PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH

PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH is published by Elsevier Ltd 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 Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies, Water resources management and optimization and Flood Risk Assessment and Management, together about 25.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth is an international, interdisciplinary journal publishing high-quality research that advances understanding of physical, chemical, and coupled processes across the Earth system. The journal welcomes original research articles, reviews, and short communications addressing interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, oceans, near-Earth space, planetary systems, and human systems, with particular emphasis on studies that integrate disciplinary perspectives to address significant scientific and environmental challenges.Physics and Chemistry of the Earth aims to support the rapid dissemination of rigorous, peer-reviewed research of broad relevance to the Earth and environmental sciences. The journal considers manuscripts of appropriate scientific depth and scope, without a fixed restriction on article length. Submissions should demonstrate clear scientific novelty, methodological rigor, and relevance to processes, interactions, or applications within the Earth system or related planetary environments.The journal covers the following subject areas:Hydrology, Oceans and AtmosphereThe journal publishes research on hydrology and water resources, including water availability, quality, engineering, management, and policy-relevant applications. It also welcomes studies in oceanography and ocean chemistry; shelf, sea, lake, river, and coastal sciences; meteorology and atmospheric sciences, including atmospheric chemistry; climatology; glaciology; and climate variability, climate change, and Earth-system feedbacks.Solid Earth and GeodesyThe journal considers studies in geology, geochemistry, tectonophysics, seismology, volcanology, palaeomagnetism and rock magnetism, electromagnetism and potential fields, marine and environmental geosciences, and geodesy. Contributions may address the structure, composition, evolution, dynamics, monitoring, and hazards of the solid Earth, as well as interactions between solid-Earth processes and surface, atmospheric, oceanic, or human systems.Solar-Terrestrial and Planetary ScienceThe journal welcomes research in solar, heliospheric, and solar–planetary sciences, including space-weather processes and solar-terrestrial interactions. It also considers studies of the geology, geophysics, atmospheres, surfaces, interiors, and evolution of planets, satellites, and small bodies, as well as cosmochemistry and exobiology. Comparative planetary studies that provide insight into Earth-system processes are particularly encouraged.This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 6 (Clear water and sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 13, (Climate Action)The journal also welcomes proposals for thematic collections and special issues arising from scientific meetings or emerging areas of research following the procedures listed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/physics-and-chemistry-of-the-earth-parts-a-b-c/about/policies. Such proposals may be forwarded to the Editors for consideration.

From the journal's Aims & Scope

Research area (LetPub): Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

Editor-in-chief Hongbo SuPublisher website

Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 29%); most named Mainland China 6, United States 5, Brazil 3, Türkiye 2, Hong Kong, China 1 (21 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CAS Journal Ranking

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.

Impact

Impact factor

4.56LetPub · 2026-09-13

Impact factor (publisher)

4.6Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CiteScore 2026-06

7LetPub · 2026-09-13

CiteScore (publisher)

7Publisher website · 2026-10-01

SJR 2026-06

0.93LetPub · 2026-09-13

SNIP 2026-06

1.09LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

68LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

128OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

i10-index

2,313OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

2-year mean citedness

3.75OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

Self-citation rate

6.5%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Share of gold OA articles

8.57%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Volume

Articles per year

353LetPub · 2026-09-13

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.

Figures by source

Average review time (community reports)

4–8 weeksLetPub · 2026-09-13

Average acceptance (community reports)

EasyLetPub · 2026-09-13

Submission to first decision

12 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

First decision after review

68 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Submission to acceptance

130 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Acceptance to publication

2 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Peer review

Single 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.

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.

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.

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

Country or region

ENGLAND

Language

English

Frequency

Biweekly

Founded

2002

ISSN

1474-7065

Electronic ISSN

1873-5193

Official links

• Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
• Submission system ↗Publisher website
• Special issues ↗Publisher website