Journal profile · Geochemistry & Geophysics
Journal of Seismology
ISSN 1383-4649 · eISSN 1573-157X · Springer Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · Quarterly · Founded 1997
Journal of Seismology: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.28; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 157 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 83 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Seismology is published by Springer Netherlands 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, Seismic Waves and Analysis and High-pressure geophysics and materials, together about 49.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Seismology publishes original research covering all observational and theoretical aspects of earthquake occurrence. It maintains a balanced focus on seismological data, physical modeling, and applied analysis, while promoting interdisciplinary approaches to earthquake science. Topics of interest include seismotectonics and active faulting, instrumental and historical seismicity, seismic source physics, strong ground motion, site effects, seismic hazard and risk assessment, fault system dynamics, triggered and induced seismicity, mining and volcano seismology, earthquake forecasting, as well as structural investigations from local to global scale, with particular attention to passive-source experiments and dense seismic arrays. The journal also welcomes contributions in emerging and cross-disciplinary areas, such as advanced computational methods, machine learning and other data-driven approaches in seismology, distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), urban seismology, citizen science initiatives, and seismic risk communication. In addition, the Journal of Seismology supports the publication of well-documented seismological datasets, software tools, and open-access resources that promote transparency, reproducibility, and broad community use. The journal accepts the following article types: Research articles: comprehensive studies presenting original data, analysis, or models. Review articles: authoritative, balanced and scholarly surveys of recent developments. Brief reports: concise studies or rapid report of research following significant earthquakes. Comments: informed and critical perspectives on current topics relevant to the journal’s readership. Correspondence: timely communications or reactions to recently published work as well as anything of likely interest to the readers, such as policy debates and community announcements. The Journal of Seismology strongly encourages authors to make all datasets underlying their conclusions available to readers. Whenever possible, datasets should be deposited in publicly accessible repositories or included in the supplementary material. Please refer to the Springer Research Data Policy for further guidance.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geochemistry & Geophysics
Editor-in-chief Angela SaraoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 4%); most named Italy 4, United States 2, India 2, Spain 2, Switzerland 2 (27 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 Sciences24.8%
- Seismic Waves and AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences13.9%
- High-pressure geophysics and materialsEarth and Planetary Sciences11.2%
- Earthquake Detection and AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences9.2%
- Seismic Performance and AnalysisEngineering8.5%
- Seismology and Earthquake StudiesComputer Science6.7%
- Seismic Imaging and Inversion TechniquesEarth and Planetary Sciences5.3%
- Geological and Geochemical AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences3.5%
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 | Geochemistry & Geophysics | 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 | Geochemistry & Geophysics | 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 | Geochemistry & Geophysics | 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
INSPECGeoRefCurrent 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
- 1.28LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.49LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.13LetPub ·
- h-index
- 48LetPub ·
- h-index
- 76OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 886OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.67OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 80LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 198,600Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,044 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 101 | 29 | 30 |
| 2025 | 83 | 24 | 125 |
| 2024 | 85 | 26 | 294 |
| 2023 | 59 | 23 | 259 |
| 2022 | 72 | 27 | 868 |
| 2021 | 79 | 22 | 554 |
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
157 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 103 days – 227 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 173 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (207 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 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 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Cover letter
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Plagiarism
- AI use Generative AI Images
LLMs do 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
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 interests disclosure required 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
Data availability statement required for all original research 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
Follows COPE guidelines 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
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 Journal of Seismology, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening software may be used Model summary
the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism
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 Netherlands
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1997
- ISSN
- 1383-4649
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-157X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Seismology
What CAS zone is Journal of Seismology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Seismology is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geochemistry & Geophysics. 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 Seismology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.28; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 76.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Seismology?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 157 days (interquartile range 103–227 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 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 Journal of Seismology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; 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 Seismology based?
Of the 27 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (4), United States (2) and India (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Seismology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Seismology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists INSPEC, GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Seismology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Seismology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .