| Lithosphere Guidelines | |
| 1. | Ethical Guidelines for Publication |
| 2. | Copyright and Costs |
| 3. | Manuscript Submission |
| 4. | Figures |
| 5. | Tables |
| 6. | Supplementary Material |
| 7. | Submit a Cover Image |
| 8. | Contact Information |
Lithosphere
Manuscript Preparation
A cover letter, Author Agreement form, a manuscript file, and separate files for figures, tables, and any supplementary materials should be uploaded at www.editorialmanager.com/lithosphere/. The manuscript file should include: title, authors and affiliations, abstract, text, appendices, references cited, and figure captions. For manuscript files, use MS Word (.doc), WordPerfect (.wpd), Rich Text Format (.rtf), or Text (.txt).
The Editorial Manager online submission system automatically inserts line numbers to facilitate review comments, so line numbers are not needed in the manuscript file.
Style
Authors are responsible for providing manuscripts in which approved geological and other scientific terminology is used correctly and which have no grammar or spelling errors. Authors must check their manuscripts for accuracy and consistency in use of capitalization, spelling, abbreviations, and dates.
Suggested Resources
The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Suggestions to Authors of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey, seventh edition, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1991.
Glossary of Geology, fifth edition, American Geological Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, 2005.
Geowriting, fifth edition, American Geological Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, 1994.
North American Stratigraphic Code, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin (v. 89, no. 11, p. 1547-1591), 2005.
Mathematics into Type, by Ellen Swanson, revised edition, American Mathematical Society, 1987.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition, 1993.
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, third edition, Macmillan, 1979.
The Elements of Grammar, by Margaret Shertzer, Macmillan, 1986.
Abstract
A brief and objective abstract of no more than 250 words should present in capsule form the paper’s content and conclusions. A topic sentence should give the overall scope and should be followed by emphasis on new information. Omit references, figure or table callouts, and criticisms.
Organization
Precisely define the contribution at the outset and present it clearly in the fewest words possible (while avoiding jargon) so that the reader may get a maximum of facts and ideas in a minimum of time. State the purpose, give minimal background information, concisely present the data that led to the conclusions, clearly differentiate fact and inference, and present justifiable conclusions and, perhaps, further implications of the conclusions. Assume that the publication's readers are familiar with the general literature and need not be told basic principles; therefore, give only minimal background and reference material. Provide only brief descriptions of methods and laboratory techniques (preferably as an Appendix). Do not describe standard methods in detail if references to the methods can be cited. Number figures and tables in the order discussed in the text.
Units of Measure
Use the International System of units (metric) in captions, illustrations, and text. Where English measurements are necessary, follow metric with English in parentheses.
Footnotes
Avoid footnotes and parenthetical statements. Textual footnotes that are deemed necessary should be numbered consecutively with superscripts.
Captions
Make captions precise and explain all symbols and abbreviations used. Include captions with your text rather than on the same pages as the figures.
Tables
Tables should replace text, not duplicate it. Tables should be numbered in the order discussed in the text. Submit as Word or Excel files, one table per file. See the sample table.
Appendixes
Title all appendixes (for example, APPENDIX 1. SAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS). Place appendixes at the end of the text before the References Cited.
Mathematical Expressions
Define your use of symbols in the text the first time each appears. Mathematical expressions and equations in text follow this format:
References Cited
All references mentioned in the text, figures, captions, tables, and appendixes must be listed in the References Cited section. Only references cited in the paper are to be listed. Do not cite, or list in the References Cited, papers that are unpublished, in preparation, in review, or in revision. At the end of the text, list references alphabetically by author's surname. For references with two authors, list alphabetically by first author and then alphabetically by second author. For references with more than two authors, list alphabetically by first author and then chronologically, earliest year first. Do not abbreviate journal titles or book publishers in references. Include the city of publication for books. For references that do not match any of the examples given here, include all information that would help a reader locate the reference.