Lithosphere

The Geological Society of America is pleased to announce Lithosphere, a journal to be launched in early 2009. Lithosphere will focus on tectonic processes at all scales that affect the crust and upper mantle, from the surface to the base of the lithosphere, and will highlight research that addresses how the surface, crust, and mantle interact to shape the physical and chemical evolution of the lithosphere at all spatial and temporal scales.

Science editors appointed for the journal:

James P. Evans, a professor in the Department of Geology at Utah State University, studies deformation and fluid flow in the upper 10 km of the Earth’s crust using mapping, laboratory measurements, geochemistry, computer graphics, and structural analysis. His current research focuses on fault zone studies and hydrology, geological and mechanical models of fault development, relating geological observations to seismologically derived properties of faults, and structural analyses of deformed rocks. He served as associate editor of the Journal of Structural Geology from 1992 to 1997, was chief editor from 1997 to 2002, and also edited two special issues.

Jon D. Pelletier is an associate professor in the Geosciences Department of the University of Arizona. His research interests include landforms on Earth’s surface that are sculpted by flowing water in the form of rivers and glaciers and by wind and windborne particles, with a focus on the integration of computer model results with field and remote-sensing data.

Raymond M. Russo, assistant professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, has research interests in tectonics and seismology, with emphasis on upper mantle flow and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions.

The journal aims to provide timely publication of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary research in addition to disciplinary studies of broad tectonic interest in a format that will include:

short research contributions (letters) that present new and innovative ideas and concepts;
longer research articles with complete presentations of field-based and other data sets, experimental results, theoretical analyses, or numerical simulations;
review articles — either scholarly or pedagogical — that facilitate communication among disciplines;
brief overviews of articles in the issue that enable geoscientists from a variety of backgrounds to understand and interpret work across the broad range of topics; and
special issues or sections devoted to a topic.

Lithosphere welcomes contributions from a wide variety of earth science disciplines, including (but not limited to) structural geology, geodynamics, tectonic geomorphology, petrology, and geochemistry, as well as results from integrative, interdisciplinary projects (e.g., Canada’s Lithoprobe, EarthScope in the United States). The journal particularly encourages articles that address how complex systems in the solid Earth operate and how coupling between those systems occurs.