Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL-GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Cryosphere
ISSN 1994-0416 · eISSN 1994-0424 · Copernicus Group · GERMANY · Irregular
Cryosphere: CAS Zone 2 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.93; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review 4–8 weeks (community reports); 339 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cryosphere is published by Copernicus Group and is in Zone 2 of Earth Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cryospheric studies and observations, Climate change and permafrost and Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics, together about 65.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atmospheric Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Cryosphere (TC) is a not-for-profit international scientific journal dedicated to the publication and discussion of research articles, short communications, and review papers on all aspects of frozen water and frozen ground. The main subject areas are the following: ice sheets and glaciers; permafrost and seasonally frozen ground; seasonal snow cover; sea ice; river and lake ice; remote sensing, numerical modelling, and in situ and laboratory studies of the above; interactions of the cryosphere with the Earth system; perspectives on all elements of the cryosphere research landscape, including disciplines outside the natural sciences; planetary ice bodies. The Cryosphere has an innovative two-stage publication process which involves interactive scientific discussion of preprints and utilizes the full potential of the Internet to do the following: foster scientific discussion; enhance the effectiveness and transparency of scientific quality assurance; enable rapid publication; make scientific publications freely accessible. In the first stage, manuscripts that pass a rapid access review by one of the editors are immediately posted as preprints on EGUsphere, EGU's preprint repository. They are then subject to interactive public discussion, during which the referee's comments (anonymous or attributed), additional comments by other members of the scientific community (attributed), and the author's replies are also posted alongside the preprint. In the second stage, the peer-review process is completed and, if accepted, the final revised papers are published in TC. To ensure publication precedence for authors, and to provide a lasting record of scientific discussion, EGUsphere and TC are ISSN-registered, permanently archived, and fully citable.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL-GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editor-in-chief Caroline ClasonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 6%); most named Canada 5, Sweden 3, Mainland China 2, Hong Kong, China 2, France 2 (32 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cryospheric studies and observationsEarth and Planetary Sciences31.6%
- Climate change and permafrostEarth and Planetary Sciences18.2%
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences15.9%
- Winter Sports Injuries and PerformanceMedicine7.3%
- Landslides and related hazardsEnvironmental Science6.3%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences5.5%
- Climate variability and modelsEnvironmental Science4%
- Polar Research and EcologyEnvironmental Science1.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Earth Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: Google Scholar
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
- 4.93LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.28LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 163OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,466OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.22OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 339LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,551 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 258 | 258 | 133 |
| 2025 | 339 | 339 | 1,006 |
| 2024 | 302 | 302 | 2,659 |
| 2023 | 282 | 282 | 4,427 |
| 2022 | 261 | 261 | 6,598 |
| 2021 | 302 | 302 | 10,801 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 37 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Open 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 | EUR 1,800 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | EUR 1,460 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 1,460 | Yes | — |
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 accepted5
- brief communicationsBrief communicationsLength not stated
- invited perspective articlesInvited perspective articlesLength not stated
- lessonsEGU has today introduced a new manuscript type: LESSONS – Limitations, Errors, Surprises, Shortcomings and Opportunities for New Science.Length not stated
- research articlesResearch articlesLength not stated
- review articlesReview articlesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Code availability, Data availability, License & copyright
- AI use
AI usage must be described in Methods or Acknowledgements. Model summary
Should you have used AI tools to generate (parts of) your manuscript, please describe the usage either in the Methods section or the Acknowledgements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Authors must comply with general obligations for authors. Model summary
to agree and comply with the general obligations for authors;
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Code availability
Software and code should be deposited in FAIR-aligned repositories. Model summary
Authors are encouraged to deposit software, algorithms, and model code in FAIR-aligned repositories/archives whenever possible.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data should be deposited in a reliable repository and linked via DOI. Model summary
We recommend that any data set used in your manuscript is submitted to a reliable data repository and linked from your manuscript through a DOI.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Authors must agree to general terms and article processing charges. Model summary
to agree and comply with the general terms and the article processing charges;
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
- Copernicus Group
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Irregular
- ISSN
- 1994-0416
- Electronic ISSN
- 1994-0424
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cryosphere
What CAS zone is Cryosphere in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Cryosphere is in Zone 2 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Geography, Physical / Geosciences, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cryosphere?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.93; CiteScore 7.7, h-index 163.
How long does peer review take at Cryosphere?
Authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks. 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 Cryosphere based?
Of the 32 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Canada (5), Sweden (3) and Mainland China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Cryosphere?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cryosphere is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Cryosphere open access, and what is the APC?
Cryosphere is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .