Journal profile · Oceanography
Journal of Physical Oceanography
ISSN 0022-3670 · eISSN 1520-0485 · American Meteorological Society · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1971
Journal of Physical Oceanography: CAS Zone 3 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.86; hybrid open access; review 4–8 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 177 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Physical Oceanography is published by American Meteorological Society 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 Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes, Climate variability and models and Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing, together about 55.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atmospheric Science and Oceanography. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Physical Oceanography (JPO) publishes research related to the physics of the ocean and to processes operating at its boundaries. Observational, theoretical, and modeling studies are all welcome, especially those that focus on elucidating specific physical processes. Papers that investigate interactions with other components of the Earth system (e.g., ocean–atmosphere, physical–biological, and physical–chemical interactions) as well as studies of other fluid systems (e.g., lakes and laboratory tanks) are also invited, as long as their focus is on understanding the ocean or its role in the Earth system. ISSN: 0022-3670; eISSN: 1520-0485
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Oceanography
Editor-in-chief Jerome A. SmithPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Oceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesEarth and Planetary Sciences31.1%
- Climate variability and modelsEnvironmental Science13.2%
- Ocean Waves and Remote SensingEarth and Planetary Sciences11.3%
- Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences8%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences6.5%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences6.1%
- Coastal and Marine DynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences3.5%
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences3.2%
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 | Oceanography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Oceanography | 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 | Oceanography | Zone 2 |
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
- 2.86LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.38LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 128LetPub ·
- h-index
- 246OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,760OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.66OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 17.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 7.17%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 144LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 8,976 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 127 | 23 | 15 |
| 2025 | 177 | 60 | 194 |
| 2024 | 128 | 35 | 508 |
| 2023 | 157 | 70 | 1,009 |
| 2022 | 223 | 113 | 2,478 |
| 2021 | 183 | 102 | 2,924 |
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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- American Meteorological Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1971
- ISSN
- 0022-3670
- Electronic ISSN
- 1520-0485
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 56, Issue 10 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Physical Oceanography
What CAS zone is Journal of Physical Oceanography in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Physical Oceanography is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Oceanography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Physical Oceanography?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.86; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 246.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Physical Oceanography?
Authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. 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 Journal of Physical Oceanography?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Physical Oceanography is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Physical Oceanography open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Physical Oceanography is a hybrid 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .