Scope
The Journal of Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed journal published by the Czech Geological Society with support from the Czech Geological Survey. It accepts high-quality original research or review papers dealing with all aspects of the nature and origin of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Journal focuses, mainly but not exclusively, on:
- Process-oriented regional studies of igneous and metamorphic complexes
- Research in structural geology and tectonics
- Igneous and metamorphic petrology
- Mineral chemistry and mineralogy
- Major- and trace-element geochemistry, isotope geochemistry
- Dating igneous activity and metamorphic events
- Experimental petrology and mineralogy
- Theoretical models of igneous and metamorphic processes
- Mineralizing processes and mineral deposits
All the papers are written in English, even though they may be accompanied by an additional Czech abstract. Each contribution is a subject to peer review by at least two independent reviewers, typically at least one from abroad. The Journal appears 2 to 4 times a year. Formally it is divided in annual volumes, each of them including 4 issues.
We strongly believe that a scientific journal, being written, reviewed and edited by the scientists themselves, should be accessible freely to the whole community. Hence we intend the Journal of Geosciences (J. Geosci., ISSN 1802-6222) to be a truly Open Access Journal, offering free Internet access and on line publishing of electronic supplementary materials. There should be no page charges and a liberal policy towards the length of the papers, if justified by their scientific merit. We trust that these features make our Journal an attractive platform to publish.
Journal history
As early as in 1956 was founded Časopis pro mineralogii a geologii (Journal for Mineralogy and Geology, publishing in Czech and Slovak), which was mostly dedicated to the contributions from former Czechoslovakia as well as the news from the life of the Czechoslovak Society for Mineralogy and Geology (1923), the predecessor of today’s Czech Geological Society (CGS). In 1993, the change in name (to Journal of the Czech Geological Society), size/format, typographic design, editorial board (since 1992 chaired by S. Vrána) and publishing policy all clearly aimed at an international audience, in accord with the opening of the whole country after the fall of the iron curtain. Introduced were more rigorous review procedures and exclusive use of English as the modern lingua franca for the scientific communication. As an answer to technological advancements, the tables of contents (2001) and finally PDF reprints (2003) were made available online as a part of the CGS web pages. Until 2006, the scope of the Journal has been considerably broader, covering all main fields of geosciences. Since that year on – owing to a gentlemen's agreement between the Czech Geological Survey and the Czech Geological Society – papers concerned with palaeontology, sedimentology, stratigraphy and related fields appear solely in our partner Bulletin of Geosciences. In turn, the Journal of the Czech Geological Society has focused on crystalline geology, petrology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and related topics. This brought about a fundamental reconstruction of both editorial boards. This period came to a close when in the beginning of the year 2007, Stanislav Vrána, for long respected and tireless editor-in-chief, has stepped down.
As for January 1, 2007 it has been decided to establish the journal under a brand new name, which reflects the fact the it underwent substantial alterations both to the format and, more importantly, editorial policy. Along came changes in graphical layout of both the paper and web versions, designed to look more modern and to reflect better the new contents. In our quest for improvement of the quality of the published articles, we have appointed an external advisory board. Apart from the leading Czech scientists, encouraged to submit the results of their process-oriented research are also authors from other countries worldwide.