Announcement by EGU and Copernicus
Recently we have become aware of a case of scientific malpractice by an editor of two of our journals (SOIL and SE) who used the position as editor and reviewer to disproportionately promote citations to personal papers and associated journals. According to our "Publication ethics", detailed on the "About" tab of all our journals, such "citation manipulation" is considered a scientific malpractice. After concerns expressed by the executive editors, Copernicus looked into the scale of the manipulation and concluded that it was considerable. EGU, Copernicus and the executive editors of the journals decided that prompt action should be taken. The editor concerned has stepped down and the community of the affected journals will be informed of the situation.
We would like to take this opportunity to stress again that EGU and Copernicus adhere to strict publication ethics and we urge editors, referees, and authors to familiarize themselves with our policies and to strictly adhere to the principles of our publication ethics.
Hubert Savenije
Chair of the EGU Publications Committee
On behalf of the EGU Executive Board and Copernicus