Journal profile · Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Geo-Marine Letters
ISSN 0276-0460 · eISSN 1432-1157 · Springer Berlin Heidelberg · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1981
Geo-Marine Letters: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.34; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,590; median 112 days to acceptance (78 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 43 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Geo-Marine Letters is published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg 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 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research, Geological formations and processes and Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena, together about 46% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Geo-Marine Letters is an international peer-reviewed journal focusing on the rapid publication of concise original studies and reviews dealing with processes, products and techniques in marine geology, geophysics, and geochemistry. Coverage spans - structural geology, including plate tectonics of active and passive margins - sea-bed morphology, physiography and morphodynamics - sediment transport, depositional processes, and sedimentary facies analysis - stratigraphy, basin analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstruction - sea-level history, paleoproductivity, gas hydrates, salt domes, and brines - sediment-water interaction and organism-sediment relationships - geochemical tracers, stable isotopes and authigenic mineral formation - geotechnical properties and application of new geo-marine techniques, and more. -sediment archives, their formation, and signals of internal and external forcing for climate and ecosystem changes - marine system models, modeling techniques, and applications for marine geological environments -mechanisms of plate dynamics in modern and ancient times -climate and ecosystem evolution in relation to marine geological processes -development and application of AI technology to marine geology research In addition to regular articles, reviews, discussion/reply articles and technical papers, Geo-Marine Letters welcomes contributions by guest editors in the form of conference/workshop proceedings, or bundles of papers dealing with specific themes.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Editor-in-chief Qian YuPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 4, Germany 3, United Kingdom 2, Mainland China 1, Japan 1 (15 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences17.7%
- Geological formations and processesEarth and Planetary Sciences16.9%
- Methane Hydrates and Related PhenomenaEnvironmental Science11.4%
- Coastal and Marine DynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.8%
- earthquake and tectonic studiesEarth and Planetary Sciences4.9%
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamicsEnvironmental Science4.5%
- Geological and Geophysical StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences4.5%
- Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysisEngineering4.3%
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 |
| Minor | Oceanography | 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 |
| Minor | Oceanography | 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 | Oceanography | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECCASGeoRefCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic 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
- 1.34LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.33LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 49LetPub ·
- h-index
- 88OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,147OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.78OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 20.65%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 42LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 5Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 114,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,733 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 26 | 7 | 6 |
| 2025 | 43 | 12 | 54 |
| 2024 | 30 | 8 | 116 |
| 2023 | 19 | 5 | 78 |
| 2022 | 19 | 6 | 90 |
| 2021 | 55 | 20 | 445 |
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
112 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 77 days – 157 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (78 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 131 days
- Sample
- 78 articles with submission and acceptance dates (84 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,590 / EUR 3,790 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- manuscript text
Article types accepted2
- letterLetters For manuscripts please follow the guidelines and structure outlined below. This short article type is thought to be of interest to enable rapid publicat…Length not stated
- lettersLetters For manuscripts please follow the guidelines and structure outlined below. This short article type is thought to be of interest to enable rapid publicat…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use Generative AI Images
AI/LLM use does not satisfy authorship criteria Model summary
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
Author contributions and competing interests at submission Model summary
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
Competing interest declaration for editorial board authors Model summary
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Research data policy; data archiving encouraged Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) member Model summary
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Permissions required for previously published material Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Geo-Marine Letters, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Reviewer suggestion and exclusion allowed Model summary
Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening via software Model summary
Important note: the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Supplementary information accepted Model summary
Springer accepts electronic multimedia files (animations, movies, audio, etc.) and other supplementary files to be published online along with an article or a book chapter.
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
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1981
- ISSN
- 0276-0460
- Electronic ISSN
- 1432-1157
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Geo-Marine Letters
What CAS zone is Geo-Marine Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Geo-Marine Letters is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geosciences, Multidisciplinary / Oceanography. 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 Geo-Marine Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.34; CiteScore 1.8, h-index 88.
How long does peer review take at Geo-Marine Letters?
Based on the dates recorded on 78 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 112 days (interquartile range 77–157 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 Geo-Marine Letters?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3; Cover letter: Required. 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 Geo-Marine Letters based?
Of the 15 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4), Germany (3) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Geo-Marine Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Geo-Marine Letters is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, INSPEC, CAS, GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Geo-Marine Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Geo-Marine Letters is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,590.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .