Journal profile · Earth and Planetary Sciences-General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Frontiers in Earth Science
ISSN 2296-6463 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Earth Science: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.26; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 12 weeks (community reports); 890 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; flagged on an early-warning list or for an indexing change: check before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Earth Science is published by Frontiers Media S.A. 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 earthquake and tectonic studies, Geological and Geochemical Analysis and Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis, together about 24.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Earth Science is a multidisciplinary journal that welcomes research that enhances our understanding of the Earth’s physical and chemical properties and processes, and aims to address major environmental challenges. Led by Field Chief Editor Prof. Valerio Acocella (Roma Tre University, Italy), Frontiers in Earth Science is included in Scopus, SCIE and DOAJ among others and welcomes submissions across field, bridging the different domains of Earth science, from the lithosphere, to the hydrosphere, and the atmosphere. Frontiers in Earth Science is dedicated to the Earth’s processes, such as geosciences, hydrology, meteorology and climatology. Topics include: • atmospheric science • biogeoscience • cryospheric sciences • earth and planetary materials • economic geology • geochemistry • geohazards and georisks • geoinformatics • geomagnetism and paleomagnetism • geoscience and society • hydrosphere • interdisciplinary climate studies • marine geoscience • paleontology • petrology • quaternary science, geomorphology and paleoenvironment • sedimentology, stratigraphy and diagenesis • solid earth geophysics • structural geology and tectonics • volcanology. The journal welcomes submissions which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), notably SDG 13: climate action, in the reporting and monitoring of the impact of human activity and climate change on the Earth. Manuscripts that focus on the technical aspects of mining engineering, civil engineering, and construction, including but not limited to, rock mechanics, mining-induced disasters, and construction land use, are not suitable for publication in this journal. Studies that primarily deal with the physical properties of materials, such as cohesion, shear stress, and bending moment, without a relevance to broader earth science themes, are also outside the journal's scope. Frontiers in Earth Science is committed to advancing developments in the field of Earth science by allowing unrestricted access to articles, and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. Frontiers in Earth Science is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Earth and Planetary Sciences-General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 4, United States 3, Italy 3, Switzerland 2, Cyprus 2 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- earthquake and tectonic studiesEarth and Planetary Sciences9.2%
- Geological and Geochemical AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences8.4%
- Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysisEngineering7.3%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences7%
- Landslides and related hazardsEnvironmental Science7%
- Cryospheric studies and observationsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.4%
- Rock Mechanics and ModelingEngineering4.9%
- High-pressure geophysics and materialsEarth and Planetary Sciences4.2%
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 | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
Early warning / risk: CAS Early Warning Journal List: listed in the 2023 edition (low risk); not listed in the other 5 editions.LetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of ScienceINSPECPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Astrophysics Data System, CLOCKSS, Crossref
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
- 2.26LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.61LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.78LetPub ·
- h-index
- 103OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,299OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.52OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.94%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 845LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 9,512 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 541 | 541 | 189 |
| 2025 | 890 | 890 | 1,688 |
| 2024 | 880 | 880 | 3,937 |
| 2023 | 2,010 | 2,010 | 13,535 |
| 2022 | 2,202 | 2,202 | 21,115 |
| 2021 | 1,415 | 1,415 | 23,792 |
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)
- about 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 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 | CHF 3,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 3,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | 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)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2296-6463
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- 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 Frontiers in Earth Science
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Earth Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Earth Science is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geosciences, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Earth Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.26; CiteScore 4.9, h-index 103.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Earth Science?
Authors report an average review time of about 12 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Earth Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Earth Science based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (4), United States (3) and Italy (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Earth Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Earth Science is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Earth Science open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Earth Science 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .