Guide for Authors – Computers & Geosciences

It can be advantageous to print this "Guide for Authors" section for reference during the subsequent stages of article preparation.

Summary of Important Items when submitting a manuscript

1) Be certain that your manuscript contains suitable material for the journal (computing methods in the physical geosciences). Out of scope articles will be returned to authors without review. Please read the Aims & Scope of the journal. 2) Please read the Elsevier web page on Publishing Ethics: www.elsevier.com/publishingethicskit. 3) Please provide a covering letter explaining the contribution of the manuscript. 4) Grammar, spelling and accuracy are considered as the most important screening criterion. If your manuscript contains errors in English, it will be returned. Non- English speaking authors are encouraged to have their manuscript checked and edited by a native English speaker. Alternatively, the use of language editing services can be used to improve the English of a manuscript. 5) Manuscripts, which do not meet the novelty, significance, and competence criteria (Aims & Scope of the journal) will be returned to authors at any stage, at the discretion of the Editor. 6) References must follow the format as stipulated in this guide. Your manuscript will be returned if the format of the references is not correct. 7) Ensure that figures are adequately labelled (coordinates, scale bar, orientation) and the resolution is sufficient for publication scale. 8) Choose the appropriate article type (Research, Application, Review or Short Note articles – see Aims & Scope). Ensure your manuscript falls within the word limit for the article type that you choose. 9) Text and figure files must be uploaded separately. 10) If you are submitting a revised manuscript, CLEARLY address, point-by-point, to the comments provided by the reviewers. This includes any request for improvements in the English. 11) Briefly, the format of your manuscript must be: a. in a word processing format (i.e. MS Word or LaTeX). DO NOT SUBMIT PDF DOCUMENTS (PDF figures are ok). b. single column c. double spaced lines d. line numbers e. adhere to the reference format standard for the journal f. figures must be uploaded separately and properly labelled during the submission process. g. provide a separate list of figure captions and table captions at the end of the text document.

The following links within this document provide important details for all submissions:

Guide for Submission of Articles Submission Checklist Preparation of Text Reference Citation Requirements Preparation of Illustrations Submission of Computer Code / Applications Proofs and Offprints

Contact information

For general information about the journal, the submission of computer code, or inquiries on access to the ftp site for computer code (www.iamg.org) for the journal, contact:

Dr. Eric Grunsky Editor-in-Chief Computers & Geosciences Geological Survey of Canada 601 Booth St. Ottawa ON K1A 0E8 CANADA Tel: +1 613 992 7258 Email: [email protected]

For information regarding submissions and manuscript status, please contact the Managing Editor:

Jean Hubay Managing Editor Computers & Geosciences Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 613 729 6229

Subscription information

Business related to the International Association for Mathematical Geology (IAMG), such as membership and subscriptions to Computers & Geosciences should be sent to:

IAMG Office 5868 Westheimer Rd. #537 Houston, TX 77057 U.S.A. Tel: 1-713-513-2182 email:[email protected] Submission of articles

General It is essential to give an e-mail address and, if available, a fax number, when submitting a manuscript. Articles must be written in good English. Submission of an article implies that the work: a) has not been published previously in whole or part (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), b) is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, c) is approved by all Authors, d) if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in whole or part, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Upon acceptance of an article, Authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see www.elsevier.com/authors). This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding Author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided.

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: contact Elsevier‟s Rights Department, Oxford, UK: phone (+44) 1865 843830, fax (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail [email protected]. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage (www.elsevier.com/permissions).

Authors’ rights Please see: www.elsevier.com/authorsrights

The Submission Process Manuscripts are to be submitted online. No other form of submission is accepted. Use the following guidelines to present and submit your article.

Manuscripts are submitted via the Elsevier Editorial System page of this journal, http://ees.elsevier.com/cageo. You will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process, these source files are also stored in their original format by the system for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor‟s decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the Author‟s homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.

If you are submitting a manuscript in LaTeX format, the figures and tables will be uploaded together and a pdf will be created from the LaTeX document.

It can sometimes be helpful to suggest the names of up to 4 suitable referees (include their e-mail addresses), although the Editor may not use any of them.

Electronic format requirements

General points We accept most word processing formats, but Word or LaTeX are preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used (e.g. .doc).

Word Processor documents It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor. The text should be in single-column format, double line-spaced with line numbering. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced during processing of the article. In particular, do not use the word processor‟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 word processor‟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: 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 Preparation of electronic illustrations. To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the “spellchecker” function of your word processor.

LaTeX documents If the LaTeX file is suitable, proofs will be produced without re-keying the text. The article should preferably be written using Elsevier‟s document class “elsart”, or alternatively the standard document class “article”.

The Elsevier LaTeX package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation) can be obtained from the Journal authors‟ home: www.elsevier.com/latex. It consists of the files: elsarticle.cls, guidelines for users of elsarticle, a template file for quick start, and the instruction booklet “Preparing articles with LaTeX”.

Return to Page 1

Submission checklist

This list should be used prior to the submission of the article for review. All papers must be submitted to the Editor using the Electronic Submission System. Please do NOT send as hardcopy or by e-mail attachment. 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 the English grammar is correct. For information on language editing please see www.elsevier.com/languageediting. References are in the correct format for this journal (see Reference Citation Requirements). 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). Colour figures are clearly marked as being intended for colour reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced in colour on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print. If only colour on the Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes. The text should be uploaded separately from the tables and figures. Figures should be uploaded separately as described during the submission process. Subject matter is appropriate (computing in the physical geosciences). Novelty, significance, and competence criteria are met (see Aims & Scope)

For any further information please contact the Author Support Department at [email protected].

Return to Page 1

Preparation of text

The journal accepts the following types of articles: research (for novel computer methods), application (for significant applications of computer methods), reviews (for critical reviews of state-of-the-art in geoscience computing,) short notes (brief descriptions of an application or a timely research development), book and software reviews and letters (for communication). Source code and test datasets associated with published papers can be made available for public distribution from the Editor's page. Presentation of manuscript

General Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Italics are not to be used for expressions of Latin origin, for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a space for thousands (10 000 and above).

Language Polishing. Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services, pre- and post-submission, please visit www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or contact [email protected] 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: www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.

Provide the following data on the title page (in the order given).

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 is willing to 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 of the Corresponding Author. 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 (maximum length 300 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. A structured abstract is required. For this, a recent copy of the journal should be consulted. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. References should therefore be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. 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, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, “and”, “of”). Also, avoid using words that are already in the title. Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Abbreviations. Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article: in the abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article. Acknowledgements. Collate acknowledgements, including information on grants received, in a separate section at the end of the article and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.

Arrangement of the article Subdivision of the article. 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.

References. See separate section, below.

Figure captions, tables, figures, schemes. Present these, in this order, at the end of the article. They are described in more detail below. If you are working with LaTeX and have such features embedded in the text, these can be left, but such embedding should not be done specifically for publishing purposes. Further, high-resolution graphics files must be provided separately (see Preparation of illustrations).

Text graphics. Present incidental graphics not suitable for mention as figures, plates or schemes at the end of the article and number them “Graphic 1”, etc. Their precise position in the text can then be indicated. See further details under the section, Preparation of illustrations. If you are working with LaTeX and have such features embedded in the text, these can be left, but such embedding should not be done specifically for publishing purposes. Further, high-resolution graphics files must be provided separately (see Preparation of illustrations).

Specific remarks 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,

Xp e.g., Xp/Ym rather than Ym

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 word processors 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 at the bottom of each page. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

Table footnotes. Indicate each footnote in a table with a superscript lowercase letter.

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.

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.

Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier accepts 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: www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is 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. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at www.elsevier.com/artwork.

Return to Page 1

Reference Citation Requirements

Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the Authors.

Citations in the 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, but in general, do not use references in the abstract. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be used in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text e.g. (J. Smith, Personal Communication, May 2005). Citation of a reference as “in press” implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Citing and listing of Internet/Web references. The preferred method is to put web references in the reference list. Publication details including author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc. should also be given and followed by the full URL and last date of access.

Text: All citations in the text should refer to: 1. Single Author: the Author‟s family 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.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) 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: doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2004.10.009

When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change.

Note that journal names are not to be abbreviated.

Examples: Journal article Srivastava, D.C., Lisle, R.J., 2004. Rapid analysis of fold shape using Bezier curves. Journal of Structural Geology 26, 1553-1559. (Note: spell out journal names in full)

Xu, S.J, Lu, X.C, Zhao, L.Z., 2001. Earth science curriculum redesign and multimedia courseware development. China Geology Education 40(4), 12-15 [in Chinese]. (Note: Article published in another language)

Pinnegar, C., Eaton, D.W., 2003. Application of the S-transform to prestack noise attenuation filtering. Journal of Geophysics Research 108(B9), 2422-2431. doi:10.1029/2002JB002258. (Note: doi is cited)

Abshire, J.B., Sun, X., Riris, H., Sirota, J.M., McGarry, J.F., Palm, S., Yi, D., Liiva, P., 2005. Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the ICESat Mission: On-orbit measurement performance. Geophysical Research Letters 32 L21S02, 1-4. doi: 10.1029/2005GL024028. (article number and page ranges are provided)

Entire (special) issue of a journal: Glaser, R., Bond, L. (Eds.), 1981. Testing: Concepts and Research (Special Issue). American Psychologist 36 (10).

Articles in press Articles in press are papers that have been accepted for publication. This does not include papers that have been submitted or are under review at the time of submission of the manuscript.

Grunsky, E.C., in press. The interpretation of geochemical survey data. Geochemistry, Environment, Exploration, Analysis. (include DOI if available).

Book Johnson, A.M., Fletcher, R.F., 1994. Folding of Viscous Layers, 1st edn., Columbia University Press, New York, NY, 461pp. (Note: Note capitalize first letters of words in books and give total pages in book.)

Richardson, J.L., Vepraskas, M.J. (Eds.), 2001. Wetland Soils. Genesis, Hydrology, Landscapes and Classification, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 417pp.

Article in edited book De Paor, D.G., 1996. Bezier curves and geological design, In: De Paor, D.G. (Ed.) Structural Geology and Personal Computers, Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 389-417. (Note capitalize first letters of words in books and give page range of cited article.)

McGuinness, D., da Silva, P., 2003. Infrastructure for Web explanations. International Semantic Web Conference 2003, Published in: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 2870, Springer: Berlin, pp. 113-129.

Conference Proceedings Sandberg, S.K., Corso, W., Levine, J.R., Newhart, G., Powell, G., 2001. Mapping a paleochannel system controlling contaminant migration at a wood-treating facility using electromagnetics. In: Proceedings Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems, Denver, CO, paper ASP-2 (on CDROM) pp. 1-12.

Ainsworth, S.E., Peevers, G.J., 2003. The interaction between informational and computational properties of external representations on problem-solving and learning. In: Alterman, R., Kirsh, D. (Eds.), Proceedings 25th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. pp. 67-72, http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/CSJarchive/proceedings/2003/pdfs/35.pdf.

Deutsch, C.V., 1997. Direct assessment of local accuracy and precision. In: Baafi, E.Y., Schofield, N.A. (Eds.), Geostatistics Wollongong '96, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 115-125. (Note: this could also be considered a Article in Edited Book reference as this is a book with published papers from a conference)

Thesis Use Dissertation when referring to Ph.D. theses Apel, M., 2004. A 3d geoscience information system framework. Ph.D. Dissertation, Technische Universitaet Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany, 105pp. (Note: include total pages.)

Use Thesis when referring to B.Sc. or M.Sc. theses Peternell, M., 2002. Geology of syntectonic granites in the Itapema Regiona SE Brazil – Magmatic structures of the Rio Pequeno Granite SE Brazil and analyses with methods of fractal geometry. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, Technische Universität München, Munich, 90pp.

Non-English journal article, title translated into English: Assink, E.H.M., Verloop, N., 1977. Het aanleren van deel-geheel relaties (Teaching part- whole relations). Pedagogische Studien 54, 130-142.

Technical report van Rijn, L.C., 1990. Handbook of sediment transport by currents and waves. Report - H461 Delft Hydraulics, Delft, The Netherlands, 435pp.

Reimann, C., 1998. Environmental geochemical atlas of the central Barents region. Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim, Norway, 745pp. (Note: include total pages.)

National Science Foundation (NSF), 2003. Revolutionizing science and engineering through cyberinfrastructure: Report of the National Science Foundation Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure, Arlington, Virginia. URL: http://www.communitytechnology.org/nsf_ci_report/ExecSum.pdf (accessed 21Sept 2007) (Note: digital report)

Maps Grunsky, E.C., 1987. Precambrian Geology of the Batchawana Synoptic Project Area, Welcome Lake-Ranger Lake Sheet, District of Algoma: Ontario Geological Survey, Map P.3064, Geological Series-Preliminary Map, scale 1:50000.

Fenneman, N., 1946. Map A46. Physical Divisions of the United States, 1:7000000 Map, United States Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Software References GEO-SLOPE, 2007. SLOPE/W, Calgary, http://www.geo-slope.com/products/slopew2007.aspx, [Accessed September 22, 2008].

RockWare, 2008. RockPack III, RockWare - Earth Science and GIS Software, Golden, CO, http://www.rockware.com/product/overview.php?id=119, [Accessed September 22, 2008].

Rocscience, 2008. SLIDE 5.0 - 2D limit equilibrium slope stability analysis, Rocscience Inc., Toronto, http://www.rocscience.com/products/Slide.asp, [Accessed September 22, 2008].

Software Manual References MySQL, 2007. Reference Manual Version 5.0, MySQL AB, Cupertino, CA, USA, 1574pp.

Spectra Vista Co, 2005. GER 3700 User Manual. Spectra Vista Co., New York, USA, 45pp.

S-Plus Programmer‟s Guide, 1997. Version 4, Data Analysis Products Division, Mathsoft, Seattle, Washington, USA, 582pp.

Internet References Wood, J., 1996. The geomorphological characterization of digital elevation models, PhD Dissertation, University of Leicester, England, 193pp. http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~jwo/phd/, [accessed 23 March 2009].

GEOSS – The 10-Year Implementation Plan, 2005. The Group on Earth Observations, 11 pp. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=8631, [accessed 02 July, 2009].

Portele, C. (Ed.), 2007. GeographyMarkupLanguage v3.2.1. OGC 07-036. OpenGeospatialConsortium, Inc., 437pp. http://portal.open-geospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=20509, [accessed 15 March, 2007].

Cox, S. (Ed.), 2007. Observations and Measurements–Part1– Observation schema.OGC07-022r1. Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc., 85pp. http://portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=22466 9 [accessed 01 March, 2008].

Lieberman, J., 2003. OpenGIS Web services architecture (OGC 03-025, Version 0.3), Open GIS Consortium Inc., USA, 58 pp. http://portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=1320

Whiteside, A., 2005. OpenGIS Web services architecture description (OGC 05-042r2, Version 0.1.0), OpenGIS Consortium Inc., USA, 28 pp. http://portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=13140

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.

Return to Page 1

Preparation of Illustrations

Preparation of electronic illustrations

General points Use uniform lettering and sizing in your original artwork. Save text in illustrations as “graphics” or enclose the font. Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol. Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text. Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files. Provide all illustrations as separate files and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets. Provide captions to illustrations separately. Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: www.elsevier.com/artwork.

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: Colour or greyscale 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 (colour or greyscale): 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 word processor (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.

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. Do not use the definite article („the‟) in figure or table captions.

Line drawings The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate dimensions, to avoid becoming illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of two to three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format of the journal when designing the illustrations. Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.

Photographs (halftones) Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs unless they form part of a composite figure. Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving a magnification factor in the caption.

Colour illustrations 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 colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, these figures will appear in colour on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour in print or on the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see www.elsevier.com/artwork.

Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to “grey scale” (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the colour illustrations.

Return to Page 1

Computer code

Computer code, including test data and user manuals, can be uploaded to the Elsevier e- submission site under item type as Computer Code. This material will also be zipped and placed on the IAMG (International Association for Mathematical Geology) server for public access. For very large files, or many files, please contact the Editor-in-Chief (email address above) to arrange a means of transmitting the files. Computer code should provide the following information: 1. a readme.txt file (or equivalent) providing the name of the program, the title of the manuscript along with the author details. This will assist in correctly assigning the program code and associated files to the correct submission. 2. A user manual or instruction guide that provides information on how to use the program 3. The source code for any programs that have been written. 4. Test data that can be used to assure that the program is working correctly. 5. Output files should also be provided that will allow a user to check if a compiled program is working properly. 6. Executable program code is not encouraged because of difficulty in transmitting .exe files past Virus scanners and the limited life of executable code. 7. All files should be compressed into .zip or .gz format, which will then be placed on the Computers & Geosciences FTP site for download once the manuscript has been accepted and published. Please do not use the RAR format as this is a less common compression format and requires reconfiguration to ZIP format by the journal Editor.

Return to Page 1

Proofs

One set of page proofs in PDF format 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). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs, which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 or later available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs.

If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return 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.

Electronic offprints (e-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

AUTHOR INQUIRIES

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 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.

Return to Page 1

Computers & Geociences – Aims and Scope of the Journal

1. Research Article (5000 words) Method development: describes new computation methods for the geosciences using standard scientific article format; includes a range of methods such as those for geoscience information infrastructure, collection, representation, management, analysis, visualization, as well as for software development and scientific and social use of geoscience information. This also includes new educational methods as well as comparison of significant computational methods for the geosciences using well-defined benchmarks to reveal new understanding about the nature or use of the methods. In general, papers should include both a novel method or comparison, and a demonstration of relevance to the geosciences. Emphasis is on novelty of method, or comparison with other methods. The highest level of academic quality is expected in terms of citation of appropriate resources, proper referencing of the source of figures, and disclosure of related articles by the same author(s) with related content.

2. Application Article (5000 words) Application development: describes new digital products created for the geosciences using existing computational methods, and discusses their novelty as well as significance and relevance to important geoscience issues: e.g. a novel database, a significant resource assessment, a novel software application or web service. This also includes comparison of products using well-defined benchmarks to reveal a new understanding about the nature or use of the products. Emphasis is on novelty or significance of the application, or comparison of applications or products.

Author(s) must disclose financial relationships to product vendors, where applicable, and product endorsements are not accepted.

3. Review Article Scientific review (6000 words): critically describes the state-of-the art of some field in computation for the geosciences. Emphasis is on completeness, depth and novelty of the critical review. Reviews must be timely, of general interest, high quality, written by recognized experts, and will be run only on an occasional basis. Review outlines should be pre-approved by a member of the C&G editorial board, and reviews may be used to frame special C&G issues.

4. Short Note Short Notes (maximum 1500 words) provide a brief description of an application or a timely research development. Emphasis is on novelty or significance of the research or application. An abstract is not required.

5. Book and Software Reviews Book and software reviews (1500 words): describe and evaluate a new book or similar significant publication relevant to computation in the geosciences. Software reviews are also published.

6. Letter to the Editor Letters to the Editor provide a mechanism to debate issues arising from published articles. They are intended to serve workers in academia, industry and government.

Return to Page 1