Calls for papers

All Collections are carefully curated by the editors to capture trends in fast-moving fields of science. Our curated Collections may be associated with an open call for papers, although often they are not. All manuscripts in curated Collections are selected and managed by the journal's editors according to our standard procedures.

  • Ending plastic pollution

    Plastics are a crucial part of modern life, however tens of millions of tonnes of plastic waste is disposed of each year, much of which ultimately ends up in the ocean. In this Collection we showcase studies on understanding and mitigating (micro)plastic pollution, with a special focus on reducing plastic waste in the environment to coincide with 2024's upcoming binding UN treaty on Ending Plastic Pollution.
      Collection
      Submission status: Open Deadline: 24 October 2024

    • Complexity and dynamics in ecological systems

      This cross-journal Collection between Communications Physics, Communications Earth & Environment, and Scientific Reports aims at showcasing the methodological advances in treating the complexity of ecological systems, as well as the application of already established methods to generate new insight in the dynamics and response of ecological networks.
        Collection
        Submission status: Open Deadline: 15 January 2025

      • Coastal blue carbon

        In this cross-journal Collection, we invite articles that document the climate mitigation potential of carbon storage in coastal ecosystems and the potential exacerbation of climate change due to their degradation.
        • Christopher Cornwall, PhD
        • Nadine Schubert, PhD
        Collection
        Submission status: Open Deadline: 11 October 2024

      • Early Earth’s oxygenation

        This Collection presents articles that enhance our understanding of the two primary oxygenation events that occurred on the Early Earth, as well as the weaker events that preceded and followed them. The articles in this Collection show the connection between the oxygenation events and the changes happening in the solid Earth, its atmosphere, oceans, and all biogeochemical cycles within these systems.
          Collection
          Submission status: Open Deadline: 02 October 2024

        • Carbon dioxide removal, capture and storage

          In this cross-journal Collection, we bring together studies that address novel and existing carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture and storage methods and their potential for up-scaling, including critical questions of timing, location, and cost. We also welcome articles on methodologies that measure and verify the climate and environmental impact and explore public perceptions.
            Collection
            Submission status: Open Deadline: 22 March 2025

          • Fire impacts and management

            In this Collection, we invite articles that document the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of fire, assess advances in fire prevention and protection, and propose new pathways for fire management.
            • Yongqiang Liu, PhD
            Collection
            Submission status: Open Deadline: 12 February 2025

          • Hydraulic engineering

            In this cross-journal Collection, we explore the hydraulic problems faced in both fundamental and applied research, with direct relevance for the optimal planning, design and operation of water resource systems.
              Collection
              Submission status: Open Deadline: 30 June 2024

            • Research to address the global sanitation crisis

              This collection welcomes submissions of articles that can help further our understanding and/or offer solutions to address the global sanitation crisis.
                Collection
                Submission status: Open Deadline: 20 June 2024

              • Climate change and mental health

                The Editors at Communications Psychology, Communications Medicine, and Communications Earth and Environment invite submissions of public health, medical, environmental, and psychological research that shed light on the predictors, mechanisms, and knock-on effects of the interaction between climate change and mental health.
                  Collection
                  Submission status: Open Deadline: 28 June 2024

                • Wind, water and dust on Mars

                  In this Collection, we bring together recent work, and invite further contributions, on the nature and characteristics of the Martian surface, the processes at play, and the environmental conditions both in the present-day and in the distant past.
                  • Claire Nichols, PhD
                  Collection
                  Submission status: Open