Journal profile · Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Journal of Glaciology
ISSN 0022-1430 · eISSN 1727-5652 · Cambridge University Press · ENGLAND · Quarterly
Journal of Glaciology: CAS Zone 3 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.17; fully open access; APC about USD 2,200; review 4–8 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 124 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Glaciology is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 3 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 Winter Sports Injuries and Performance, together about 57.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atmospheric Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Glaciology publishes original scientific articles and letters in any aspect of glaciology- the study of ice. Studies of natural, artificial, and extraterrestrial ice and snow, as well as interactions between ice, snow and the atmospheric, oceanic and subglacial environment are all eligible. They may be based on field work, remote sensing, laboratory investigations, theoretical analysis or numerical modelling, or may report on newly developed glaciological instruments. Subjects covered recently in the Journal have included palaeoclimatology and the chemistry of the atmosphere as revealed in ice cores; theoretical and applied physics and chemistry of ice; the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets, and changes in their extent and mass under climatic forcing; glacier energy balances at all scales; glacial landforms, and glaciers as geomorphic agents; snow science in all its aspects; ice as a host for surface and subglacial ecosystems; sea ice, icebergs and lake ice; and avalanche dynamics and other glacial hazards to human activity. Studies of permafrost and of ice in the Earth’s atmosphere are also within the domain of the Journal, as are interdisciplinary applications to engineering, biological, and social sciences, and studies in the history of glaciology.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Editor-in-chief Hester JiskootPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United States 10, United Kingdom 7, France 3, Canada 3, Mainland China 2 (38 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 Sciences14.1%
- Winter Sports Injuries and PerformanceMedicine12.1%
- Landslides and related hazardsEnvironmental Science10.5%
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences8.9%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences7.8%
- Polar Research and EcologyEnvironmental Science4.7%
- Icing and De-icing TechnologiesEngineering1.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | 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 | Geography, Physical | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
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 | Geography, Physical | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
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
- 3.17LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 91Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.23LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- h-index
- 89LetPub ·
- h-index
- 193OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,648OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.28OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.68%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 118LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 9,586 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 91 | 91 | 25 |
| 2025 | 124 | 124 | 260 |
| 2024 | 97 | 97 | 427 |
| 2023 | 114 | 114 | 1,300 |
| 2022 | 126 | 126 | 1,775 |
| 2021 | 139 | 139 | 3,153 |
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 4 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 18 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 | GBP 1,648 / USD 2,200 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,600 / GBP 1,948 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,200 / GBP 1,648 | 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 prepare9 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 1,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted7
- articlesArticles* – concerning new findings and theories, or new instruments and methods, in glaciology – the study of ice; or review articles that offer an up-to-date,…Length not stated
- book reviewArticles* – concerning new findings and theories, or new instruments and methods, in glaciology – the study of ice; or review articles that offer an up-to-date,…Length not stated
- communicationsCommunications – short pieces without abstracts that could be, e.g., comments on published articles/letters, book reviews, short correspondence on topics of int…Length not stated
- correspondenceArticles* – concerning new findings and theories, or new instruments and methods, in glaciology – the study of ice; or review articles that offer an up-to-date,…Length not stated
- letterArticles* – concerning new findings and theories, or new instruments and methods, in glaciology – the study of ice; or review articles that offer an up-to-date,…Length not stated
- lettersLetters* – identical in form and general content as Articles, but of reduced length, and carrying substantially reduced processing charges.Length not stated
- review articleArticles* – concerning new findings and theories, or new instruments and methods, in glaciology – the study of ice; or review articles that offer an up-to-date,…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePreprints
- Preprints
Preprints allowed Model summary
Preprints posted on personal or institutional servers, or on preprint servers such as ArXiv, are not treated as if previously published, and may be considered.
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
- Cambridge University Press
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- ISSN
- 0022-1430
- Electronic ISSN
- 1727-5652
- Society / sponsor
- International Glaciological Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- 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
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Glaciology
What CAS zone is Journal of Glaciology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Glaciology is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Geosciences, Multidisciplinary / Geography, Physical. 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 Journal of Glaciology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.17; CiteScore 5.7, h-index 193.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Glaciology?
Authors report an average review time of 4–8 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 Journal of Glaciology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 1,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Optional. 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 Journal of Glaciology based?
Of the 38 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (10), United Kingdom (7) and France (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Glaciology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Glaciology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Journal of Glaciology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Glaciology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,200.
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: .