Journal profile · Geochemistry & Geophysics
Near Surface Geophysics
ISSN 1569-4445 · EAGE Publishing BV · NETHERLANDS · Bimonthly
Near Surface Geophysics: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.4 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,400; median 226 days to acceptance (77 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 49 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Near Surface Geophysics is published by EAGE Publishing BV 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 Geophysical Methods and Applications, Seismic Waves and Analysis and Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods, together about 65.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Near Surface Geophysics is an international journal for the publication of research and development in geophysics applied to the near surface. The emphasis lies on shallow land and marine geophysical investigations addressing challenges in geology, hydrogeology, environmental science, civil and geotechnical engineering, agriculture, archaeology, mining and mineral exploration, geohazards, the influence of climate change, exploration, and storage of energy (incl. geothermal, wind and other renewables), and near-surface soil- and rock-physical properties. Geophysical and geoscientific case histories with innovative use of geophysical techniques are welcome, which may include improvements in instrumentation, measurements, data acquisition and processing, modelling, inversion, interpretation, integration, project management, and multidisciplinary use. The papers should also be understandable to those who use geophysical data but are not necessarily geophysicists. Near Surface Geophysics is indexed/abstracted in the Current Contents/ Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences , ISI Alerting Service and Science Citation Index Expanded. It is published 6 times a year.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geochemistry & Geophysics
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geophysical Methods and ApplicationsEngineering24.2%
- Seismic Waves and AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences22.6%
- Geophysical and Geoelectrical MethodsEarth and Planetary Sciences18.8%
- Seismic Imaging and Inversion TechniquesEarth and Planetary Sciences10.4%
- Earthquake Detection and AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences3.4%
- Microwave Imaging and Scattering AnalysisEngineering3%
- Seismology and Earthquake StudiesComputer Science1.9%
- NMR spectroscopy and applicationsPhysics and Astronomy1.8%
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 | Geochemistry & Geophysics | 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 | 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 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPublisher website
Other: ISI
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 (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.51LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.85LetPub ·
- h-index
- 32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 59OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 567OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.33%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 37LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 37Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 43,517Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,340 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 53 | 17 | 7 |
| 2025 | 49 | 21 | 68 |
| 2024 | 39 | 21 | 72 |
| 2023 | 55 | 33 | 204 |
| 2022 | 52 | 14 | 261 |
| 2021 | 61 | 24 | 466 |
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
226 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 181 days – 311 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 24 days (82 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 252 days
- Sample
- 77 articles with submission and acceptance dates (99 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 ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 36%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 86 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 275 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 25 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 3,400 / EUR 2,850 / GBP 2,500 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- No page charges
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Keywords
- 2–5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 5,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- Word
Article types accepted8
- case studyOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
- comprehensive reviewsComprehensive Reviews - critical reviews of the literature, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Length not stated
- meta-analysisOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
- original paperOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
- original papersOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
- original researchOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
- reviewOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
- systematic reviewOriginal Papers - concentrate on reporting original research results representing a significant progress or innovative case studies contributing to new useful k…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal's Authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potent…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
Data sharing is expected; all data underlying published results must be archived in a public repository. Model summary
Please review Wiley’s policy here. This journal expects data sharing. Near Surface Geophysics recognizes the many benefits of archiving research data. Near Surface Geophysics expects you to archive all the data from which your published results are derived in a public repository. The repository that you choose should offer you guaranteed preservation (see the registry of research data repositories…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Note this journal uses iThenticate's CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read Wiley's Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley's Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Acceptance
The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Preprints are accepted for review and authors may post submitted versions to preprint servers. Model summary
Near Surface Geophysics will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
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
- EAGE Publishing BV
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- ISSN
- 1569-4445
- Society / sponsor
- European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Near Surface Geophysics
What CAS zone is Near Surface Geophysics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Near Surface Geophysics 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 4 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Near Surface Geophysics?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.4 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.1, h-index 59.
How long does peer review take at Near Surface Geophysics?
Based on the dates recorded on 77 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 226 days (interquartile range 181–311 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 36% (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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Near Surface Geophysics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Keywords: 2–5; Manuscript length: ≤ 5,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: Word. 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.
Which databases index Near Surface Geophysics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Near Surface Geophysics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Near Surface Geophysics open access, and what is the APC?
Near Surface Geophysics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,400.
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: .