Submissions

Author Guidelines

Submitting papers to Midcontinent Geoscience

Midcontinent Geoscience publishes a broad array of original research covering all branches of geology with emphasis on the midcontinent region of the United States, including the Great Plains and Central Lowland provinces.

Manuscripts are expected to be of high quality and will be peer reviewed. Articles submitted to this journal will be published online following peer review, revision, acceptance, and editing. Review papers are also accepted.

Manuscripts should be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. For questions regarding the submission system, please contact Marianne Reed (mreed@ku.edu).

Manuscripts should include the following: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) text, (4) references, (5) tables, (6) figure captions, (7) figures. Figures should be submitted as separate high-resolution graphics files, not embedded in the Word document. Acceptable graphics formats: eps, jpg, tiff, or pdf.

Title page

• The title page includes the title, authors, and affiliations (the complete mailing addresses and email addresses of authors).
• If authors have different affiliations, each name should be followed by a footnote (superscript number) indicating the author's affiliation. If more than one author is at the same institution, you only need one footnote number and one footnote for that institution.

Abstract

• The abstract should be concise and include brief statements about the paper's intent, materials and methods, results, and significance of findings.
• Do not use references in the abstract.
• Do not use abbreviations in the abstract.

Text

• First-, second-, and third-level headings will be edited to conform to Midcontinent Geoscience style. In the manuscript, authors may use any style, but they should ensure that the different levels of headings are distinguished from one another.
• Do not justify margins.
• Do not italicize common Latin words or phrases (e.g., i.e., et al., in situ, etc.).
• Cite each figure and table in the text in numerical order (i.e., don't cite fig. 2 before fig. 1).
• Use "Figure" only to start a sentence; otherwise, use "fig." if singular and "figs." if plural (e.g., fig. 2, figs. 2 and 3, figs. 4–7).

 References

• Each published reference cited in the text must be listed in the References section, and vice versa. Double-check for spelling and details of publication.
• Do not abbreviate journal names.
• Literature citations in the text are as follows:

• One author: Jones (1990) or (Jones, 1990).
• Two authors: Jones and Smith (1990) or (Jones and Smith, 1990).
• Three or more authors: Jones et al. (1990) or (Jones et al., 1990), but include all authors' names in the References section.
• Manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet published: Jones (1992) or (Jones, 1992) and specify in the References section that material is in press. Example: Jones, A., 1992, Kansas rivers: Journal of Geology (in press).
• Unpublished materials: Jones (unpublished data, 1991), A. Jones (personal communication, 1991) or (A. Jones, unpublished data, 1991), (A. Jones, personal communication, 1991).
• Use a semicolon to separate citations of different authors: (Jones, 1989, 1991; Smith, 1991).

Tables

• The word "Table" should be followed by an Arabic number and a period.
• Capitalize the first word and all proper names in the table title.
• Indicate notes to the table by superscript letters (a, b, c, etc.); do not use asterisks, daggers, etc.
• Place a zero in front of decimal points (0.23, not .23).
• Table format will be edited to conform to Midcontinent Geoscience style.

Figure captions

• The word "Figure" should be followed by an Arabic number and a period.
• Type captions in paragraph format at the end of the manuscript.
• If there is more than one part to a figure, use lowercase letters in parentheses to indicate each one. For example, Figure 1. Arch (a) before collapse and (b) after collapse.
• Try to make the figure legend part of the caption rather than placing the legend in the figure: Figure 1. Rainfall in Kansas in 1992. Expected values (solid line), observed values (dashed line).

Preparation of illustrations

• Digital photographs and figures created using graphics software are preferred. Color is acceptable.
• Figures for Midcontinent Geoscience should be saved as high-resolution graphics files. Acceptable formats: eps, jpg, tiff, pdf, or png. Minimum resolution:
• Digital photographs: 300 dpi.
• Combined photo/line art: 600 dpi.
• Line art: 600 dpi; 1,200 dpi for art containing very fine line detail. Recommended format: eps or tiff.
• The editor may request higher resolution graphics after peer-review and acceptance, if needed.
• In the case of material that you cannot create on a computer, use a scanner to convert the materials into high-resolution electronic files in eps, jpg, tiff, pdf, or png format.
• All figure and photograph files should be numbered in the order of their appearance in the article: fig-1.eps, fig-2.tif, photo-1.jpg, and so on. Do not include captions as part of the graphics files. Captions should be typed in paragraph form at the end of the manuscript.
• If several photographs are grouped together in one illustration, make sure they have the same orientation (e.g., the up-direction of strata or photomicrographs should be the same).
• Scale bars should be part of the figure. State the length of the scale bar in the figure caption. Do not use magnifications; your illustration may be reduced.
• If figures have more than one part, each part must have its own lowercase letter and that letter must appear in the figure caption with the explanation.

Geologic names

Geologic names must conform to the requirements of the North American Stratigraphic Code (https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Info/NACSN/05_1547.pdf). All informal terms and names must be clearly distinguished as such (see p. 1,560 of the Stratigraphic Code).