Instructions for Authors

• Instructions for authors [Word]
• BGR submission sheet [Word]
• Instructions in Japanese

General Information

Bulletin of Glaciological Research (BGR), published by the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice (JSSI), is an international, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal covering all aspects of snow and ice. Since its establishment in 1973, BGR has been distributed to more than 30 countries worldwide.

In 2010, BGR transitioned to a fully open-access, online-only journal to broaden global accessibility and to ensure the rapid dissemination of scientific and technical information. Manuscripts that successfully pass peer review are published online immediately after acceptance.

Manuscripts submitted to BGR are categorized into the following types:

1. Article – Original scientific papers containing unpublished results that have not been submitted elsewhere. Articles are reviewed by the handling editor and at least two referees.
2. Report – Short communications containing preliminary findings or reports of activities of general scientific interest. Reports are reviewed by the handling editor and at least one referee.
3. Review – Comprehensive reviews of previous research and/or summaries of future prospects in a specific field. Reviews undergo the same review process as Articles.

Reviewing Processes

1. Upon receipt of a manuscript, an acknowledgement will be sent to the corresponding author by the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief then assigns a handling editor.
2. All submissions undergo screening review for scientific scope, novelty, completeness, English quality, and conformity to BGR policies. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria will be returned without external review.
3. The handling editor selects expert referees and oversees the peer-review process.
4. If revisions are required, the manuscript will be returned to the authors for revision.
5. Revised manuscripts should be resubmitted within three months. Failure to resubmit within this period will result in the manuscript being treated as withdrawn.
6. The final decision on acceptance is made by the Editor-in-Chief.

Submission Guideline

Manuscripts must be submitted in PDF or Microsoft Word format, accompanied by the BGR submission sheet (PDF or Word), via e-mail to the BGR Editorial Board.

Submission by postal mail is also possible. In that case, authors should include an electronic version of the manuscript (e.g., on CD or other electronic media) together with a printed copy.

Article Processing Charge (APC)

BGR is a fully open-access journal. Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) of 5,500 JPY per final formatted page. The APC covers costs associated with peer-review management, editorial processing, typesetting, digital preservation, DOI registration, and online hosting.

Invited papers, editorials, and other specific categories may be exempted from the APC at the discretion of the Editorial Board.

APCs are invoiced after acceptance and prior to publication.

Copyright, Open Access, and License

All articles in BGR are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

• Authors retain the copyright to their work.
• Upon acceptance, authors grant JSSI the right to publish the work under CC BY 4.0.
• Under this license, users may share, adapt, distribute, and reproduce the work in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated.

License details: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Preprints

Manuscripts previously deposited on recognized preprint servers (e.g., Jxiv, arXiv) may be submitted to BGR. Authors must disclose any preprint postings at the time of submission.

Upon acceptance, authors are required to update the preprint record by adding a link to the published version (version of record) in BGR. The preprint must not be presented as the final published version.

Preparation of Manuscripts

1. Text

• Manuscripts should be prepared using A4-size pages, double spacing, and wide margins.
• The first page must include the title, author name(s), affiliations, and full postal addresses. When possible, a Japanese translation of the title and author name(s) should be provided. If not provided, the translation will be prepared by the BGR Editorial Board.
• An abstract of no more than 250 words is required for Articles and Reports.
• Up to five keywords should be provided for indexing purposes.

The quality of English is critical. Manuscripts that do not meet the required standard will not be accepted. Authors are strongly encouraged to seek professional English editing before submission.

The manuscript should be clear and concise. Where appropriate, divide the text into sections and subsections using numbered headings (e.g., 1., 2., 2.1).

• Numerical values must use Arabic numerals.
• Units must follow the International System of Units (SI), using forms such as m s⁻¹ rather than m/s.
• Equations should be formatted clearly and numbered consecutively. Equations cited in the text should be referenced as Eq. (2).
• Scientific names should be written in italics.

2. Tables

• Tables should be prepared on separate sheets and numbered consecutively as Table 1, Table 2, etc.
• Each table must include a concise caption placed above the table.
• Tables should be formatted to fit within the maximum BGR layout size (172 × 254 mm).

3. Figures

• All figures, including photographs, should be numbered consecutively as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.
• Figures must be prepared at high resolution and designed to fit either:
• one-column width (81 mm), or two-column width (172 mm).
• Figure captions must be typed on a separate page following the main text.

4. References

The reference list must be arranged in alphabetical order by author surname. Authors should follow the reference style used in the latest issue of BGR.

For non-English references, provide an English translation of the title and specify the language (e.g., in Japanese).

Examples of in-text citations:

• Two authors: (Suzuki and Yamada, 1989)
• Three or more authors: (Saito et al., 1983)
• Multiple references: (Saito et al., 1987; Takahashi, 1985a)
• Same author, multiple works: (Watanabe, 1986, 1987a, 1987b)

Editorial Office

E-mail: snowicebgr@seppyo.org

BGR Editorial Board, Japanese Society of Snow and Ice

358-5 Yamabuki-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0801, Japan

Academic Center

Tel: +81-3-6824-9386  Fax: +81-3-5227-8631