Guide for Authors
International Journal of Marine Geology, Geochemistry and Geophysics
Marine Geology accepts papers in all fields of marine geology. The journal aims to provide a forum for
publication of high quality research papers across the entire range of the discipline: from field and laboratory techniques to regional
syntheses of marine sedimentary systems. We accept papers on subjects as diverse as seafloor hydrothermal systems, beach dynamics, early
diagenesis, microbiological studies in sediments, palaeoclimate studies and geophysical studies of the seabed. We only insist that the
papers are concerned with the marine realm and that they deal with geology: with rocks, sediments, and physical and chemical processes
affecting them. Papers exclusively on hydrodynamics or marine management should be submitted to other journals. We strongly encourage
papers that are interdisciplinary and synthetic in character within the broad field of marine geology or that address emerging new fields
of marine geology. The primary criteria for acceptance of papers is that the science is of high quality, novel, significant, and clearly
of interest to an international audience.
Types of paper
The majority of
the articles published in the journal are original
Research Papers. Research papers should report new and original research of
high quality that meet the criteria of being of broad international interest, significant and novel. Authors must warrant that the material
has not been previously published and declare in a covering letter any related manuscripts that are submitted or in press. A research
paper is typically structured with a brief introduction, if necessary a section on the geological and oceanographic setting, followed
by methods, results, discussion and conclusions. The length should be commensurate with the significance of the work and is usually not
more than 10000 words.
Review Articles provide a comprehensive and novel assessment of an issue or significant region in marine
geology and should be of interest to a wide readership. A Review Article should provide a balanced, integrated and critical summary of
previous work and should evaluate potential controversial issues. Illustrations should where possible integrate existing data into new
comprehensive figures rather than duplicating published work. Length should not normally exceed twice that of a typical Research Paper.
Potential authors are invited to consult informally with one of the Editors before preparing a Review Article.
The
Letter section
of Marine Geology is intended to provide rapid publication of immediate results (which will normally arise from fieldwork, but may include
significant new laboratory results). The criteria for acceptance of a Letter is that it presents exciting and significant new results,
for which the interpretation is clear, and which will have an important impact on the international marine geology community. Authors
must warrant that the material has not been previously published and explain in a covering letter how the Letter meets the criteria
in terms of a new result, its significance and its impact. A letter is not normally more than 4000 words (including abstract and references)
and 3 figures.
It is possible to submit a
Discussion that comments on a recently published Marine Geology paper. Such a Discussion
must be brief and directed only towards the main issue(s) that are being questioned in the original paper. It is not a vehicle for extensive
review or for publishing the author's new findings. The original author(s) will be invited to write a
Reply which must likewise
be brief and directed only at the issues in question.
A Special Issue of Marine Geology is a coherent set of papers on a single scientific
theme. The papers must meet the normal criteria for acceptance in Marine Geology. Although scientists intending to propose a Special
Issue may consult any of the Editors-in-Chief informally, a formal decision is taken only by all the Editors on receipt of a completed
written proposal. Formal proposals for Special Issues should be submitted to Grace Yao (g.yao@elsevier.com) and must include the following:
1. A one page text by the Guest Editor(s) outlining the reason for the Special Issue, what is the scientific theme and its significance,
why it is timely and needed, and why a Special Issue is necessary rather than individual papers.
2. The proposed time schedule, taking
into account that several months are required for both reviewing and revising of papers.
3. A list of the proposed contributions
(titles, authors, institutions).
4. A draft abstract for each contribution.
Once all of this material is received, the Editors-in-Chief will evaluate each proposal on its significance, novelty and timeliness.
The proponents will act as Guest Editors, with one of the Editors-in-Chief assigned at an early stage to ensure that the Marine Geology
standards are met and to provide advice where required. Guest Editors are expected to obtain independent reviewers who are un-associated
with the Special Issue and are able to assess the quality of the manuscripts in an un-biassed manner. The assigned Editor-in-Chief will
handle the review process for any manuscripts for which the Guest Editors have a conflict of interest. All manuscript submissions, reviewing
and editorial decisions are handled through the Elsevier Editorial System.
Ethics in Publishing
For information on Ethics in Publishing and Ethical
guidelines for journal publication see
http://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and
http://www.elsevier.com/ethicalguidelines.
Conflict of interest
All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest
including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations within three years of beginning the submitted
work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, their work. See also
http://www.elsevier.com/conflictsofinterest.
Submission declaration
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously
(except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication
elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was
carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without
the written consent of the copyright-holder.
Copyright
Upon acceptance
of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see
http://www.elsevier.com/copyright).
Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding
author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this
agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation
within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other
derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions). If excerpts
from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s)
in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Retained author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights; for details
you are referred to:
http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.
Role of the
funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation
of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation
of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such
involvement then this should be stated. Please see
http://www.elsevier.com/funding.
Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose
articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions
of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.
Language and language services
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted,
but not a mixture of these). Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission
please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or our customer support site at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com
for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside
vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms & Conditions:
http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.
Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through
the creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts source files to a single PDF file of the article, which is
used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF files at submission for the
review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of
the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail removing the need for a paper trail.
Submit your article
Please submit your article via
http://ees.elsevier.com/margo
Referees
Please submit, with the manuscript, the names and addresses of 4 potential referees.
Use of wordprocessing software
It
is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep
the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular,
do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts
etc. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility. When preparing tables,
if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs,
not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also
the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier:
http://www.elsevier.com/guidepublication). Do not import the figures into the text
file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on
Electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the "spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions
of your wordprocessor.
LaTeX
If the LaTeX file is suitable, proofs will
be produced without rekeying the text. The article should preferably be written using Elsevier's document class "elsarticle", or alternatively
the standard document class "article".
The Elsevier LaTeX style file package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation)
can be obtained from the Quickguide:
http://www.elsevier.com/latex. It consists of the file: elsarticle.cls, complete user
documentation for the class file, bibliographic style files in various styles, and template files for a quick start.
Article structure
Subdivision - numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2,
etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to
"the text". Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
1. Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background,
avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
2. Regional setting
For papers that focus on an area,
provide a brief synopsis of the physical and geological characteristics of the area, sufficient to give the new work context, but again
avoid a detailed literature survey.
3. Materials and methods
Provide sufficient detail on methods to allow the work to
be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described. Samples
should normally be positioned on a map or in a table. However, lengthy tables of precise positions should be submitted as Supplementary
Material (see below)
4. Results
This should highlight the key results (and not repeat material already in figures or tables)
and summarise the direct implications of these results.
5. Discussion
This should explore the inter-relationships of
different data sets and the broader significance of the results. It may include limited speculation, that will not appear in the conclusions.
6.
Conclusions
The short Conclusions section should summarise the conclusions of the study that have been firmly established. It
should not duplicate either the Abstract or the Discussion.
Essential title page information
•
Title.
Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations
and formulae where possible.
•
Author names and affiliations.
Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a
double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names.
Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address.
Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
•
Corresponding author.
Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also
post-publication.
Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address
and the complete postal address.
•
Present/permanent address.
If an author has moved since the work described
in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a "Present address" (or "Permanent address") may be indicated as a footnote to
that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript
Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
Abstract
A concise and factual
abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An
abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided,
but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential
they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Keywords
Immediately
after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts
(avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible.
These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.
Acknowledgements
Collate
acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title
page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language
help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).
Nomenclature
and units
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities
are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.
Mathematical formulae
Present
simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/)
instead of a horizontal line, e.g.,
X/Y rather than
X
Y
Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separate from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).
Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the
article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many wordprocessors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this
not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves on a separate sheet at the end of
the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.
Artwork
Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of
your original artwork.
• Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
• Only use the following fonts
in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times, Symbol.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
•
Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
• Produce images
near to the desired size of the printed version.
• Submit each figure as a separate file.
A detailed guide on electronic
artwork is available on our website:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You are urged to visit this
site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of the application used, when
your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements
for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text
as "graphics".
TIFF: color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings:
use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC,
XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".
Please
do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
• Supply files
that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
• Supply files that are too low in
resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and
with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no
additional charge, that these figures will appear in color on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or
not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version.
For color reproduction in print, you will receive information
regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color in print or on
the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting color figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version
should you not opt for color in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the color illustrations.
Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached
to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (
not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep
text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
Tables
Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the
table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that
the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
References
Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference
cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full.
Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these
references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution
of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication" Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that
the item has been accepted for publication.
References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles
in the same Special Issue.
Reference style
All citations in the text should
refer to:
1.
Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2.
Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3.
Three or more authors: first author's name
followed by "et al." and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should
be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically.
Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995).
Kramer et al. (2000) have recently shown ...."
List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further
sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters
"a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Van der
Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2000. The art of writing a scientific article. Journal of Scientific Communication 163, 51-59.
Reference to a book:
Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 1979. The Elements of Style, third ed. Macmillan, New York.
Reference to
a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 1999. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S.,
Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281-304.
In the References, the journal names
should be given in full.
Supplementary material
Elsevier accepts electronic
supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities
to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary
files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect:
http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data
are provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article
and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. Video files: please supply 'stills' with your files: you can choose any frame
from the video or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your supplementary
information. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Submission checklist
It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior
to sending it to the journal's Editor for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.
Ensure
that the following items are present:
One Author designated as corresponding Author:
• E-mail address
• Full
postal address
• Telephone and fax numbers
All necessary files have been uploaded
• Keywords
• All figure
captions
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been "spellchecked"
and "grammar-checked"
• References are in the correct format for this journal
• All references mentioned in the Reference
list are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources
(including the Web)
• Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge)
and in print or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print
• If only color on the
Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes
For any further information please
visit our customer support site at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com.
Additional
requirements for manuscripts:
• Use double line-spacing
• Insert continuous line numbering
• Submit
figures separate from the text, do not embed figures in the text
• Use EPS or TIFF figures, or PDF figures of less than 3 MB
Use of the Digital Object Identifier
The
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character
string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore,
it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic
information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal
Physics Letters
B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed
never to change.
Proofs
One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be
sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post) or, a link will
be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download the files themselves. Elsevier now provides authors with PDF proofs which can
be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 (or higher) available free from
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs (also given online). The exact system requirements are given at the
Adobe site:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations
function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return them to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your
corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including
replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post. Please use this proof
only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the
article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible
to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back
to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed.
Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.
Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail.
The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer
outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be
sent to the corresponding author.
For inquiries relating
to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's homepage. You can track accepted
articles at
http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has
changed. Also accessible from here is information on copyright, frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising
after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, will be provided by the publisher.
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