General Description of Organization and Functions:

The International Advisory Board (IAB) of Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (TAO) is formed by distinguished international scholars in Earth and space sciences. Members of the IAB should have expertise covering major fields of TAO in order to evaluate the quality of TAO, to provide advice on its improvement and to select best papers for awards. They are also expected to provide advice in case disputes on the selection and revision of manuscripts occur.

Specific Terms:

1. Members of IAB are nominated by the Editorial Board members and approved by the Publications Committee of the Chinese Geosciences Union in Taiwan (TCGU). Once approved, each member is appointed by the President of TCGU with a term of three years. In each field, up to three advisors may be appointed. It is preferable to stager the terms of the members in order to keep the continuity of its operation. If a member is re-nominated at the end of his/her term, the appointment is renewable for one additional term upon the consent of the member.
2. The Editor-in-Chief should consult with members of IAB to improve the international impact of the journal.
3. The Chair of the Publications Committee and the Editor-in-Chief should prompt the IAB to evaluate the quality of the journal when new issues are published, and to provide advice on improvements.
4. Every year, the Editor-in-Chief should ask the IAB members to select the best papers of young scientist in each field of TAO published in the previous year.
5. In case of controversies arising in the review of manuscripts, the handling editor may seek advice from the IAB members with appropriate expertise, who is expected to provide opinions on the rejection or revision of the manuscript in question or to refer to appropriate experts in the related field.