A group of physicists in Morocco have lost a 2018 paper over plagiarism and other concerns.
The article, “A 2D fluid motion model of the estuarine water circulation: Physical analysis of the salinity stratification in the Sebou estuary,” appeared in European Physics Journal Plus. The first author, Soufiane Haddout, is listed as being at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra.
According to the notice:
The editor has retracted this article [1] because there is significant overlap with other works [2–5]. Additionally, an institutional investigation concluded that the article was submitted without the permission and agreement of the supervisors [sic], which is in breach of institutional regulations.
The authors have not responded to any correspondence from the Editor/Publisher about this retraction.
About those misused references: Two (not including the retracted paper) belong to Haddout and two others are from other groups entirely. Here’s the list from the notice:
1. S. Haddout, A. Maslouhi, B. Magrane, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 133, 79 (2018).
2. S. Haddout, A. Maslouhi, I. Baimik, M. Igouzal, H. Marah, ISH J. Hydraul. Eng. 25, 170 (2017).
3. F.F. Frota, B.P. Paiva, C.A.F. Schettini, Braz. J. Oceanogr. 61, 23 (2013).
4. R.G. Kurup, D.P. Hamilton, R.L. Phillips, Math. Comput. Simul. 51, 627 (2000).
5. S. Haddout, A. Maslouhi, B. Magrane, M. Igouzal, Desalin. Water Treat .57, 1075 (2016).
But the list appears to be incomplete. We did our own quick search and found that the offending paper offended this 2007 article, which isn’t mentioned in the retraction notice. From the abstract for the Haddout et al article:
Additionally, the extent of salinity intrusion depends on the balance between fresh water discharges and saltwater flow from the sea. This phenomenon can be reasonably predicted recurring to mathematical models supported by monitored data. These tools can be used to quantify how much fresh water is required to counterbalance salinity intrusion at the upstream water intakes.
And from the 2007 paper, which isn’t cited in the list of references:
The extent of salinity intrusion depends on the balance between freshwater discharges and saltwater flow from the sea. This phenomenon can be reasonably predicted using mathematical models supported by monitored data. These tools can be used to quantify how much freshwater is required to counterbalance salinity intrusion at the upstream water intakes.
The journal separately issued this statement, which has been part of their policies:
The EPJ Publishers remain neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
(Those publishers being Springer-Verlag and the Società Italiana di Fisica.)
We emailed the editor of EPJ for a comment about the disclaimer. A Google search revealed that the Sebou is a vitally important river in Morocco, but we didn’t find anything about any jurisdictional controversy.
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The blurb about “jurisdictional claims” is just boilerplate that publishers use to help fend off criticism in case authors refer to potentially controversial place names. I understand it is mostly motivated by desire not to offend the Communist Party of China in cases where authors refer to Tibet or Taiwan as “countries”.