epsl-figures-and-tables

Figures & Tables (epsl-figures-and-tables)

In a letters-format paper the figures are the argument: with a main text near 6,500 words (re-check

the cap on the official site), EPSL papers typically carry a small number of dense, layered exhibits

plus a supplement. The venue-specific pressures are cross-disciplinary legibility — your map will be

read by someone who has never worked in that orogen — and uncertainty made visible, because the

sub-fields EPSL serves treat an error-free plot as a red flag.

When to trigger

• Deciding which few exhibits carry the Letter and what moves to the supplement
• Drafting location maps, cross-sections, isotope plots, tomography slices, or phase diagrams
• A reviewer called an exhibit unreadable, missing context, or missing uncertainties
• Preparing figure files for Editorial Manager upload

Principles

1. Ration the slots. Every main-text figure must advance the argument; reference-quality material

(all spectra, all sections, parameter sweeps) belongs in the supplementary material.

1. Context panel first. Earth-science readers orient spatially: give a location/tectonic-setting

inset with coordinates, scale, and the geodetic datum or projection named; planetary figures give

the body, region, and data source (mission/instrument).

1. Uncertainty is drawn, not asserted. Error ellipses on concordia, error bars sized to the stated

σ-level, credible envelopes on age models, damping/resolution shading on inversions.

1. Sub-field conventions, executed exactly. Concordia and isochron plots labeled with MSWD and n;

stratigraphic columns with height and stage boundaries; seismic sections with depth scales and

vertical exaggeration stated; phase diagrams with the calibration source.

1. Color that survives review. Perceptually uniform colormaps for continuous fields (avoid

rainbow/jet — the geophysics community actively campaigns against it), colorblind-safe categorical

palettes, grayscale-legible line work; vector formats for line art.

1. Tables carry data, figures carry claims. Full analytical tables (every analysis, every

correction) go to the supplement and repository; the main text carries at most a compact summary

table.

Exhibit choices by sub-field

| Result type | The load-bearing exhibit | Non-negotiable elements |

|-------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

| Geochronology | concordia / weighted-mean plot | ellipses at stated σ, MSWD, n-of-N, excluded grains visible |

| Isotope tracing | covariation (x–y) plot with mixing/evolution curves | endmember values sourced, 2σ bars, sample symbols by group |

| Seismic structure | depth slice + cross-section | colorbar units, resolution overlay, no rainbow |

| Geodynamic model | time-series snapshots + regime diagram | parameter values, dimensionless numbers, benchmark noted |

| Paleo-record | proxy vs age with age model envelope | tie points marked, stage boundaries labeled |

| Planetary | mapped observable + interior model | mission/instrument, datum, uncertainty band |

Worked micro-example (illustrative — one figure carrying a slab-fluid argument)

The subduction-water Letter needs geochemistry and seismology in one exhibit (illustrative):

• Panel a: arc transect map with sample sites, trench, slab-depth contours, and the tomographic

section line — the seismologist's context and the geochemist's sampling frame in one panel.

• Panel b: δ11B vs distance-to-trench with 2σ bars and model curves for shallow vs deep

dehydration — the discriminating plot.

• Panel c: velocity cross-section (perceptually uniform colormap) with the low-velocity conduit

and a resolution-test inset showing the feature is not smearing.

One three-panel figure replaces three single-discipline figures and makes the joint argument

inspectable at a glance — the letters-format ideal.

Referee-pushback patterns and the venue-specific fix

• "Ellipses/error bars missing or undefined." → Draw them at a stated σ-level on every isotope and

age plot; define once in the caption.

• "I can't locate the samples." → Add the context inset with coordinates, scale, projection.
• "The colormap manufactures structure." → Replace jet/rainbow with a perceptually uniform map and

re-examine which "anomalies" survive.

Anti-patterns

• A main text bloated with every supporting plot while the one discriminating figure is missing
• Maps without scale, coordinates, or projection; sections without depth units or exaggeration
• Age plots without MSWD, n, or the excluded analyses
• Rainbow colormaps on tomography or gridded fields
• Full 400-row analytical tables typeset in the main text instead of deposited
• Captions that name the panel but not the σ-level, model, or data source

Output format

【Main exhibits】list + the claim each carries
【Context】location/setting panel with datum + scale? [Y/N]
【Uncertainty drawn】ellipses/bars/envelopes at stated σ? [Y/N]
【Conventions】sub-field norms met (MSWD, resolution overlay, ...)? [Y/N]
【Color/format】perceptually uniform + colorblind-safe + vector? [Y/N]
【Main vs supplement】split decided
【Next】epsl-reporting-and-reproducibility

Supplementary resources

• [../../resources/external_tools.md](../../resources/external_tools.md) — GMT/PyGMT, GPlates, ObsPy, IsoplotR plotting
• [../../resources/worked-examples/01-introduction.md](../../resources/worked-examples/01-introduction.md) — how exhibits pair with a Letter's prose