Geophysics - How to Submit a Manuscript

How to Submit a Manuscript

Instructions To Authors
By the Editor of Geophysics
Revised January 2007

How to Submit a Manuscript

Papers submitted to Geophysics should meet the requirements detailed in this guide. If certain requirements are not met, a paper may be prevented from being accepted for review. Papers most likely to be delayed include those not submitted in double-spaced format and those written in poor English. In such cases, the paper will not be reviewed until the necessary basic requirements are satisfied. To facilitate processing and review, authors are urged to read and carefully follow the procedures described below.

Checklist to avoid common mistakes

Is the entire paper double-spaced?
Are all pages numbered?
Have I followed the requirements for the abstract?
Have I followed the style instructions for the reference list?
Have I followed the instructions for labeling figures?
Does each figure appear on a separate page and are the figures grouped at the end of the manuscript?
Is a separate list of figure captions included?
Have I properly numbered equations and followed style guidelines for vectors, matrices, and tensors?

Electronic submission of manuscripts
Manuscripts should be submitted online at the link below. Geophysics uses ScholarOne's Manuscript Central system for online submission, peer review, and tracking. During the review process, authors use the online system to check paper status, communicate with editors, and submit revisions.

Related Link: Geophysics at Manuscript Central

Prepare the manuscript by following these instructions carefully, and save the text of the manuscript in one PDF, PostScript, or Microsoft Word file. Figures may be submitted as TIFF, EPS, or Word files. (Figures submitted in Word, however, are allowed for reviewing purposes only. If the paper is accepted for publication, TIFF or EPS files at a resolution of at least 300 dpi will be required for production.)

Log on at Manuscript Central below. On the right side of the screen, click "User Tutorials" to obtain the "Author's Quickstart Guide," tips for uploading files in Manuscript Central, and other online help for uploading to the system.

Related Link: Manuscript Central Author Center for Geophysics

When you are ready to upload your manuscript files, enter your "Author Center." Click on "Click here to submit a new manuscript," enter the data required, and follow the steps for submitting a manuscript. Be sure to click "Submit" when you finish uploading the files and have previewed the PDF file. When you have completed the uploading process successfully, you will see a confirmation screen that includes the manuscript ID number assigned to your submission. You also will receive an e-mail confirmation within a day, to be saved for future reference.

If you need additional help, click the "Get help now" button in the upper right corner. This link brings up a new window that contains instructions, answers to frequently asked questions, and a method to send a question to the Manuscript Central support team. If necessary, contact or at the SEG Business Office, but first you should contact the Manuscript Central support team for assistance.

Authors are requested not to address the Editor, Assistant Editors, or Associate Editors directly unless the communication is of a personal nature or is an appeal. Routine communications are handled more efficiently electronically through the peer-review module or the SEG Business Office.

After a paper has been edited, composed, and proofread, it will appear online in advance of print publication.

NOTE: Please bear in mind that the online version of your paper is not another version of the author proof or an opportunity for the author to revise the paper. It is an exact representation of the version that was approved for publication in print. Changes in the online or printed version should be limited to factual or typographical errors serious enough to warrant publication of an erratum. Changes in the online version can result in the paper being withdrawn temporarily from the online site.

Acceptable forms of the manuscript
Manuscripts reviewed online are circulated as PDF documents, although the original files also can be viewed by referees. Authors should submit the manuscript text as a single document in PDF, PostScript, or Microsoft Word. Figures may be submitted as TIFF, EPS, or Word files. (Figures submitted in Word are allowed for reviewing purposes only. If the paper is accepted for publication, TIFF or EPS files at a resolution of at least 300 dpi will be required for production.) The online-submission software automatically combines the Word document with the figure files to create a single PDF file. Creating high-quality PostScript and PDF files from LATEX files can be problematic. Some helpful suggestions on how to do this are available on the Geophysics page of the SEG Web site.

Related Link: Geophysics Home

Once a paper is approved for publication, the author is required to upload the final document (and the completed publication forms) through the "Author Center" below. The publication forms are located at the following link. Please complete the forms, scan them, and upload them to the system. If necessary, you may fax the forms to 918 497-5557. The paper is not considered accepted until the final documents are uploaded and approved by the DigitalExpert check in the online system.

Related Links: Manuscript Central Author Center for Geophysics
Geophysics Publication Forms

Accepted manuscripts are located under "Manuscripts accepted for First Look" in the "Author Center." The authors will click the "Submit updated manuscript" link to update data as needed and upload final documents. When submitting final documents, please check the following:

Are author names and affiliations listed on the title page of the paper correct and listed exactly as they should be published?
Is the right running head listed on the title page of the paper? The right running head is a short version of the title, 38 characters or fewer (including spaces), to be used on pages following the first page of the article.
Are references formatted correctly?
Are figures formatted at the correct resolution?
Are figure files named as the correct figure numbers (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.)?
Color figures must be submitted in color, and grayscale or black-and-white figures must be submitted in grayscale or black and white accordingly.
If you are uploading TIFF files, have you enabled LZW compression while saving?
If you are uploading color figures, are they formatted in CMYK (cyan-magenta-yellow-black)?

Preferred formats for production are Microsoft Word and LATEX, in that order. Please note that this is a change in SEG guidelines. The preferred math program for Word papers is MathType 5.0. If you do submit a paper in LATEX, please use the updated SEG/TEX macro.

Related Link: Using the SEGTeX Manuscript Processing Package

When submitting your final files, please identify software used.

Submission, review, and online publication of ancillary files
Geophysics authors may submit movie, sound, and other types of ancillary files for publication along with the manuscripts they are intended to augment. These files should be uploaded to the online peer-review system along with the manuscript. A note accompanying the submission should indicate that an ancillary file has been submitted for review with the intention that it be published online with the paper. If the manuscript and the ancillary file are accepted for publication, the file will be published online in conjunction with the paper. If you plan to submit files larger than 20 megabytes, contact the SEG Business Office for instructions. There is no limit on the type of file that may be posted, but authors are encouraged to post files in formats that can be used by large numbers of readers.