Journal profile · Geology
Geologica Acta
ISSN 1695-6133 · eISSN 1696-5728 · Universitat de Barcelona · SPAIN · Quarterly
Geologica Acta: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.36; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 30 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Geologica Acta is published by Universitat de Barcelona 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, Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils and Geology and Paleoclimatology Research, together about 37.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Geologica Acta welcomes Relevant conceptual developments in any area of the Earth and Environmental Sciences. Studies presenting regional synthesis. Thematic issues or monographic volumes. Short papers reflecting interesting results or works in progress. Reviews that summarise the research carried out on the subject. Geologica Acta aims to stimulate rapid diffusion of results and efficient exchange of ideas between the widespread communities of Earth Science researchers. Geologica Acta publication advantages Paper length according to interest and need. Quick publication; six months for express papers, 12 months for full length papers. Attractive format and high quality printing no page charges. Open access journal with no publication fee. Geologica Acta diffusion World wide diffusion in electronic format. Free full-text availability online. Alerting of the publication to interested researchers included in our data base.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geology
Editor-in-chief Miquel López BlancoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Spain 26, Italy 6, United States 2, Japan 2, India 1 (44 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geological and Geochemical AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences13.7%
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsEarth and Planetary Sciences12.1%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences11.6%
- Geological and Geophysical Studies WorldwideEarth and Planetary Sciences10.1%
- earthquake and tectonic studiesEarth and Planetary Sciences7.7%
- Geological formations and processesEarth and Planetary Sciences7.3%
- Evolution and Paleontology StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences5%
- Geological and Tectonic Studies in Latin AmericaEarth and Planetary Sciences4.4%
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 | Geology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geology | Zone 2 |
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 | Geology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 1.36LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.36LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.49LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39LetPub ·
- h-index
- 53OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 297OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.69OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 90.74%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 29LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 526 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| 2025 | 30 | 30 | 24 |
| 2024 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
| 2023 | 24 | 24 | 348 |
| 2022 | 18 | 18 | 85 |
| 2021 | 16 | 16 | 92 |
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 PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 6 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 33 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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY-SA | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Templates
- Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional, 3
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- short noteShort Notes, for rapid high impact publication (no more than 10 double-line-spaced pages, including tables and figures).Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Authors retain copyright; papers distributed under Attribution-Share Alike Creative Commons License; authors may post papers on their own web pages or institutional repositories. Model summary
Copyright Geologica Acta is the property of the UB, UAB, ICGC and IPC. Geologica Acta must be cited for any partial or full reproduction. Papers are distributed under the Attribution-Share Alike Creative Commons License. This license allows anyone to reproduce and disseminate the content of the journal and even make derivative works crediting authorship and provenance and distributing possible der…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Geologica Acta is an Open Access journal. It allows free access to and distribution of published and forthcoming articles, making research and science available for everyone and providing authors with worldwide rapid difussion.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 5. Review Process and Acceptance
Double-blind peer review by two external referees; reviewers anonymous by default; authors may suggest three or more potential reviewers; editorial readiness test before review; two months for author revisions; full process from submission to publication takes about 6 to 12 months. Model summary
All manuscripts submitted to Geologica Acta are blind-peer-reviewed by two external referees before they can be accepted for publication. Reviewers will by default remain anonymous, unless they choose to disclose their identities. The authors could suggest three or more potential reviewers (including e-mail addresses and institutions). The editorial committee and the guest editors can send the man…
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
- Universitat de Barcelona
- Country or region
- SPAIN
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- ISSN
- 1695-6133
- Electronic ISSN
- 1696-5728
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Geologica Acta
What CAS zone is Geologica Acta in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Geologica Acta is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Geology. 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 Geologica Acta?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.36; CiteScore 2.1, h-index 53.
How long does peer review take at Geologica Acta?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “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 Geologica Acta?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Templates: Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional, 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 Geologica Acta based?
Of the 44 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Spain (26), Italy (6) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Geologica Acta?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Geologica Acta is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Geologica Acta open access, and what is the APC?
Geologica Acta is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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: .