Geophysics Instructions to Authors
EXAMPLES OF STYLE

The official guide for style and usage in GEOPHYSICS is The University of Chicago's Manual of Style, 13th Edition and SEG's Encyclopedic Dictionary of Exploration Geophysics, 3rd Edition. Examples of style now being used are as follows:

Style of terms

acknowledgments
bandwidth
baseline
borehole
CDP for common depth point
Chebychev
crosshole
CMP for common midpoint
crossover
dike
earth (except when used as a planet)
finite-difference method (hyphen when adjective)
f-k filter
free space (hyphen when adjective)
frequency-domain method (hyphen when adjective)
half-space
modeling
prestack
pseudosection
radio location (hyphen when adjective)
radio positioning (hyphen when adjective)
rms for root mean square
semiinfinite
traveltime
VSP for vertical seismic profile
wavefield
waveform
wavefront
waveguide
wavelength
wavenumber
waveshape
wave stack
wave test
wavetilt
wave train
whole space
wide band (hyphen when adjective)
z-plane

Style in text

  • Use a semicolon before the adverbial conjunctions ``however,'' ``thus,'' ``hence,'' ``therefore,'' etc., in compound sentences. Use a semicolon between independent clauses not joined by a conjunction.

  • A colon should follow a complete sentence that introduces an item or list.

  • Do not use a colon when an equation or list comes immediately after a verb or preposition.

  • The abbreviations et al., i.e., and e.g., are set with periods and commas.

  • Mathematical symbols serve as verbs. Equations are punctuated as sentences.

  • Do not use italics for foreign and Latin words which have become common in English text. Examples are ``a priori,'' ``et al.'' Refer to a special term in quotes the first time it appears only. Reserve italics in text for emphasis.

  • No hyphens are used in words formed with prefixes. Examples are nonlinear, semimajor axis, antisymmetric. Exceptions are words with quasi-, as in quasi-static.

  • The text of papers with single authors should use the singular pronoun ``I'' rather than ``we.''

  • Do not split infinitives.

  • Do not use newly invented acronyms or tradenames to describe your technique. Widely recognized tradenames that appear in Sheriff's Encyclopedic Dictionary of Exploration Geophysics (e.g., Vibroseis) are acceptable.

  • Do not put a hyphen between an adverb and the word it modifies, e.g., horizontally layered.

    Style of units

    Physical quantities should be expressed in SI units. Exceptions to this rule, at the discretion of the Editor, will be permitted when field measurements were obtained or equipment was specified with different units. In such cases, the value in non-SI units should be followed by its equivalent in SI units, enclosed by parentheses, e.g., 7200 ft/s (2200 m/s). Do not carry more significant figures in the unit conversion than were used in the original measurement. For example, note that 7200 ft/s converts to 2200 m/s, not 2195 m/s.

    All of the following conform to SI metric standards:

    s for seconds
    ohm-m for ohm-meters
    S/m for siemens/meter
    Hz as unit, hertz as word
    A as unit, ampere as word
    F as unit, farad as word
    H as unit, henry as word
    V as unit, volt as word
    J as unit, joule as word
    N as unit, newton as word
    W as unit, watt as word
    Pa as unit, pascal as word
    m/s for meters per second
    1000 or 10 000 for 1,000 or 10,000
    times sign instead of dot for multiplication
    space between number and unit (10 m, not 10m)
    mGal, not mgal
    ms for milliseconds
    GHz for gigahertz
    MHz for megahertz
    kHz for kilohertz
    cm for centimeter
    mm for millimeter
    mm for micrometer
    nm for nanometer
    pm for picometer
    The following exceptions to SI units are acceptable:
    g/cc as density units
    bar as pressure unit
    gamma as magnetic field intensity unit
    darcy as permeability unit