Quaternary Research is devoted to interdisciplinary articles dealing with the Quaternary Period. Articles must be of broad interest, be of basic significance to more than one discipline, and constitute a significant contribution to knowledge. Suitable contributions include previously unpublished research results and comprehensive reviews or syntheses of a field of knowledge.

Three regular categories of manuscripts will be considered for publication. Articles should not exceed 6000 words, measured from the beginning of the Abstract to the end of the Acknowledgments. In addition, they may include up to four pages of references, four tables, and eight figures. This limit corresponds to approximately 20 double-spaced manuscript pages. Short Papers should not exceed 3000 words and should include no more than two tables and four figures; such contributions will normally be published more rapidly than full-length articles. Scientific Communications should not exceed 1500 words and should not include more than one table and two figures.

In addition, to regular scientific manuscripts, QR also publishes Review Articles and contributions to the QR Forum. These types of manuscripts are generally by invitation. Authors interested in writing a Review or Forum article should refer to previous Review or Forum articles for examples, and consult with one of the editors.

Letters to the Editor will also be considered. If the letter deals with a paper previously published in Quaternary Research, the author(s) of that paper will be given the opportunity to reply. Normally, both the Letter to the Editor and the Reply will be published in the same issue. Letters should not exceed 1000 words.

Book Reviews will be published only if they are solicited by an editor and only after critical review.

Manuscripts submitted to Quaternary Research that do not meet the length requirements of the journal normally will be returned to the author(s) for appropriate revision prior to review. The editors appreciate that comprehensive scientific reviews and interdisciplinary articles that link disparate types of data may exceed the maximum length for article submissions. Therefore, we will consider manuscripts that exceed the guidelines on a case-by-case basis.

All manuscripts will be reviewed by at least two referees. Articles and Short Papers are evaluated for whether they are interdisciplinary in content and of broad interest, are scientifically sound, and present evidence that is sufficient to support the conclusions. They are also evaluated for organization, clarity, and conciseness. The editor's decision is sent to the lead author, together with the referees' comments and evaluations as soon as the file is complete.

Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work or closely similar work has not been published; that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that submission for publication has been approved by all of the authors and, if required, by the institution where the work was carried out; and that any person cited as a source of a personal communication has approved such citation. Written authorization may be required at the editor's discretion. Articles and any other material published in Quaternary Research represent the opinions of the authors and should not be construed to reflect the opinions of the editors or the publisher.

If material from other copyrighted works is included, the authors must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the sources in the article. The publisher has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions.

Manuscript Preparation and Submission

Electronic Submission. Quaternary Research uses a Web-based online manuscript submission and review system. Please visit http://ees.elsevier.com/yqres to submit your manuscript electronically. The Web site guides authors stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. Note that original source files, not PDF files, are required. ASCII files in .txt format are acceptable, although Word (.doc) or equivalent is preferred. A cover letter is generally required; please save this as a separate file for upload. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal procedures to the Editorial Office. Once the submission files are uploaded, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the editor's decision and request for revisions, will be by e-mail.

Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if it is accepted for publication, copyright of the article, including the right to reproduce the article in all forms and media, shall be assigned exclusively to the University of Washington. The Copyright Transfer Agreement should be signed by the appropriate person(s). The University will not refuse any reasonable request by the author(s) for permission to reproduce any contributions to the journal.

General Instructions. Manuscripts should be written in clear and concise English and should conform to the general style of the journal and the specific instructions listed below. Manuscripts that are not so prepared will be returned to the authors, since it is not feasible for the editors to revise or rewrite manuscripts. Contributors, particularly those unfamiliar with English usage, are asked to seek the help of colleagues in the preparation and review of manuscripts prior to submission. This practice reduces the time required for review and avoids delays in publication.

Language polishing: Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and postsubmission may visit http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/languagepolishing or contact authorsupport@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 and Conditions at http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/termsconditions.cws_home/termsconditions.

Preparation of Manuscript. Manuscripts should be double-spaced and left-justified throughout. Pages should be numbered consecutively and include line numbers. The manuscript should be organized as follows:

The Title Page (p. 1) should contain the article title, authors' names (given names, rather than initials, are requested) and complete affiliations, footnotes to the title, and the address for manuscript correspondence (including e-mail address and telephone and fax numbers). The title should be concise, informative, and suitable for indexing. Titles using colons or semicolons should be avoided. When appropriate, the geographic area of the research should appear as part of the title.

The Abstract (p. 2) must be a single paragraph that summarizes the main findings of the paper in less than 200 words. Abstracts for Short Papers, Scientific Communications, and Forum pieces should not exceed 100 words. Phrases such as "are described" or "are discussed" should be avoided; instead, present the key findings themselves. Translations of the abstract in one or more other languages may be included at the discretion of the editor. After the abstract a list of up to 10 keywords that will be useful for indexing or searching should be included.

Headings. The text of manuscripts should be divided into informative, unnumbered headings. If possible, no more than three orders of headings should be used. Headings are not required in Scientific Communications or Book Reviews.

Dates. Dates (except radiocarbon dates) should be expressed using the abbreviation "ka" and "Ma" for thousands or millions of years before present. "BP" as an abbreviation for "before present" should only be used in reporting radiocarbon dates, for which "present" refers precisely to AD 1950 (see below). Dates younger than 1000 years should be given in full. If preferred, yr may also be used for dates younger than 1 million years (e.g., 150,000 yr). Historical dates should be expressed as years BC or AD (e.g., AD 1850; 2030 BC). Note that periods are not used in any of these abbreviations.

Intervals of time should also be expressed with the abbreviations "yr", "ka", or "Ma". In accordance with the recommendation of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), other abbreviations (e.g., kyr, ky, Myr, etc.) should not be used..

Raw (i.e., uncalibrated) radiocarbon dates should be expressed as ¹⁴C yr BP. The standard error, as well as laboratory number, should be included [e.g., 14,730 ± 150 ¹⁴C yr BP (Y-661)]. All radiocarbon dates should be calculated according to the guidelines given in Stuiver and Polach (1977, Radiocarbon 19, 355-363). Radiocarbon dates with a standard error between 50 and 1000 yr, or greater than 1000 yr, should be rounded, respectively, to the nearest 10 and 100 yr. High-precision dates with a standard error less than 50 yr should be rounded to the nearest yr. Calibrated radiocarbon dates should be reported as "cal," not "¹⁴C," and given as ranges (e.g., 2450-2270 cal yr BP), as detailed in the CALIB5.0 manual (Stuiver, Reimer, and Reimer, 2005; http://calib.qub.ac.uk/calib/). In citing calibrated dates, always report the original radiocarbon dates plus standard error, and reference the calibration curve (or computer program) used for the derivation of the calibrated date.

Other radiometric (e.g., K/Ar, thermoluminescence) dates should also include the standard error. For all dates, any laboratory number(s) that has been assigned should be given in parentheses following the date [e.g., 2.43 ± 0.10 Ma (QL_K^- 10)].

For cosmogenic isotope dates, the production rates used must be stated clearly in the manuscript, and the source of these production rates cited.

Chemical notation. International notation should be employed in all cases (e.g., ¹⁸O, ¹⁴C, ⁴⁰K).

Temperature notation. Temperatures should be expressed in degrees Celsius (C) (e.g., 67°C).

Geographic locations. Latitude and longitude should be given in degrees and decimal minutes, with no spaces (e.g., 122°14.35'W).

Statistical results. Probability values must be provided for the results of all statistical tests [e.g., not "r ² = 0.94" but "r ² = 0.94 (p < 0.01)"].

Stratigraphic nomenclature. Stratigraphic nomenclature should follow standard practice and procedures as detailed in the 1983 North American Stratigraphic Code ( http://www.agiweb.org/nacsn/code2.html). Authors dealing with stratigraphic nomenclature of archaeological sites are referred to the Guide to Archaeostratigraphic Classification and Terminology (Gasche, H., Tunca, O., 1983. Journal of Field Archaeology 10, 325-335).

Glacial-geologic and geologic-climate nomenclature. When referring to glacial/interglacial ages, authors should use grammatically appropriate noun and adjective forms [e.g., the Würm glaciation (not Würm glacial), the last glaciation (not last glacial), the Würm glacial age and last interglacial age (where glacial and interglacial are used as modifying adjectives); comparable noun and adjective forms should be used for stadial/interstadial subages (e.g., the Younger Dryas stade, Allerød interstade, Younger Dryas stadial deposits)]. Formally defined or widely used and well-understood stratigraphic names should be capitalized (e.g., Marine Isotope Stage 2), but informal names should not (e.g., last glacial maximum, late-glacial). Note that "glaciation" and "stade" are not formally recognized stratigraphic terms by the 1983 Code and so are not capitalized.

Biological names. Scientific names of plants and animals must be italicized. Common names of species or plants and animals may be used only if they are accompanied by scientific names upon first usage (e.g., "quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides").

Citations. All illustrations and tables should be cited somewhere in the body of the paper and in sequence [e.g., "... as illustrated in Figure 5"; "...in that region (Fig. 5)"; "...in Alaska and California (Figs. 4 and 5)"; "The values in Table 6 are taken from ..."; "the data obtained in this study (Table 6)"].

Acknowledgments should be brief and should precede the references.

References should be cited in the text by the author's surname and date. Grouped citations should be separated by semicolons and given in chronological order: e.g., (Anderson, 1964; Anderson and Muller, 1975; Anshari et al., 2001, 2004).

Only articles that have been published or are in press should be included in the references. Unpublished results or personal communications should be avoided whenever possible; if critical and otherwise unavailable for inclusion in the manuscript, they may be cited as such in the text and should include the surname and initials of the source as well as the year of communication, e.g., (Smith, L.G., personal communication, 2006). Web sites can be ephemeral; therefore, except for well-maintained databases, references to Web sites should be made parenthetically in the text or in footnotes. Authors are referred to the Geoscience Information Society Web site at http://www.geoinfo.org/TFGeosciData.htm for information on citing unpublished databases and collections.

The reference section should be arranged alphabetically according to the author's surname. Journal names should be spelled out in full. Digital object identifiers may be given for those journals that use this form.

Bradley, R.S., 1999. Paleoclimatology: Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary. Academic Press, San Diego.
Jibson, R.W., 1996. Using landslides for paleoseismic analysis. In: McCalpin, J.P. (Ed.), Paleoseismology. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 397-438.
Porter, S.C., 2000. High-resolution paleoclimatic information from Chinese eolian sediments based on grayscale intensity profiles. Quaternary Research 53, 70-77.

Figures should be in a finished form suitable for publication. Authors must submit all figures electronically, as discussed above. Figure files must be submitted in TIFF or EPS format. Please do not submit images in JPG format, and do not submit line drawings that have ever undergone .jpg compression (even if their final format is .tif). Digital images must use black-and-white, grayscale, or RGB color models, and they should have a resolution of at least 2000 pixels in the minimum dimension (i.e., ≥300 dpi for a page width of 6.5 inches).

Number figures consecutively with Arabic numerals. Figure legends should be typed on a separate page. Minimize differences in font size, and aim for a font size of 7 or 8 points at publication scale. Use a sans serif font, such as Helvetica, Geneva, or Arial, for legibility after reduction. All maps should have longitude and latitude coordinates indicated (see required formatting above), as well as a bar scale in metric units.

Color illustrations. Color plates or foldout illustrations can be accepted only if the authors defray the production and printing costs (but see below). Cost estimates will be furnished on request. However, if you submit usable color figures, 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 these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version of your article. Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting color figures to "grayscale" figures (for the printed version should you not opt for color in print), please submit in addition usable black-and-white files corresponding to all the color illustrations.

For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

Cover photographs. Each cover of Quaternary Research displays a color photograph pertaining to a Quaternary topic. Cover photographs should represent various disciplines and geographic areas and may include close-up, landscape, aerial, and satellite images. Most relate to articles in the journal. Authors are invited to submit one or more color photographs for consideration. These should be of very high quality (correctly exposed, very sharp focus) and suitable for cropping to the dimensions of the photograph on the cover of the issue. Photographs should not include identifiable persons. Digital files should be submitted in TIFF or EPS format. Digital images must be large enough to be at least 300 dpi when enlarged to the size of the cover (or about 2000 x 1500 pixels). Images smaller than this size do not reproduce well when enlarged and will not be accepted for consideration as cover art. Photographs related to a specific article should be submitted only after word of acceptance of a manuscript has been received. A brief, informative caption (up to 75 words) should be submitted with each photograph. The name of the photographer should be indicated when appropriate, and written permission to use the image for publication should be supplied.

Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text. Type each table double-spaced on a separate page with a short descriptive title typed directly above and with essential footnotes below. Vertical lines and boxed text should be avoided (see recent issues of the journal for acceptable examples). Units should be clearly indicated for each of the column entries in a table.

Preparation of supplementary material. Supplementary files offer additional possibilities for publishing 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). To ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please provide the data 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. Please note, however, that supplementary material will not appear in the printed journal. For more detailed instructions, please visit http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions, click on "Artwork instructions," and then click on "Multimedia files."

Proofs. PDF proofs will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author. It is the responsibility of the authors to read the proofs carefully and to note all errors. To avoid delay in publication, only necessary changes should be made and corrections should be returned promptly.

Reprints. The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.