Open science: Open data, open models, ...and open publications?

This commentary explores the challenges and opportunities associated with a possible transition of Water Resources Research to a publication model where all articles are freely available upon publication (“Gold” open access). It provides a review of the status of open access publishing models, a summary of community input, and a path forward for AGU leadership. The decision to flip to open access is framed by a mix of finances and values. On the one hand, the challenge is to define who pays, and how, and what can we do to improve the affordability of publishing. On the other hand, the challenge is to increase the extent to which science is open and accessible. The next steps for the community include an incisive analysis of the financial feasibility of different cost models, and weighing this financial feasibility against the desire to advance open science.

本评述探讨了《水资源研究》（Water Resources Research）向“所有文章一经发表即可免费获取”的出版模式（即金色开放获取（Gold open access））转型可能面临的挑战与机遇。本文梳理了开放获取出版模式的发展现状，汇总了学界的反馈意见，并为AGU（美国地球物理联盟）管理层提供了可行的推进路径。转向开放获取的决策需兼顾财务成本与学术价值双重维度：一方面，需明确付费主体与付费方式，并探索提升出版成本可负担性的可行方案；另一方面，需进一步扩大科学成果的开放覆盖范围与可及性。学界后续需开展的工作包括：对不同成本模式的财务可行性展开深入剖析，并将该可行性与推进开放科学的愿景进行权衡考量。