Journal profile · Environmental Sciences
Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research
ISSN 1523-0430 · eISSN 1938-4246 · Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1999
Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.03; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 205 days to acceptance (86 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 52 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research is published by Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Climate change and permafrost, Cryospheric studies and observations and Geology and Paleoclimatology Research, together about 46.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atmospheric Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (AAAR) is an international open access journal publishing interdisciplinary research into cold region environments. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research seeks to advance understanding of the rapid environmental change occurring in cold regions through research into past, present, and future high-latitude and mountain regions. The journal publishes research from a diverse group of international authors from academia, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research covers the following topics: Ecology Climatology Geomorphology Glaciology & Cryology Hydrology Paleosciences (Paleoecology, Palynology, Micropaleontology) Oceanography Biogeochemistry Social science Papers may be unidisciplinary or multidisciplinary, but should have interdisciplinary appeal. Special thematic issues and proceedings are encouraged. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research accepts research articles, review articles, and short communications (including opinion pieces, book reviews and memorials), and specifically formatted science briefs for its Arctic Answers section. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research is associated with the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), at the University of Colorado Boulder. INSTAAR focuses on the advancement of environmental science covering a broad range of disciplines, primarily with a cold-regions perspective, using field studies, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, and modeling. The goal of INSTAAR’s research and outreach is to generate influential science that can inform public and policy decisions and move us toward a more sustainable society. To expand the mission to promote environmental understanding, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research has partnered with the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) to add “Arctic Answers,” peer-reviewed 2-page state-of-knowledge briefs answering policy-relevant questions about the Arctic. Written by experts and based upon the published literature, “Arctic Answers” offer up-to-date concise non-technical information in an accessible format for the general public, educators, interested stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers in diverse disciplines. The opportunity to delve deeper into each topic is provided through a “knowledge pyramid” of supporting research as well as the experts’ contact information. . All articles are made freely and permanently available online through gold open access publicat
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Sciences
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 4, Ireland 1 (5 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Climate change and permafrostEarth and Planetary Sciences16.5%
- Cryospheric studies and observationsEarth and Planetary Sciences15.9%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences13.7%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Tree-ring climate responsesEarth and Planetary Sciences5.5%
- Polar Research and EcologyEnvironmental Science5.2%
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsEnvironmental Science3.8%
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Earth Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PMCPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, Abstracts in Anthropology, CABI, EBSCOhost, INIS Collection Search, Ovid
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.03LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.59LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.59Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.73Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 102OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,316OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.95OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 433,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,088 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 36 | 13 |
| 2025 | 52 | 52 | 98 |
| 2024 | 52 | 52 | 162 |
| 2023 | 38 | 38 | 284 |
| 2022 | 42 | 42 | 341 |
| 2021 | 34 | 34 | 301 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
205 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 154 days – 272 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 44 days (86 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 254 days
- Sample
- 86 articles with submission and acceptance dates (102 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 7.5 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 70%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 79 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 85 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 41 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 15 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 1,625 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 1,625 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,625 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted4
- research articlesArctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research accepts research articles, review articles, and short communications (including opinion pieces, book reviews and memorial…Length not stated
- review articlesArctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research accepts research articles, review articles, and short communications (including opinion pieces, book reviews and memorial…Length not stated
- science briefs (arctic answers)Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research accepts research articles, review articles, and short communications (including opinion pieces, book reviews and memorial…Length not stated
- short communicationsArctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research accepts research articles, review articles, and short communications (including opinion pieces, book reviews and memorial…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
All articles are made freely and permanently available online through gold open access publication. Model summary
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership of your article Make an impact and reach new readers,…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1999
- ISSN
- 1523-0430
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-4246
- Society / sponsor
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 58, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research
What CAS zone is Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Geography, Physical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.03; CiteScore 3.1, h-index 102.
How long does peer review take at Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 86 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 205 days (interquartile range 154–272 days); authors report an average review time of about 7.5 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 70%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research based?
Of the 5 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4) and Ireland (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research open access, and what is the APC?
Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .