Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL
Polar Geography
ISSN 1088-937X · eISSN 1939-0513 · Taylor & Francis
Polar Geography: CAS Zone 3 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.7 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 228 days to acceptance (33 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 50% (journal website); 20 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Polar Geography is published by Taylor & Francis 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 Arctic and Russian Policy Studies, Indigenous Studies and Ecology and Climate change and permafrost, together about 45.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atmospheric Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Polar Geography is a quarterly publication that offers a venue for scholarly research on the physical and human aspects of the Polar Regions. The journal seeks to address the component interplay of the natural systems, the complex historical, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and security issues, and the interchange amongst them. As such, the journal welcomes comparative approaches, critical scholarship, and alternative and disparate perspectives from around the globe. The journal offers scientists a venue for publishing longer papers such as might result from distillation of a thesis, or review papers that place in global context results from coordinated national and international efforts currently underway in both Polar Regions. The journal also offers a section for book reviews and invites such submissions or suggestions. Polar Geography is a quarterly publication and was first published in 1977 as a vehicle for making available English translations of important Soviet, Japanese, and west European research on the polar regions. Peer Review Statement All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous, expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via Submission Portal.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL
Editor-in-chief Jessica GraybillPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Arctic and Russian Policy StudiesSocial Sciences18.5%
- Indigenous Studies and EcologyHealth Professions16.1%
- Climate change and permafrostEarth and Planetary Sciences10.8%
- Cryospheric studies and observationsEarth and Planetary Sciences7.8%
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences6.4%
- Polar Research and EcologyEnvironmental Science5.5%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences5.1%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | 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 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
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
ESCIScopusLetPub
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 (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.51LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.51Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.08Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 47OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 255OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.43OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.62%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 19LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 66,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 700 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | 7 | 3 |
| 2025 | 20 | 6 | 28 |
| 2024 | 22 | 14 | 98 |
| 2023 | 13 | 8 | 68 |
| 2022 | 15 | 10 | 110 |
| 2021 | 13 | 5 | 259 |
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
228 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 171 days – 270 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (33 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 245 days
- Sample
- 33 articles with submission and acceptance dates (35 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 50%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 74 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 114 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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
Hybrid open access journal (Taylor & Francis Open Select); open access publishing optional. Model summary
Polar Geography 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 and readers…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: initial editor appraisal, then double-anonymized review by independent expert referees; online submission via Submission Portal. Model summary
All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous, expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via Submission Portal.
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 & Francis
- ISSN
- 1088-937X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1939-0513
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 49, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Polar Geography
What CAS zone is Polar Geography in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Polar Geography is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography, Physical. 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 Polar Geography?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 47.
How long does peer review take at Polar Geography?
Based on the dates recorded on 33 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 228 days (interquartile range 171–270 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 50%. 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.
Which databases index Polar Geography?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Polar Geography is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Polar Geography open access, and what is the APC?
Polar Geography is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .