About the magazine
Geoscientist is the Fellowship magazine of the Geological Society of London (registered charity no. 210161). It features a vibrant mix of science, opinion, news and more, and serves as a resource to the community, with articles that aim to stimulate thinking within and across fields of expertise.
Mounting pressures on the natural environment mean that geoscience has never been more relevant, diverse or interdisciplinary. Scientists across the geoscience fields are working together with social scientists, engineers, economists and policy-makers to tackle issues of climate change, escalating demand for natural resources, and the need to sustain an ever-growing population on an increasingly polluted planet. The fabric of the geoscience community is changing, and Geoscientist aims to reflect and foster that change. The voices in our pages should mirror the diverse nature of the problems we tackle—we encourage readers from all backgrounds to get in touch.
The Geoscientist Terms of Reference are available here.
Contact us
Email: geoscientist@geolsoc.org.uk
Twitter:@geoscientistmag
Address: The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG
Editorial team
Dr Amy Whitchurch
Executive Editor
Amy joined the Geoscientist team in 2018, after almost a decade working as an editor at Nature Geoscience. She followed a convoluted path through geoscience, initially studying environmental science, and Earth and atmospheric physics, before segueing into geology. A fan of DIY and the great outdoors, Amy is generally either found with paintbrush in hand, or wandering the South Downs with beloved dog, Humphrey, in tow.
Dr Marissa Lo
Associate Editor
Marissa completed her PhD thesis on lunar volcanology in 2022. Her background is in geology and volcanology, with her research focusing on computer modelling and analogue experiments. Marissa is passionate about science communication and outreach, and likes to relax by reading a good book, baking for friends and family, or getting outside.
Ruth Allington
Editor-in-Chief
Ruth is a former President and Professional Secretary of the Society. She is an engineering geologist by training, and spent her entire career at GWP Consultants LLP, specialising in the responsible design of open pit mineral operations. Semi-retired since 2019, she now has more time to indulge her passion in singing and works part time as a mediator and facilitator. She is a trustee of Ecton Mine Educational Trust and a member of the BGS Science Advisory Committee.
David Shilston
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
David is a past President of the Geological Society. An engineering geologist by training, he is a technical director at Atkins where his particular interests are in the management of geohazards for civil engineering and environmental projects. David’s other interests include history and archaeology, and he is a Trustee of Arundel Museum, West Sussex.
Editorial advisory panel
Mrs Natalyn Ala
Mr Andrew Bloodworth
Mr Steve Branch
Prof Marie Edmonds
Dr Alan Roberts
Dr Colin Summerhayes
Prof Frances Wall
Dr Jan Zalasiewicz
Members of the Editorial Advisory Panel offer their time on a voluntary basis. They are professional geoscientists who are available for consultation regarding the scientific content of feature articles.
Geoscientist Contributors Team
Sade Agard
Romany Baker
Dr Philip Ball
Hannah Bird
Lucy Blennerhassett
Prof Gerald (Jerry) Dickens
Megan Hammett
Stephen McHugh
Amelia Jane Piper
Dr R Arun Prasath
Tiffany Sarfo
Dr Colin Serridge
Kyle Watts
Members of the Contributors Team offer their time on a voluntary basis. They are professional geoscientists and early career researchers who write for the magazine on a regular basis.
Guide for authors
Content types
News – Updates from the Geological Society and the geoscience community (typically ~150-300 words).
Viewpoint– A discussion forum for the geoscience community, comprised of Columns and Letters. Columns are thought-provoking opinion pieces (~450 words and up to 5 references). Letters are short notes to the editors (~150-300 words).
Features – Illustrated articles that provide in-depth coverage of a topical geoscientific subject (<2,000 words, 4-6 illustrations, <10 references). Scientific features are informally reviewed by the Editorial Advisory Panel (this does not constitute formal peer review).
Unearthed – Articles that provide brief, creative and thought-provoking discussion of a topical geoscience-related issue, including reports on recent meetings or workshops, as well as career or education-related commentary, and interviews (<1,000 words, up to 3 illustrations, <10 references).
In Brief – Recent discoveries highlighted by our Contributors Team.
Books & Arts – Reviews of recent books and cultural events (~400 words).
Obituaries – Tributes to Fellows recently deceased (~500 words).
Five minutes with – Interviews with interesting geoscientists (commissioned by the editors).
Submissions
Geoscientist relies on voluntary contributions from the community.
Geoscientist is a popular science magazine, not a scientific journal, and content should be written in an engaging and accessible way. We encourage submission of striking and simple illustrations. Please use SI units throughout.
With all submissions, please include your name and affiliation, and declare any conflicts of interest. You are welcome to include contact information, such as an email address or Twitter handle.
Due to limits on space and editorial capacity, we cannot guarantee publication, either in print or online.
All content accepted for publication will be edited prior to publication.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is the author’s responsibility to obtain the relevant copyright permissions for any third-party material used in their piece. Please read the section below on copyright, permissions and ethics prior to submission.
Pitches
We are open to suggestions for timely, interesting articles from reliable authors with a good understanding of their field.
We recommend pitching your idea by sending a short summary that outlines a clearly defined hook (a statement, statistic, question or similar that will spark our reader’s curiosity), as well as nutshell summary of the story, your approach or argument, and why readers should care. Pitches should be specific – explain what our readers will learn from the piece and why it is interesting, timely and important. It is also useful to provide a brief overview of your background and expertise.
We recommend familiarizing yourself with the magazine to get an idea of content types and style prior to pitching.
Send pitches to geoscientist@geolsoc.org.uk
Viewpoint: Additional information
Please note:
• Geoscientist magazine is editorially independent of the Geological Society of London.
• Publication of a Viewpoint does not imply endorsement from either Geoscientist magazine or the Geological Society of London.
• Space is limited, Viewpoints will be edited for publication online and in print.
• All views expressed are the responsibility of their authors alone.
• We ask that when engaging in debate, all Fellows abide by the Geological Society’s code-of-conduct (https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/codeofconduct).
• We receive a large volume of opinion pieces and do not have the capacity to publish multiple opinion pieces repeating the same argument. We will therefore only publish Viewpoints that provide novel, timely and interesting contributions to a debate.
• The Editors reserve the right not to publish Viewpoints, at their discretion.
Please also note that in December 2020, the Geological Society of London published a revised version of its statement on the geological record of climate change. Based on a review undertaken in partnership with the Paleoclimate Society and convened by a panel of experts, the resulting research paper is published in the Journal of the Geological Society.
Lear et al. (2020) Geological Society of London Scientific Statement: what the geological record tells us about our present and future climate. Journal of the Geological Society 178(1): jgs2020-239; https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-239.
For those wishing to submit a letter on this topic, please first refer to this publication and note the guidance outlined above.
Copy deadlines
| Issue (Publication date) |
Deadline (excluding News) |
News deadline |
| Winter (2nd December) 2024 |
Mon 9 Sept 2024 |
Thu 3 Oct 2024 |
| Spring (3rd March) 2025 |
Mon 25 Nov 2024 |
Mon 6 Jan 2025 |
| Summer (21st May) 2025 |
Mon 3 Mar 2025 |
Thu 20 Mar 2025 |
| Autumn (1st September) 2025 |
Mon 16 Jun 2025 |
Thu 3 Jul 2025 |
| Winter (1st December) 2025 |
Mon 15 Sept 2025 |
Mon 6 Oct 2025 |
(These deadlines do not apply to Book Reviews or Obituaries)
Please email all content and pitches to geoscientist@geolsoc.org.uk
Copyright, permissions and ethics
In addition to the printed magazine, Geoscientist content is published freely online. Authors retain copyright of their articles. Users are free to share (copy and redistribute) the material, but must give appropriate credit to the author(s) for their original creation, indicate if any changes were made and provide the full citation to the original Geoscientist article.
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited. Images without a credit line come from stock libraries and cannot be reused.
All text, figures, illustrations and photographs must comply with copyright. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain the relevant copyright permissions for any third-party material used in their piece. That is, if you include in your article any text, illustrations, photographs or figures taken from previously published work (whether created by you or by someone else), you must obtain the relevant permissions from the copyright holder (typically the publisher of the original material) and give proper attribution (including full reference to the original source as part of a figure caption). We strongly recommend that authors use their own, original text, figures and illustrations.
If submitting photographs that include recognisable faces of living individuals, authors must obtain permissions from those people featured in the photograph.
Authors should check all material included in their article has full permission to publish open access. If you are in any doubt, please remove the content from your article.
For more detailed information on copyright and permissions, please read the Geological Society’s ‘Top Tips from the Production Team’.
Infringement
We make every effort to avoid copyright infringement and assign appropriate credit to all third-party content. We reserve the right to remove any content from a paper, whether before or after publication, that we believe was included without consent from the original owner.
In cases where we may have inadvertently infringed copyright, we offer our sincere apologies and will act quickly to remedy the situation, removing the material from our site, if necessary. If you feel that your copyright has been infringed, please contact geoscientist@geolsoc.org.uk
Ethics
Authorship of articles should be limited to those that have made a significant contribution to the piece. All co-authors must have read, reviewed and agreed to the piece prior to publication.
Authors must reveal to the editor any potential or perceived conflicts of interest (financial or otherwise). In the event that an author declares a potential conflict, a short statement to that effect will be added to the article.
Please do not use in your piece any information obtained privately or in the course of confidential services (unless explicit permission has been granted and can be demonstrated).
Plagiarism is unacceptable. Please always include the appropriate credit for original hypotheses, ideas or data.
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability is assumed by Geoscientist, the Geological Society of London or any copyright owner for any injury or damage to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, Geoscientist, the Geological Society of London, the authors, Editors and copyright owners cannot be held responsible for published errors. The views or opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect views of the magazine Editors, Editorial Advisory Panel or the Geological Society of London.
Inclusion of any advertising material in or as an insert with Geoscientist or on Geoscientist.Online does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of any products or services or the claims made by any manufacturer. No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in advertising materials. All advertising material is expected to conform to ethical and trading standards, and reasonable care is taken to ensure that advertisers are reputable and reliable. However, Geoscientist and The Geological Society of London can give no assurance that an advertiser will fulfil its obligation under all circumstances.
Geoscientist.Online may contain web links to other websites and resources. These links are provided for information only—we do not endorse these sites, are not affiliated with them and assume no responsibility for the content contained therein.
Safe working practices
Geoscientist endeavours to ensure that all published images and descriptions of working practices contribute to the objectives of the individual papers in which they appear. The inclusion of such content should not be taken as an endorsement of the practices depicted or described by Geoscientist magazine, The Geological Society of London, the authors, Editors, copyright owners or any other person or body.
For more detailed information on publishing ethics, please see the Geological Society’s ‘Publishing Ethics and Disclaimer’ page.
