Journals

Here I list Earth science journals that I regularly check and consider to have a rigorous process of review.

Journal NameSubjectPublication ModelDescription
NatureGeneral sciencePaywall and gold open accessPublishes “high impact” publications, usually on the cutting edge of the field, or in topics of societal impact.
ScienceGeneral sciencePaywallAnother “high impact” journal, though in my experience it publishes less Earth science papers than Nature
Nature CommunicationsGeneral scienceGold open accessTends to publish papers with high potential impact, but likely were rejected from Nature. It usually publishes several Earth and environmental science papers every week, with a high concentration of papers with a climate science focus.
Science AdvancesGeneral scienceGold open accessThis journal also publishes a number of Earth science papers every week, with a larger variety of topics.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)General scienceHybrid and gold open accessPNAS also tries to publish “high impact” publications. They publish weekly though not every issue has Earth science papers. They often publish papers that are of a more controversial nature, and so some caution should be taken on some of the bigger claims made in the papers published here.
Nature GeoscienceGeneral Earth SciencePaywall and gold open accessNature Geoscience aims to be a “high impact” journal. Since it publishes monthly, there are only a few articles coming out every month. Because of that, it does not require frequent checking.
Nature Climate ChangeClimate sciencesPaywall and gold open accessThis journal publishes on any topic related to climate sciences, and that includes papers related to climate impacts, social sciences and biology in addition to Earth science.
Communications Earth & EnvironmentGeneral Earth ScienceGold open accessThis journal came out of nowhere a few years ago and now publishes many Earth science papers every week (probably taking in a lot of papers rejected from Nature Communications). There is no specific focus, but the quality of papers seems good in general.
Quaternary Science ReviewsPaleoclimate and Quaternary geologyPaywall and gold open accessProbably the most popular paleoclimate journal, it usually has a few new articles every week.
Climate of the PastPaleoclimateGold open accessThere are a number of paleoclimate papers coming out every week, plus many preprints that lets you see what is to come (and you can comment before publication if you like).
BoreasPaleoclimate and Quaternary geologyGold open accessThis journal tends to publish papers related to glaciation and climate variations during glacial periods. They often have a Europe focus. There tends to be about five new articles published per month.
Journal of Quaternary SciencePaleoclimate and Quaternary geologyPaywall and gold open accessSimilar to Boreas, but often with a British Isles focus.
Quaternary Science AdvancesPaleoclimate and Quaternary geologyGold open accessAn open access alternative to Quaternary Science Reviews, it publishes a few articles every month.
GeologyGeologyPaywall and gold open accessPublishes short form papers of high significance in all fields of geology. New issues come out every month.
Geophysical Research LettersGeology and geophysicsGold open accessSimilar to Geology, it publishes short form papers of high significance, but with a larger emphasis on geophysical topics. Many papers are published every week, and contains many on the subjects of climate and cryospheric sciences.
Paleoceanography and PaleoclimatologyPaleoclimatePaywall and gold open accessAs the name implies, most of the papers here have a paleoclimate focus. Several papers are published every month.
Journal of GlaciologyGlaciologyGold open accessThis journal publishes anything to do with ice, from glacial dynamics to the physics of ice skating.
The CryosphereGlaciologyGold open accessPublishes many glaciology papers, often with a climate focus. There are usually several preprints posted every week.
Global and Planetary ChangePaleoclimate and geophysicsPaywall and gold open accessThe main topics are relevant to paleoclimate and tectonics at geological time scales.
Quaternary InternationalPaleoclimate and Quaternary geologyPaywall and gold open accessThe official journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research. It regularly publishes special issues, but also publishes general papers on Quaternary sciences.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, PalaeoecologyPaleoclimatePaywall and gold open accessAlso known as Palaeo3. A broad paleoclimate journal covering any time period. They publish several papers per week.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine ResearchCold climate environmentsGold open accessAs the name suggests, they publish papers related to Arctic and polar regions, often with an environmental focus. There are a couple of dozen papers published each year.
Canadian Journal of Earth SciencesGeology and geophysicsPaywall and gold open accessFrequently publishes articles on Quaternary geology in Canada.
The HolocenePaleoclimate, Quaternary geology and archeaologyPaywall and gold open accessFocused on Earth science topics for the past 12,000 years.
  • Paywall: you have to pay to access the papers (or have access via an institution subscription)
  • Gold open access: Authors pay to make the papers freely available to readers.
  • Hybrid: Authors pay a smaller fee to make the papers freely available after a set amount of time (before which a subscription is needed)