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JOURNAL OF THE BALKAN GEOPHYSICAL SOCIETY

Instructions to Authors
Antonis Vafidis, Applied Geophysics Laboratory, Technical University of Crete
Polytechnioupolis,73100 Chania Greece
e-mail: vafidis@mred.tuc.gr

SUBMISSION OF PAPERS

Papers submitted to the Journal of the Balkan Geophysical Society should be in electronic form and preferably as Microsoft World document file. Three hard copies of the manuscript are also required. Illustrations should be prepared as separate picture files. Note that they should not be inserted into the text file.

The hard copies and optionally a diskette containing the text and figure files have to be mailed to one of the associate editors. This person will act as copy editor and he will judge if the paper meets the styling requirements set. In case that the paper fails to meet the journal standards, it will be returned to the author (s) amended with red ink at the points of failure and associated with a short commentary. So the author(s) has to revise the paper along the suggestions and re-submit it. The papers will not be sent to the reviewers until they confront the style of the journal.

The language of the journal is English and no papers or any other material is accepted in any other language. Since this is not the native language of any of the Balkan Nations, the editorial board strongly advises the authors to give the paper in some colleague in their country to be checked in English before submission. This will save time, energy and mailing of the paper forth and back.

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Journal of the Balkan Geophysical Society will publish papers relevant to Exploration Geophysics, Physics of the Earth's Interior and Seismology. Papers with particular weight for the Balkan Peninsula and the surrounding areas are considered with priority. Highly mathematical or technical papers should include applications to show the importance of the proposed schemes. Case studies, books reviews, newsletters, criticism on published papers, editorial notes and announcements of the executives of the Balkan Geophysical Society can be hosted in the journal pages. All this material is sent directly to the Editor.

Any contribution received is considered for reviewing unless the Editorial Board has evidences that it has been accepted for publication or it has been published elsewhere. Also, if the Board believes that the paper is currently being considered by another journal it will freeze the process in the Journal of the Balkan Geophysical Society and contact the author(s) until exclusivity is succeeded.

PREPARING THE MANUSCRIPT

Length

The manuscript along the tables, figures and references should not exceed 15 A4 size pages written in the journal style.

Fonts

Times New Roman fonts have to be used for the text, tables, figure captions, authors affiliations, footnotes and references. The Arial fonts should only be used for the title and authors names.

Title

Title should be concise and informative as possible. Should be written using Arial Bold 14 points fonts in centered alignment.

Authors names and affiliations

Author(s) names should follow the title after 2 blank lines. Affiliation of the author(s) should follow in the line immediately after the author(s) names in 9 points Times New Roman fonts in centered alignment.

Abstract

It has to be located a blank line after the last line of the affiliations. It should be informative of the whole work, contain no formulae or citations, and no more than 250 words. The headword "abstract" should be bold and should be considered as the part of the text. Times New Roman 11 points italic fonts should be used.

LEVEL 1 HEADS

Level 1 heads should appear in capital letters after one blank line from the previous text line, using 11 points Times New Roman fonts, in centered alignment. Text should be in 11 points Times New Roman fonts and should follow after one blank line.

Level 2 heads

Level 2 heads should appear in small letters, 11 points fonts and flushed left. Text should follow after one blank line.

Formulae They should be centered using 11 points full height, 18 points symbol height and 6 points for subscripts and superscripts.

Units The SI units should be used throughout the paper. The unit gr/cm3 for density and gamma for magnetic induction are also acceptable.

Tables Use separate sheets for each table who should not be inserted into the text. Also a captions list on separated sheet should associate the paper.

Figures Figures should follow the manuscript each one on separate figure file (page in the hard copy) in one of the picture or object file format that can be inserted into a Microsoft Word document. Good quality printed pictures are also accepted but since they will be scanned we do not guarantee for the outcome.

APPENDIXES

They should follow the manuscript after the references and their head is a level 1 in the fashion

APPENDIX 1: NABIGHIAN'S ANALYTIC SIGNAL CONSIDERATION

Footnotes They should be used in special cases only and where they significantly enhance the meaning of the particular section. They have to be numbered consecutively.

Spacing

Manuscripts have to be double-spaced as well as figure and table captions, footnotes and appendices. However, this spacing concerns only the draft copies to facilitate review and not the final version that will feature in single spacing in the journal's pages.

REFERENCES

An alphabetical list of all references cited in the text should follow at the end of the manuscript as integral part of the paper, i.e. lists of captions and tables are considered as separate body as are the figures by themselves. The list should correspond to one by one with the references cited in the text. References for general reading are not allowed unless the paper is not technical or scientific but comprises a tutorial case, editorial letter, or newsletter. Reference to National reports, University internal publications and National conference proceedings should be avoided, as they are not easily accessible. See the PDF file for fashion of order and punctuation.

PEER REVIEW

The Associate Editor who receives a submitted article decides if it falls in the disciplines of Exploration Geophysics, Physics of the Earth's Interior and Seismology. If the paper does not, he informs the Editor who finally returns the paper to the author(s) associated with an explanatory note. If the Associate Editor decides that the paper falls in the disciplines of the journal he send it to two reviewers knowledgeable and unbiased to review the paper for the scientific quality. The compliance with the journal style and correct English is responsibility of the Associate Editor who also acts as Copy Editor because the English is not native language of anyone of the Balkan Nations. The reviews are sent to the Associate Editor who corresponds with the author(s) transferring the reviewers' commentaries adding his own criticism for style and English. If the reviewers' suggestions are markedly different and/or conflicting he communicates with the Editor to decide upon the case. In the last case he may submit the file to the Editor. If both reviewers agree that the case is pure, then the paper is unacceptable and the author(s) are informed for the reasoning. If one of the reviewers judges that the paper is unacceptable then the decision upon the continuation of the revision procedure belongs to the Associate Editor who has to be consulted by the Editor. The whole procedure cannot be longer than six months. In case that a reviewer does not respond in the time set, The Associate Editor informs the Editor who both act as scientific reviewers or find some colleague(s) relevant to the topic of the paper in their establishments to review the paper quickly.

The author(s) have to correct the paper along the reviewers' suggestions and resubmit the manuscript confronting the deadline put by the Associate Editor. In case of conflicting comments he (they) take into account the opinion of the Editors. Revised papers received after the deadline are considered as new cases since the old paper's file is closed. The Editor checks the final compliance with style and language and sends the paper to the Associate Editor who handles the case to decide upon confrontation with the reviewers' comments. The Associate Editor sends then the final acceptance letter (Fax or email) to the author(s) and informs the Editor attaching the abstract so that he will be in able to introduce the paper in one of the journal issues. This procedure can not be longer than two months. The Editor is responsible to appoint the particular issue where the paper will feature. In case that the paper fails, an editorial note will be sent to the author(s) with full reasoning.

However, if the paper fails to confront with the reviewers and/or the Editors comments, the Associate Editor may decide that it has to undergo a second review. This round is the final one and failure to comply with the journal regulation means that the file is considered closed by the journal. In the last case the Editor is informed before any respond action.

Reviewing is considered as strictly confidential procedure and only if the reviewers wish, and state it in written on the commentaries, may be divulged to the author(s).

The scope of the reviewing process is to critique the scientific quality and presentation of the papers and, thus, maintain a high level status. The status of the journal will attract author(s) from non-Balkan countries as well and guarantees its ever-lasting life. Criticism is aimed to provide constructive feed back to the author(s). RECOMENDATIONS TO AUTHORS It is strongly advised to ask a colleague on the author(s) establishment to read the paper before the submission to the journal. If your colleague fails to understand some particular parts of the paper or he has strong objections on the phrasing and organization used, it is much likely that the reviewers will have the same response.