Journal profile · Geochemistry & Geophysics
Elements
ISSN 1811-5209 · eISSN 1811-5217 · Mineralogical Society of America · CANADA · Bimonthly · Founded 2005
Elements: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.27; subscription journal; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: moderate; 170 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
The latest issue on the journal's website is from 2005 (Volume 1): the journal may have stopped publishing or moved platform in the last two years. Check its website before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Elements is published by Mineralogical Society of America 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 Geological and Geochemical Analysis, Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping and Mineralogy and Gemology Studies, together about 41.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Stromatolites are remarkable bio-mineralizing structures that remain abundant on Earth today. Formed by microbial communities, these bio-sedimentary rocks provide a continuous record of microbial evolution over the last 3.5 billion years. They were first described 120 years ago by the German geologist Ernst Louis Kalkowsky and have recently gained extensive interest across the interdisciplinary fields of the bio-geosciences. Current research is advancing our ability to reconstruct ancient aqueous environments and their associated microbial communities, shedding light on their role in shaping bio-geochemical cycles. Moreover, stromatolites are recognized as possible targets in the search for extraterrestrial life within our Solar System. This issue reviews the latest advances in stromatolite research from a combined geobiology, mineralogy, and (isotope) geochemistry perspective. It also underscores the urgent need to protect these endangered microbial ecosystems on a fast-changing modern Earth.The Story of Stromatolites—Mineralising Ecosystems And Geo-Biological ArchivesDiversity, Mechanisms of Formation, and Predicted Fate of Modern Microbialites on a Rapidly Changing PlanetMicrobialite-associated Microbial Communities, Present and PastStromatolites Through Earth’s Early HistoryExploring the Stable Isotope Record of StromatolitesStromatolites as Recorders of Major Oxygenation Events and Biogeochemical Metal Cycling through Earth’s History Advertisers Snellius Minerals LLCConventusExcalibur Mineral CorporationShanghai Chemlab Instrument Lab Co., Ltd. Next Issue
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geochemistry & Geophysics
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geological and Geochemical AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences15.2%
- Geochemistry and Geologic MappingComputer Science14%
- Mineralogy and Gemology StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences12.5%
- High-pressure geophysics and materialsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.1%
- Astro and Planetary SciencePhysics and Astronomy4.4%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering4.2%
- Radioactive element chemistry and processingChemistry4%
- earthquake and tectonic studiesEarth and Planetary Sciences3.8%
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 | Mineralogy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geochemistry & Geophysics | 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 | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Mineralogy | 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 | Mineralogy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 3.27LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2017
- 4.34Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.92LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 132OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 648OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.52OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 2.02%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,336 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 107 | 28 | 66 |
| 2025 | 170 | 106 | 162 |
| 2024 | 158 | 86 | 435 |
| 2023 | 146 | 123 | 569 |
| 2022 | 167 | 136 | 378 |
| 2021 | 170 | 131 | 1,650 |
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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- ModerateLetPub ·
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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review
Peer review: invited peer-reviewed articles for thematic collections. Model summary
Elements publishes invited peer-reviewed articles for each thematic collection of papers.
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
- Mineralogical Society of America
- Country or region
- CANADA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 1811-5209
- Electronic ISSN
- 1811-5217
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 1 (2005)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Elements
What CAS zone is Elements in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Elements is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Mineralogy / Geochemistry & Geophysics. 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 Elements?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.27; CiteScore 5, h-index 132.
How long does peer review take at Elements?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Moderate”. 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.
Which databases index Elements?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Elements is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Elements open access, and what is the APC?
Elements is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .