First Papers by Young Investigators in the Hydrological Sciences (2025-2026)

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrology is the study of the waters of the Earth. Hydrology has close ties with hydraulics, hydrogeology, and the multiple sciences that study the atmosphere, the land surface, the soil, and the subsoil, and it ranges from complex problems of risk, forecasting, and optimization of water resources to interactions with ecological, urban, social, and economic systems.

This Special Issue of Hydrology, “First Papers by Young Investigators in the Hydrological Sciences (2025-2026)”, is open to early-career researchers in the middle or at the end of their PhDs who are shaping the future of hydrological Science. First papers are important milestones in every young investigator's life, and when published with other young investigators and supervised by senior editors, they can help build relationships for later life. A support team has been created to help smooth the pathway to publication while facilitating the exchange of ideas and relationship-building:

• Pre-submission check and feedback. We encourage submissions co-authored with supervisors/senior mentors. If the manuscript is authored by predoctoral or master's students as the sole author, please submit proof of the supervisor's permission as a supplementary file.
• The MDPI SciProfiles provides a platform to facilitate a First Paper Research Club, where first paper investigators can share and discuss their research before submitting their papers to the Special Issue (SI), and to enable continuing exchanges over the submission life of the SI. Please visit: https://sciprofiles.com/discussion-groups/2004

• Relevant webinars led by experienced Associate Editors with first paper investigators invited as speakers.

We very much hope that you can participate in this exciting and memorable initiative. To foster excellence, we will award fee waivers to five young investigator authors who submit outstanding research articles or extensive review papers that discuss the latest research findings. The awards will be based on an assessment of extended two-page abstracts, which should be submitted before manuscript submission. The abstract submission deadline is 31st March 2026 (the deadline may be extended based on the circumstances surrounding the abstract submission). Please submit your 1-page CV as a supplementary file.

The articles published in this Special Issue will benefit from high visibility, giving their young authors a boost at the start of their independent academic careers.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Enda O'Connell
Prof. Dr. Tammo Steenhuis
Prof. Dr. Ezio Todini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Hydrology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.