Submissions
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.- The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (Seismica is happy to accept pre-printed papers on public servers, but please state the preprint DOI in the Comments to the Editor Box).
- The submission file is in PDF format.
- Where available, DOIs for the references have been provided.
- The text includes line numbers and uses a 12-point font. All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
- The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
- Author(s) have secured all necessary copyright permissions for the use of 3rd-party materials in the manuscript.
- All the listed co-authors have agreed on all of the manuscript contents, including the author list and author contributions statement.
- The authors confirm they are aware that they are encouraged to suggest potential reviewers in the Comments to the Editor box. Any other Reviewers or Handling Editors that may have competing interests should also be named.
Articles
Research articles present advances in scientific knowledge or understanding. These are typically from 3,000 to 10,000 words in length (excluding references and figure captions), and can address any aspect of seismology and earthquake science within the journal’s scope (see above). Authors who have long articles of over 10,000 words that cannot be shortened should contact the Executive Editor for Production ahead of submission to see if this can be accommodated.
For more information, see Seismica's policies on Publication Types, and our Author Guidelines.
Fast Reports
Fast Reports are high quality, short, and time-sensitive manuscripts. A key focus will be the first report of a recent earthquake, swarm, or other event (typically submitted within 3-4 weeks after its occurrence or of data collection from that event). An earthquake report may include: original observations and ground motion recordings, source inversions, felt reports and impacts on the built environment, or secondary hazard assessments (e.g., tsunami, landslides). However, submissions offering little more than information routinely provided by earthquake monitoring agencies (e.g. USGS, Geoscope, EMSC) will not be considered. Fast Reports will also consider other studies of a time-sensitive nature, including reanalysis or review of a previous study or lesser known event, proof of concept studies, application of models/techniques, hypothesis validation, and new and/or revised models within the scope of Seismica. Fast Reports also welcomes articles that could be perceived critical and urgent for science strategy, policies or standards (e.g., building codes) and topics that could be of interest to the seismology community. Fast Reports go through an accelerated review process.
Reports (excl. Fast Reports)
Reports contribute peer-reviewed useful information to the public sphere but may not represent a substantive advance in understanding in themselves. Types of reports may include:
- null results/failed experiment reports
- software reports
- instrument deployment and field campaign reports
For more information, see Seismica's policies on Publication Types.
Special Issue: 2023 Türkiye/Syria earthquakes
We invite submissions to the Special Issue, "Lessons from the devastating 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake sequence" on the following topics, but this list is not exhaustive:
- Observations and modelling of the earthquake ruptures and post-seismic deformation (e.g., afterslip, aftershocks)
- Geophysical, geological (e.g., tectonic, paleoseismological) and engineering context leading up to the earthquakes
- Analysis of secondary effects and hazards (e.g., surface rupture, landslides)
- Engineering seismology and earthquake engineering insights on the strong ground shaking and building damage.
- Quantifying, implementing and communicating seismic hazard models.
- Communicating the science: what went well, what went wrong, what can we do better in the future?
Fast Reports can be submitted until 6 months from the special issue launch date. Research articles will be accepted for this special issue until February 2024.
We particularly invite work from those working in Türkiye and Syria.
Where possible, abstracts and plain language summaries will also be printed in local languages.
To submit to this Special Issue, please select “Special Issue: 2023 Türkiye/Syria earthquakes” in the dropdown "Section" box on the submission page. If you would like your submission to be considered as a Fast Report, please note this in the “Comments to the Editor” free-text box.
Special Issue: the Cascadia Subduction Zone
The Cascadia Subduction Zone: Grand Challenges and Research Frontiers
We invite submissions on any aspect of this system in key locations or in its entirety and we are particularly interested in contributions that address the following general topics as they pertain to the Cascadia Subduction Zone and studies that try to bridge the gaps between them:
- System-level links between convergent tectonics and earthquake hazard
- Accumulation and release of elastic strain throughout the earthquake cycle
- Temporal and spatial variability of the earthquake record
- Characteristics and controls of dynamic megathrust ruptures
- Drivers of intra-plate faults and earthquakes and their associated hazards
- Unique characteristics of strong ground motion in Cascadia
- Tsunamigenic sources and the controls of inundation
Copyright Notice
Seismica articles are licensed under CC-BY 4.0 and authors retain full copyright. If a different license is required (e.g., Crown copyright), please inform the editor when you submit your manuscript.
Privacy Statement
Privacy statement introduction
Welcome to the Seismica Privacy Statement. Seismica and its hosting service, McGill Library Scholarly Publishing, are committed to respecting your privacy rights and protecting your personal data. Throughout this document ‘we’ refers to the journal Seismica and McGill Library Publishing. We recognise that data protection and privacy are a large responsibility. We strive to be consistent with industry standards, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provision for “data subject rights.” The GDPR also allows for the recognition of “the public interest in the availability of the data,” which has a particular saliency for those involved in maintaining, with the greatest integrity possible, the public record of scholarly publishing.
Last updated 24 January 2023
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