Journal profile · Geochemistry & Geophysics
Radiocarbon
ISSN 0033-8222 · eISSN 1945-5755 · Cambridge University Press · UNITED STATES · Tri-annual · Founded 1961
Radiocarbon: CAS Zone 3 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.36; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,487; review 6–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 109 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Radiocarbon is published by Cambridge University Press 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 Archaeology and ancient environmental studies, Geology and Paleoclimatology Research and Isotope Analysis in Ecology, together about 50.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Radiocarbon is the international journal of record for technical and interpretive articles and date lists relevant to 14C and other radioisotopes and techniques used in archaeological, geophysical, oceanographic, and related dating. Since it was founded in 1959 Radiocarbon has published many seminal works and is typically the venue for the triennial International Radiocarbon Conference proceedings. The journal also publishes occasional special issues. Submissions are welcome for regular articles in the form of research reports, technical descriptions and date lists, as well as comments, letters to the editor, book reviews and laboratory lists.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geochemistry & Geophysics
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 13, United Kingdom 6, France 3, Poland 3, Germany 2 (43 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Archaeology and ancient environmental studiesEarth and Planetary Sciences24.3%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences16.5%
- Isotope Analysis in EcologyEnvironmental Science9.4%
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologySocial Sciences7.3%
- Pacific and Southeast Asian StudiesSocial Sciences4.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.4%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences3.5%
- Image Processing and 3D ReconstructionComputer Science2.6%
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 | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Zone 3 |
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 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
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.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.36LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 73Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.24LetPub ·
- h-index
- 73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 141OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,604OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.52OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 67.71%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 90LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,912 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 82 | 48 | 14 |
| 2025 | 109 | 85 | 122 |
| 2024 | 125 | 87 | 343 |
| 2023 | 131 | 102 | 599 |
| 2022 | 108 | 69 | 623 |
| 2021 | 118 | 80 | 1,355 |
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)
- EasyLetPub ·
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 2,487 / GBP 1,984 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted2
- research reportResearch reports* Technical descriptions*Date lists*Notes and CommentsLetters to the EditorBook Reviews Laboratory ListLength not stated
- reviewResearch reports* Technical descriptions*Date lists*Notes and CommentsLetters to the EditorBook Reviews Laboratory ListLength not stated
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
- Cambridge University Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Tri-annual
- Founded
- 1961
- ISSN
- 0033-8222
- Electronic ISSN
- 1945-5755
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Radiocarbon
What CAS zone is Radiocarbon in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Radiocarbon is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 3 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 Radiocarbon?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.36; CiteScore 3.6, h-index 141.
How long does peer review take at Radiocarbon?
Authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “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.
Where are the editorial board members of Radiocarbon based?
Of the 43 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (13), United Kingdom (6) and France (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Radiocarbon?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Radiocarbon is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Radiocarbon open access, and what is the APC?
Radiocarbon is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,487.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .