With a few exceptions (e.g. Science, Nature), open access journals in the
Earth Sciences aren't necessarily lower impact. Searching around the
internet I found 5-year impact factors for some open-access EGU journals:
Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics: (5.8), Biogeosciences: (4.1), Climate of
the Past: (4.2).
Compare these to impact factors for Tectonophysics: (2.6), EPSL (4.9),
Geochimica (4.5), Journal of Structural Geology (2.4)
It looks like EGU's Solid Earth doesn't have an impact factor yet, but
odds are it'll be in line with it's companion EGU journals that have been
around a bit longer. If os, there's unlikely to be any impact factor
disadvantage to publishing there versus JSG, and perhaps just the
opposite.
Frankly I am somewhat mystified by impact factors (somehow an uncited
article in a fancy journal is more valuable than a highly cited article in
JGR??). In any case, impact factors can change, and I encourage tenured
senior faculty to put some good articles in a journal like Solid Earth to
help establish it as unquestionably respectable and high impact factor
place to publish.
Steve Kidder
Postdoctoral Scholar
University of Otago
Dunedin
New Zealand
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