Question 1

What are the best open-access journals for Geophysics?

Accepted Answer

Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, Solid Earth, Geophysical Journal International, Earthquake Science, Geodesy and Geodynamics lead this list, drawn from a 17,500-venue index. The top 40 of 51 ranked venues are listed on this page; 11 are Scimago Q1, 19 Q2, 6 Q3 and 4 Q4. Journals are placed by two independent classifications, OpenAlex's and Scimago's, plus any documented corrections. A journal both place under Geophysics ranks ahead, within its Scimago quartile, of one only OpenAlex places there — because Scimago does not cover it, files it as Multidisciplinary, or files it under a neighbouring subject or only under a broad “(miscellaneous)” category (which counts as agreement when Geophysics is the journal's main OpenAlex subfield). 1 journal OpenAlex files under Geophysics is left out because OpenAlex's main field for it and Scimago's categories both place it in another discipline. By Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4, then venues without one). Within a quartile, journals both sources place under Geophysics come first, then venues whose main OpenAlex subfield is Geophysics come before those that list it second or third, and ties go to OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window. A venue whose main subfield is unrelated to Geophysics — fewer than a quarter of the venues filed under that subfield (or fewer than five) are also filed under Geophysics — is listed after all the others. Where cites/paper decides, a journal with fewer than 30 papers in OpenAlex over the four most recent publication years is listed after those with more: a two-year average over so few papers can rest on a single article (1 of the 51 journals ranked here is below that floor; it is not among the 40 shown). Only open-access venues are included. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor, and journals flagged as predatory are excluded. For a match to your specific paper use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

Question 2

Do these rankings use Journal Impact Factor (JIF)?

Accepted Answer

No. We don't compute or license Clarivate's Journal Impact Factor. These rankings use the Scimago SJR quartile (Q1–Q4) and OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window — both transparent, openly-sourced signals. For Geophysics, the highest-ranked venues by this method include Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, Solid Earth, Geophysical Journal International.

Question 3

How do I find the best journal for my specific Geophysics paper?

Accepted Answer

Paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder — it returns a shortlist matched to your paper from the same index, with open-access status and predatory flags. A free account starts with 25 welcome credits; each run costs 15.

Best open-access journals for Geophysics

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