pages (double-spaced, one column, and in a font size of 12 points with margins of at least 1 inch all around), not including figures and references, with no more than three illustrations. Use headings in accordance with Journal style, include references, and include a 150–250-word abstract stating the subject of the paper, methods used, principal results and their significance. Following the abstract, please provide 3–5 Keywords or phrases, all lowercased and separated by commas. Manuscripts should define, explain or discuss the technical and scientific aspects of an important and timely topic. Notes help Journal readers enhance their working knowledge of current topics in ocean and marine engineering, science and policy. Technical notes may be works-in-progress, addenda to previously published work, or condensations of conference presentations.

3. Commentary

Manuscripts should be between two and 10 pages double-spaced. Commentaries offer an informed point of view on a topic of current interest to the ocean and marine engineering, science and policy community.

4. Book Reviews

The MTS Journal solicits and publishes reviews of recently published books that are timely and relevant to the interests of its readers. Reviews should be no longer than two pages double-spaced.

Submit Your Manuscript

Manuscripts can be submitted three ways: 

1. Via the online form.

The form includes modules for author information, manuscript submission, and copyright transfer (download this form, fill out, and upload in the online form). The Copyright Transfer Form must be uploaded or submitted by email to [email protected]. 

Submit your manuscript online

2. E-mail submission.

E-mail your manuscript to [email protected]. Manuscripts should be in Microsoft Word format and include low-resolution versions of figures, images and tables (with captions) embedded in the document to assure proper placement. Figures must also be e-mailed as separate files in 300 dpi format as JPEG, TIFF, EPS or Illustrator files. All figure and table files should be clearly labeled with the lead author’s name and figure/table number.

Prepare equations using Microsoft Equation Editor, and provide the names of fonts used to create equations.

Please note that the e-mail system can not accommodate extremely large files. If your figure/image files are large, please use option 2, or you may try sending your figures in a series of e-mail messages.

Along with your manuscript and figures, e-mail a completed Author’s Information Form, providing the lead author’s contact information and the names and contact information of four potential reviewers for your paper. Be sure to indicate for which issue of the Journal you wish to have your manuscript considered.

3. FTP Site

You may post your paper, author’s information form and figures on an FTP site and contact the managing editor ([email protected]) with the address of the site and instructions for retrieving your files.

For further information or clarification please contact MTS Journal Managing Editor Amy Morgante at Tel: (443) 257-7498; e-mail: [email protected].

Manuscript Style

Abstract

The abstract should be 250 words or fewer and should be a statement of the problem to be addressed. It should identify the issues and describe the nature and utility of the results. Abstracts are used in the online MTS Web site database and elsewhere. Include up to five keywords or phrases for your manuscript.

Citations

Use an (Author, date) in-text citation style. If the name of the author appears as part of the narrative, cite only the publication year in parenthesis: Smith (2012) found that …. Otherwise, place both author surname and date in parenthesis: …study shows a predicted energy increase of 15% by 2030 (Smith, 2012).

Multiple citations are separated by a semi-colon: (Smith, 2012; Roberts, 1999; Jones et al., 2013).

For works by multiple authors, list all authors in the first citation. If there are up to 5 authors, use all names in the first citation, and the surname with “et al.” for subsequent citations. For works with 2 authors, use both surnames for all citations (Smith & Jones, 2010). For works with more than 5 authors, use the surname and “et al.” for all citations.

Headers

Updated 8/27/2020 Up to four levels of headers may be used. All headers should be in Roman type and noted with first words upper cased. Place the notations <<H1>> <<H2>> <<H3>> <<H4>> before the levels of headers.

References

References should be listed following Acknowledgements in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. References must be referred to in the text in the form of (author's last name, year of publication); numbered footnotes should not be used. Complete and correct references are the author's responsibility. Abbreviated titles of journals should be noted according to ISI Journal Title Abbreviations, http://library.caltech.edu/reference/abbreviations/.

If an author list includes more than 7 names, include the first 6 names and the last name, following an ellipsis: Author, A., Author, B., Author, C., Author, D., Author, E., Author, F., … Author, S. 2010. …

If you have more than one reference with the same lead author and publication date, DO NOT use (a), (b) notations with the date unless the list of authors is identical. If not identical, include as many subsequent author names as necessary to distinguish the correct reference.

References should be in the following formats:

Article in Journal

Author(s) (Last name, initials). Year. Title of article. Abbreviated Title of Journal, volume and issue numbers, inclusive pages.

Example: Ayala, S.C. & D’Alessandro, A. 1973. Insect feeding behavior of some Columbian fruit-eating bats. J Mammal. 54(3):266-67

Article in Book

Author(s). Year. Title of article. In: Title of Book. Editors, inclusive pages. Location: Publisher.

Example: Baker, H.G., Bawa, K.S., Frankie, G.W., & Opler, P.A. 1983. Reproductive biology of plants in tropical forests. In: Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems, Ed. F.G. Golley, pp.183−215. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Book

Author(s). Year. Title of Book. Location: Publisher, Total pages.

Example: Merk, J.S., Fogg, I.J., & Snowe, C.A. 1987. Astrology for the Beginning Meteorologist. Chicago: Darkweather and Clere. 344 pp.

Proceedings

Author(s). Date. Name of report. In: Name of Proceedings, name of conference, inclusive pages. Location: Publisher. DOI if there is one.

Example: Simon, P.A. 1987. Operational considerations for a scientist-piloted research submersible. In: Intervention '87, ROV '87 Conference. pp. 79-82. San Diego, CA: Updated 8/27/2020 Marine Technology Society.

Thesis

Author. Year. Name of thesis. Masters/Ph.D. thesis, name of university, total pages.

Example: Rintoul, B. 1988. Mass, heat and nutrient fluxes in the Atlantic Ocean determined by inverse methods. Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology/ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program. 287 pp.

Abbreviations

Acronyms and other abbreviations must be identified the first time they are used in a paper. The solitary use of an abbreviation or acronym is discouraged. All capital letters should be used only for an acronym. Ship and underwater vehicle names should be italicized. For example, Dolphin refers to the U.S. Navy's deep diving test submarine while DOLPHIN (Deep Ocean Logging Profiler with Hydrographic Instrumentation and Navigation) refers to Canada's remote controlled survey submarine.

Measurements and Numbers

For consistency and ease in comparison, the International System of Units (SI) should be used. Measurements should be identified the first time they are used. Symbols for a unit of measurement are not to be punctuated and should be used only when preceded by a number (e.g., "5 km but "a few kilometers"). For specific questions regarding style, please consult The Chicago Manual of Style by the University of Chicago Press or contact the managing editor.

Illustrations

A sharp image and good contrast are essential for quality reproduction. Send the illustrations as separate, high-resolution files: 300 dpi, if possible, using the original program in which they were created (JPG, TIFF, EPS or Illustrator). Both the print and online versions of the MTS Journal are in full color, so color figures are encouraged.

Each figure or table should be accompanied by a complete caption (including any necessary credit lines) and should be cited and explained in the text. A list of Figure Captions should be included at the end of the document.

Permissions

Authors are solely responsible for obtaining permission to use drawings, photographs, tables, lengthy quotations (300 to 500 cumulative words or more from one source) and other previously published material. A copy of the statement from the copyright owner granting permission must be sent to the managing editor prior to galleys being returned for approval.

Copyright

It is the policy of the Marine Technology Society to own the copyright to all Journal contributions and to facilitate the appropriate reuse of these materials by others. To comply with the U.S. copyright law, authors are required to sign a Copyright Transfer Form before publication. This form grants to authors and their employers full reuse of Updated 8/27/2020 their material. Authors will be asked to submit a signed copy of this form upon acceptance of their manuscripts.

Reprints and Page Charges

Institutions are asked to pay a voluntary page charge of $60 per page of each published article. Reprints are also available at discounted rates. For more information, please see the reprint order form. 

English as a Second Language

Authors who want to refine the use of English in their manuscripts should consider utilizing the services of one of the many companies that provides editing for non-nativeEnglish-speaking authors.