Journal profile · Oceanography
Oceanography
ISSN 1042-8275 · eISSN 2377-617X · Oceanography Society · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1988
Oceanography: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.49; fully open access; APC about USD 2,880; review 6–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 70 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Oceanography is published by Oceanography Society 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 Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes, Coastal and Marine Management and Marine and fisheries research, together about 30.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Oceanography. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
First published in July 1988, Oceanography is the official magazine of The Oceanography Society. It contains peer-reviewed articles that chronicle all aspects of ocean science and its applications. In addition, Oceanography publishes news and information, meeting reports, commentaries and perspectives, articles that share information about homemade sensors or educational activities, career profiles, book reviews, and shorter, editor-reviewed articles that address public policy and how it is affected by science and technology. We encourage submission of short papers to the Breaking Waves section that describe novel approaches to multidisciplinary problems in ocean science. Author guidelines can be found here. Special issues of the magazine cover major ocean science programs or themes. Information about how to get a special issue on the calendar can be found here. Articles in the special issue section are invited by guest editors. Oceanography is published four times a year in online format only as of 2025. Articles are posted online immediately upon publication with full access to all content. Please refer to our permissions page for information about content usage. Oceanography is covered in the Clarivate Journal Citations Reports and the Science Citation Index Expanded. Oceanography content is also available through JSTOR. View Oceanography’s Editorial Board.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Oceanography
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 6, United Kingdom 2, Norway 2, Australia 1 (11 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Oceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesEarth and Planetary Sciences12%
- Coastal and Marine ManagementEnvironmental Science9.3%
- Marine and fisheries researchEnvironmental Science9%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences8.6%
- Ocean Acidification Effects and ResponsesEarth and Planetary Sciences6%
- Methane Hydrates and Related PhenomenaEnvironmental Science5.4%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences4.8%
- Marine Biology and Ecology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences4.7%
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 | Oceanography | 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 | Oceanography | 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 | Oceanography | Zone 4 |
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
- 2.49LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2024
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 76LetPub ·
- h-index
- 141OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,206OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.96OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 83.22%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 31LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,895 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 36 | 246 |
| 2025 | 70 | 70 | 53 |
| 2024 | 117 | 117 | 361 |
| 2023 | 122 | 122 | 538 |
| 2022 | 71 | 71 | 766 |
| 2021 | 108 | 108 | 1,041 |
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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified 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 | USD 2,880 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 500 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,880 / USD 1,440 / USD 720 / USD 240 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- 2,880
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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted16
- breaking wavesBREAKING WAVES Breaking Waves is back as a category for Oceanography manuscripts! The purpose of the Breaking Waves section is to provide an outlet for peer-rev…Length not stated
- career profilesCAREER PROFILES This recurring column highlights marine scientists who have pursued successful and fulfilling careers outside of academia.Length not stated
- commentariesCommentaries present analyses of issue of interest to Oceanography readers, written by experts in the field. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome.Length not stated
- commentary• Commentaries present analyses of issue of interest to Oceanography readers, written by experts in the field. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. • Perspectiv…Length not stated
- diy oceanographyDIY OCEANOGRAPHY In this Oceanography section, contributing authors share all of the relevant information on a homemade sensor, instrument, or software tool(s) …Length not stated
- feature articlesFEATURE ARTICLES The purpose of the Feature Articles section is to provide an outlet for making significant advances in oceanography accessible to a broad reade…Length not stated
- meeting/workshop/conference reportsMEETING/WORKSHOP/CONFERENCE REPORTS We welcome short articles that describe the goals, activities, and accomplishments of meetings/workshops/conferences in all …Length not stated
- ocean decade articlesOCEAN DECADE ARTICLES As part of a collaborative effort between The Oceanography Society, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the Association for the Scie…Length not stated
- ocean educationOCEAN EDUCATION Ocean Education articles should inspire teachers in higher education to try new active, student-centered instruction (ranging from short activit…Length not stated
- ocean policyOCEAN POLICY We seek provocative articles that start a community discussion on future directions of ocean science.Length not stated
- perspectivesPerspectives articles should add a dimension to a newly published Oceanography Feature Article and not just a summary of that article’s content. Perspectives ar…Length not stated
- research paperSPECIFICATIONS BY CATEGORY 1 IMPORTANT: Word count includes all text—author information, abstract (if applicable), main body text, boxes, sidebars, references, …Length not stated
- reviewSPECIFICATIONS BY CATEGORY 1 IMPORTANT: Word count includes all text—author information, abstract (if applicable), main body text, boxes, sidebars, references, …Length not stated
- rip current – news in oceanographyRIP CURRENT – NEWS IN OCEANOGRAPHY We seek short articles that describe newsworthy items in the field of oceanography.Length not stated
- special issue articlesSPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLES Oceanography regularly publishes special issues, most of which are sponsored by outside organizations.Length not stated
- the oceanography classroomTHE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM A recurring column in Oceanography magazine provides guidance and insights into teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in the oc…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use
AI tools cannot be authors; authors must disclose AI use Model summary
AI tools cannot be listed as an author of a paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) Model summary
Oceanography makes articles available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access OPEN ACCESS
Open access Model summary
Oceanography articles are posted online immediately upon publication with full access to all content.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Publication fee waiver available Model summary
Authors can request a waiver from TOS (email to [email protected]) for all or part of the publication fee if they document their inability to cover the expense.
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
- Oceanography Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1988
- ISSN
- 1042-8275
- Electronic ISSN
- 2377-617X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Oceanography
What CAS zone is Oceanography in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Oceanography is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Oceanography. 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 Oceanography?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.49; CiteScore 5.3, h-index 141.
How long does peer review take at Oceanography?
Authors report an average review time of 6–12 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 Oceanography?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Reference style: Vancouver; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. 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 Oceanography based?
Of the 11 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), United Kingdom (2) and Norway (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Oceanography?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Oceanography is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Oceanography open access, and what is the APC?
Oceanography is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,880.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .