Journal profile · Geology
Journal of Spatial Science
ISSN 1449-8596 · eISSN 1836-5655 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · AUSTRALIA · Semiannual
Journal of Spatial Science: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.27; subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; median 160 days to acceptance (43 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 20 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Spatial Science is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. 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 Geographic Information Systems Studies, GNSS positioning and interference and Remote Sensing in Agriculture, together about 26.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Spatial Science is a subscription-based international journal publishing papers broadly across the spatial sciences including such areas as cartography, geodesy, geographic information science, hydrography, digital image analysis and photogrammetry, remote sensing, surveying and related areas. Research Papers (including reviews) are peer-reviewed and must meet a minimum standard of making a contribution to the knowledge base of an area of the spatial sciences. This can be achieved through the empirical or theoretical contribution to knowledge that produces significant new outcomes. Peer review policy All research and review papers in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and double-anonymized refereeing.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geology
Editor-in-chief Robert OdolinskiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 5, New Zealand 3, United Kingdom 2 (10 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geographic Information Systems StudiesSocial Sciences10.4%
- GNSS positioning and interferenceEngineering8.4%
- Remote Sensing in AgricultureEnvironmental Science7.7%
- Geophysics and Gravity MeasurementsEarth and Planetary Sciences7.5%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science7.1%
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR ApplicationsEnvironmental Science7%
- Remote-Sensing Image ClassificationEngineering4.8%
- Data Management and AlgorithmsComputer Science4.8%
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 | Geography, Physical | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Remote Sensing | 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 | Geography, Physical | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Remote Sensing | Zone 4 |
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 | Geography, Physical | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Remote Sensing | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceGeoRefPublisher website
Other: OCLC, EBSCOhost, Elsevier BV, GEOBASE, Ovid, Thomson Reuters
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
- 2.27LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.37LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.37Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.55LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.55Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 42OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 250OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.41OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 4.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 19LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 45,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 761 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 20 | 5 | 53 |
| 2024 | 50 | 5 | 256 |
| 2023 | 41 | 14 | 249 |
| 2022 | 29 | 13 | 135 |
| 2021 | 31 | 13 | 257 |
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
160 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 118 days – 269 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (43 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 184 days
- Sample
- 43 articles with submission and acceptance dates (47 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)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 5%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 30 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 18 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication 2025
- 30 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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Journal of Spatial Science is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
All research and review papers in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and double-anonymized refereeing. Model summary
All research and review papers in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and double-anonymized refereeing.
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
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- AUSTRALIA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- ISSN
- 1449-8596
- Electronic ISSN
- 1836-5655
- Society / sponsor
- Mapping Sciences Institute Australia and GeoSpatial Council
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 71, Issue 1-2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Spatial Science
What CAS zone is Journal of Spatial Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Spatial Science is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography, Physical / Remote Sensing. 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 Journal of Spatial Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.27; CiteScore 3.9, h-index 42.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Spatial Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 43 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 160 days (interquartile range 118–269 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 5% (2025). 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Spatial Science based?
Of the 10 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (5), New Zealand (3) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Spatial Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Spatial Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and GeoRef; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Spatial Science open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Spatial Science is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .