Journal of Geology

Journal of Geology
Title	Journal of Geology
Discipline	Geology
Abbreviation	J. Geol.
Publisher	University of Chicago Press
Country	United States
History	1893–present
Frequency	Bimonthly
Issn	0022-1376

Journal of Geology The Journal of Geology is a peer-reviewed scientific periodical publishing research in stratigraphy, tectonics, geochronology, mineralogy, petrology, paleontology, sedimentology, and geophysics. Established in 1893 at the University of Chicago, the journal has published work by influential figures across Earth sciences and has contributed to debates involving plate tectonics, radiometric dating, basin analysis, metamorphism, and planetary geology. Authors and readers have included researchers associated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, United States Geological Survey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and University of Oxford.

History

The journal was founded in the late 19th century amid contemporaneous developments at the University of Chicago, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Geological Society of America. Early contributors included geologists whose careers intersected with the United States Geological Survey, the British Geological Survey, the Royal Society, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Over decades the journal published work connected to field programs in the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Basin and Range Province, the Andes, the Himalaya, and the Alps, and engaged with debates alongside figures from institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and Brown University. The journal’s evolution paralleled milestones tied to the Geological Society of London, the Geological Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, the International Union of Geological Sciences, and national surveys in Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Russia, and India.

Scope and Editorial Focus

The journal emphasizes original research in stratigraphy that intersects with paleontology, plutonics, and metamorphism, and it values studies employing geochronological methods like uranium–lead dating, potassium–argon dating, and argon–argon techniques. Research integrating field mapping in regions such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Sierra Nevada, Scottish Highlands, and Greenland with laboratory analyses influenced by methods developed at the Max Planck Society, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is typical. The journal has featured cross-disciplinary work involving collaborations with researchers at NASA, European Space Agency, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Australian National University, and has published influential papers concerning stratigraphic correlation, sediment provenance, basin evolution, sequence stratigraphy, detrital zircon studies, and paleoclimatology involving names tied to Mount Everest expeditions, the Kerguelen Plateau, and the Mariana Trench.

Publication and Frequency

Published by the University of Chicago Press, the journal issues bimonthly volumes that include original articles, review articles, and occasional special issues focused on topics such as plate-boundary processes, continental rifting, mountain building, and planetary analogs. Distribution networks link the press with libraries at institutions such as the New York Public Library, British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, German National Library, National Diet Library, and the Library of Congress. Subscription and archival programs involve collaborations with JSTOR, Portico, and academic consortia at universities including the University of California, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, University of Tokyo, and National University of Singapore.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic and abstracting services that serve earth and planetary sciences communities, including services used by researchers at the American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, European Geosciences Union, and International Association of Sedimentologists. Indexing platforms used by scholars affiliated with institutions such as Elsevier, Clarivate Analytics, Scopus, GeoRef, and Web of Science ensure discoverability alongside records maintained by the Smithsonian Libraries, British Geological Survey archives, and national geological surveys in Canada, India, and Japan. Citation metrics are tracked by organizations including Clarivate, Scopus, Google Scholar, and national research evaluation bodies at universities like Oxford, Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and Imperial College London.

Notable Papers and Contributions

Over its history the journal has published landmark studies influencing paradigms alongside researchers connected to the formulation of plate tectonics, the development of radiometric dating protocols at institutions such as Caltech and MIT, and the refinement of sedimentary basin models used for petroleum exploration by companies and agencies like Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and Petrobras. Papers have informed stratigraphic frameworks for sequences in the Permian Basin, North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Niger Delta, Sichuan Basin, Ordos Basin, and Paraná Basin, and have contributed to paleoenvironmental reconstructions relevant to the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, Permian–Triassic extinction, Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, and Quaternary glaciations studied by teams from the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Scott Polar Research Institute, and Alfred Wegener Institute. Influential authors affiliated with institutions such as Yale, Princeton, Caltech, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of California Berkeley, and the Max Planck Institute have advanced concepts in provenance analysis, metamorphic petrology, geochemical fingerprinting, and tectonostratigraphic synthesis.

Editorial Board and Peer Review Process

The editorial board comprises editors and associate editors drawn from universities and research organizations worldwide, including faculty appointments at Harvard, Columbia, UCLA, ETH Zurich, University of Edinburgh, National Taiwan University, Kyoto University, and Peking University, and scientists from agencies such as the USGS, NOAA, and CNRS. Manuscripts undergo peer review by experts selected from networks spanning professional societies such as the Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union, and International Union of Geological Sciences, and reviewers often include specialists associated with research centers like Scripps, Woods Hole, and Lamont–Doherty. The journal follows standard practices for anonymized refereeing, editorial decisions, revisions, and ethical guidelines aligned with publishers and scholarly organizations including the Committee on Publication Ethics and major university research offices.

Category:Geology journals