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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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 — GMT/PyGMT, GPlates, ObsPy, IsoplotR plotting
• ../../resources/worked-examples/01-introduction.md — how exhibits pair with a Letter's prose