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Instructions to authors

ZDGG solicits the submission of original manuscripts from the whole field of geological sciences, that is geology, hydrogeology, paleontology, tectonics, sedimentology, engineering and environmental geology. All submitted manuscripts are subject to peer review. Before submitting your paper, please be sure to review the instructions to authors of ZDGG below.


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1. General

Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften preferably publishes original papers in English and German language covering the entire field of geo-science (solid earth). Articles must include title, abstract, figure-, table- and plate legends as well as keywords according to GeoRef Thesaurus. In addition and if the manuscript is not in English, an abstract written in the mother tounge of the study area is welcome. Manuscripts must comply with the rules of Good Scientific Practice.

All manuscripts are peer reviewed. Authors should recommend two reviewers. However, reviewers will be asked by the editor-in-chief. All manuscripts must be final and typesetted preferrably in MS Word. Electronic data and three printouts of text and figures must be submitted.

All accepted articles are published online (fast track) after author’s release and will receive a citable DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

Please send manuscripts to the editor-in-chief:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoppe
Editor-in-chief ZDGG
Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Schnittspahnstr. 9
D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Phone: +49 6151 16-2371
Fax: +49 6151 16-6539
ahoppe@geo.tu-darmstadt.de

2. Copyright

Submission of a manuscript for publication in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften is considered binding assurance that this work has not been and will not be published elsewhere in this form and length. With acceptance and publication of a manuscript the exclusive copyright for every language and country is transferred to the publishers. The copyright covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, microfilm electronic or any other reproduction and translations. Authors are allowed to distribute the last version before being printed via the internet according to the rules of "fair use" for scientific and non-commercial purposes.

3. Manuscript structure and layout

Manuscripts should be organized as follows
  1. Title - Author's name - Author's address - E-Mail of author
  2. Abstract
  3. Keywords according to GeoRef thesaurus
  4. Text (subdivided into Introduction - Material and methods - Results - Discussion - Conclusions - Summary of no more than 200 words)
  5. Acknowledgements
  6. References
  7. Figures
  8. Tables
  9. Plates
Please, submit Figures, Tables and Plates on extra pages.
Title: short but precise
Name: Please, mention all academic titles and first and last name, first names may be abbreviated (e.g. Francis M. Gentleman)
Address: Supply complete address (institution, street, ZIP-code, city, country) and email
Abstract: Short and precise summary of problems, methods, results, and conclusion of the article. It should not have more than 200 words. An additional abstract in the language of the author(s) or the language of the country investigated is possible.
The text should be submitted double spaced without hyphenation and without top lines or footnotes. Please, write palaeontological names in italics, and terms to be emphasized in bold. Headlines should be written in normal letters, not in capitals.

4. Figures, plates and tables

All figures, plates and tables must be submitted on separate pages with only one item per page and, if ever possible as electronic files. The name of the author together with the illustration number must be written on the reverse side of each illustration page. For every illustration short and precise legends (headline/footnote) have to be included. The top of an illustration must be indicated. Figures, plates and tables should have a line 2 width and lettering suitable for reduction to the type area of 17.5 x 23.5 cm or less. Figures and tables can also be scaled to fit one column (8.5 cm). The position of illustrations in the text should be indicated.
Pixel-based line art figures must be supplied in tif or eps format at a resolution not less than 600 dpi. Photographs should be sharp and of high contrast. Electronically submitted halftones and photographs must be provided at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Please be sure that in eps files all fonts are embedded.

Colour illustrations will be printed at no charge.

5. References in the text

References within the text must be by name of author/s, year, and if necessary place (page or figure number) in the cited reference. For two authors use the "&" notation; for more than two authors quote the first author followed by the "et al." notation. Examples:
"It is well known (Miall 1996) that ..."
"A revision (Kunert & Wansa 1997: 24) shows ..."
"According to Eissmann et al. (1995: Abb. 3) the ..."
Multiple citations are separated by comma (Müller 2000, Meier 2001).

6. Citations in the reference list

List only and all cited references. References must be listed in alphabetical-chronological order. The recommendations made by Horatschek & Schubert (1998) shall be used for citations; yet some citations vary from these rules; e.g.:
a) book/monograph: Miall, A.D. (1996): The geology of fluvial deposits: sedimentary facies, basin analysis, and petroleum geology: 582 S., Berlin (Springer).
b) Chapter of a book/monograph: Eissmann, L., Litt, T. & Wansa, S. (1995): Elsterian and Saalian deposits in their type area in central Germany. - In: Ehlers, J., Kozarski, S. & Gibbard, P.L. (eds.): Glacial deposits in North-East Europe: 439-464, Rotterdam (Balkema).
c) Journal paper: Hoth, K. (1999): Geschichte und Zukunftsansätze der geowissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften der Festen Erde in Deutschland. - Z. geol. Wiss., 27: 91-104, Berlin.
d) Map: Kunert, R. & Wansa, S. (1997): Geologische Karte von Sachsen-Anhalt 1:25000, Blatt 4436 Wettin, mit Erläuterungen. - 2. Aufl., Geol. Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle. Topographische Karte 1:25000, Blatt 4640 Leipzig (1997). - 2. Aufl., Landesvermessungsamt Sachsen, Dresden.

7. Proofs

– The corresponding author will receive a digital proof from the publisher (pdf format).
– Corrections may not cause more than a 1 % of cost increase; failing this the author will be charged for additional costs.
– The corrected proof must be send promptly to the technical editor.

8. Reprints

– The corresponding author will receive a pdf-file of the article from the publisher for personal use only, i.e. no publication on private or other websites (self storage, repositories, etc.), no distribution in newsgroups or mailing lists etc.
– Reprints may be ordered from the publisher against costs.