Bulletin Submissions
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CSPG
Bulletin Submission Guidelines ( 66kb PDF)
Manuscript submission
Manuscripts should be submitted online through the Editorial Manager™ submission and review system, where new users can easily register. Submitted manuscripts must not have been published or submitted simultaneously elsewhere, and should make minimal use of previously published material.
Authors may submit regular articles, notes, or discussions of recently published articles. The Bulletin does not have a page limit on regular articles, but most should not exceed 50 manuscript pages, excluding tables and figures. Extensive descriptive or methods sections may be set in smaller type or placed in appendices. Notes are generally shorter contributions, not exceeding 10 manuscript pages, excluding tables and figures. A Discussion and the associated Reply should be brief and to the point, each not exceeding 10 manuscript pages including figures and tables.
Manuscripts should be formatted on 21.6 x 28 cm page size and be doubled-spaced. All pages must be numbered and have a right-hand margin of 4 cm, and be left-margin justified. Text, figure, and table files may be submitted in a variety of formats including Word, WordPerfect, PDF, GIF, JPG, TIFF, or Excel, for conversion into a single PDF for review distribution. Formats for revised manuscripts are more restricted (see below).
Where appropriate, the Bulletin publishes large-format fold-outs free of charge, to accommodate stratigraphic or structural cross-sections, for example. Charges for colour figures may be waived in some circumstances.
Language
Manuscripts must be written clearly in English. Authors are strongly advised to have their manuscript critically read by at least one knowledgeable reader prior to submission. Non-English speaking authors should have their manuscripts reviewed for grammar and presentation by someone fluent in English before submission. Authors can consult online guides (e.g., www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/index.htm). If the paper is not sufficiently well written, the editors will return the manuscript to the author(s) without review. English abstracts are translated to French for publication in the Bulletin. French-speaking authors may submit their abstracts in both English and French, if they prefer.
Organization of manuscript
The title page must include the title followed by the names, affiliations and full mailing and e-mail addresses of all the authors. This information should reflect the affiliations and addresses at the time of the study. Current affiliations and addresses that differ should be placed in a footnote on the title page. The corresponding author should be clearly indicated, regardless of authorship order. Authors of multiauthored manuscripts should all have been involved significantly in the work, read and approved the submitted version, and agreed to submission.
Acknowledgments should appear on a separate page. Authors are encouraged to acknowledge the reviewers and editors, where appropriate.
The Abstract is a summary of the essential qualities of the paper (see Landes, K.L. 1951. A scrutiny of the abstract. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 35, no. 8, p. 1660, www.aapg.org/bulletin/abstract_scrutiny.pdf). The abstract page should have, at the top, a short title, suitable for a running head (fewer than 60 characters, including spaces) and the name(s) of the author(s).
Headings are restricted to three levels:
LEVEL 1 HEADING
Level 1 headings should be centred, bold, and in small capitals.
LEVEL 2 HEADING
Level 2 headings should be left-justified, bold, and in small capitals.
LEVEL 3 HEADING
Level 3 headings should be left-justified and in italics.
Figure captions must be separated from the main text and placed at the end of the manuscript. They should not appear on nor be placed within the frame of the illustrations.
Footnotes
Footnotes to material in the main text should be used only if it is unavoidable. Usage of footnotes in tables is encouraged. Footnotes should be numbered serially through the manuscript.
Equations and Symbol Lists
Equations should be clearly and unambiguously typed, and constructed with careful attention to placement of superscripts and subscripts. Equation variables should be used consistently throughout the manuscript and be defined in the text or in a separate symbol list. The symbol list should identify the nature of each symbol (e.g., scalar, vector, tensor, etc.). Equations should be numbered sequentially in square brackets placed flush with the left margin.
REFERENCES
Authors are responsible for citing and listing references correctly. Journal titles must be given in full. Bulletin reference style examples:
Dolphin, D.R. and Klovan, J.E. 1970. Stratigraphy and paleoecology of an Upper Devonian carbonate bank, Saskatchewan River Crossing. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 18, p. 289-331.
Wade, J.A. 1981. Geology of the Canadian Atlantic margin from Georges Bank to the Grand Banks. In: Geology of the North Atlantic Borderlands. J.Wm. Kerr and A.J. Ferguson (eds.). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 7, p. 447-460.
Cooper, M. 2000. Structural style variations in the BC Foothills. GeoCanada 2000 Abstracts, Geological Association of Canada, on CD Rom.
Arnott, R.W.C., Zaitlin, B.A. and Potocki, D. 1999. Basal Quartz Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous), south-central Alberta: Non-marine deposition in an accommodation-limited basin. AAPG-SEPM( Society for Experimental Geology) Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, Program and Abstracts CD.
Authors should review recent Bulletin issues (March 2002 and later) for more examples of the correct BCPG format. If references are not in BCPG format, they will be returned to the author for reformatting.
Only material that is published or accepted for publication (in press) should be cited. Material of limited circulation (technical reports, theses, etc.) may be included, but the reference list must show where it is available. Unpublished material or personal communications should be identified as such in the text but are not to be included in the reference list.
TABLES
Tables should not be embedded in the manuscript text file. Each table should be submitted as a separate file in Word or Excel format. Tables submitted in Excel format should be configured to print the table at the final anticipated size.
ILLUSTRATIONS
All illustrations must conform to the 21.6 x 28 cm page size and two-column format. Photographs are published as figures rather than plates, and therefore should appear in the order called out in the manuscript text. When creating illustrations for the Bulletin, authors should ensure that the type size is neither too large nor too small for the scale of the figure (minimum font size of 6 pt). Preferred fonts are sans serif, such as Arial and Helvetica (not serif fonts, such as Times New Roman).
Figures should be scaled for reproduction at 9 cm (1 column), 13.5 cm (1.5 column) or 18 cm (2 column) width in vertical format, or 23 cm width in landscape format. If submitted figures are not appropriate for these widths, the editors may reduce them accordingly. Authors should clearly indicate if any figures are not to be reduced in size.
Colour illustrations or foldouts may be used if the Editor considers them essential to the paper. Authors are generally responsible for the additional costs of colour figures; costs may be waived in some circumstances.
Photographs are considered data and therefore any digitally manipulated images submitted for publication must contain the same information as the original image. Any software manipulation or enhancement should be clearly identified, including details such as the software package and the techniques used.
Authors must obtain permission from other publishers to use previously published figures.
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
Measurements should be in SI units. Imperial unit equivalents may be given in parentheses, but this is not obligatory. SI units should be referred to by symbol in the text. Please note that A and µ are not SI units; use nm and µm. (See Supplementary Metric Practice Guide for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry and Services, 5th ed, 1989. Calgary: Canadian Petroleum Association.)
STRATIGRAPHIC TERMINOLOGY
Stratigraphic terminology must conform to the International Subcommission of Stratigraphic Classification's International Stratigraphic Guide [1994, A. Salvador (ed.). Geological Society of America, 220 p., ISBN 0-8137-7401-2]; an online abridged version can be found at www.stratigraphy.org/guide.htm. For other usage, see the American Geological Institute's Glossary of Geology [5th edition, 2005, K.K.E. Neuendorf, J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson (eds.), Falls Church, Virginia; 800 p., ISBN 0-922152-76-4] and the Geological Survey of Canada's Guide to Authors. Manuscripts containing new stratigraphic nomenclature will be subject to review by the CSPG Stratigraphic Nomenclature Committee.
REVISED MANUSCRIPT
Revised manuscripts are returned through the online Editorial Manager system. Revised text files must be provided in Microsoft Word format. If the manuscript has been assembled with another software package, text files should be exported to a Microsoft Word-compatible format.
All final illustrations must be submitted as individual TIFF files at final size. All figures should either be black and white, grayscale (8 bit) or CMYK colour (32 bit) at 1 to 1 size and 300 DPI. Figures containing line-art (black and white only) should be at 1200 DPI resolution. Figure numbers or authors' names must not appear on the TIFF images. Each graphic file must be named uniquely, using the figure number (e.g., Figure 1 - Smith et al.tif).
At the copy-editing stage, authors should be prepared to revise their original illustrations according to the BCPG style and resubmit new TIFF files. The production editor will contact authors directly if such revisions are necessary.
PAGE PROOFS
Page proofs will be forwarded to authors with a response date specified. At the discretion of the editors, minor changes (apart from any necessary corrections) may be accommodated at page proof stage. Costs of major revisions at this or a later stage will be charged to the authors. Authors are encouraged to pay page charges, if circumstances permit.
REPRINTS
The Bulletin provides a PDF of the published paper to the corresponding author in lieu of paper reprints.
COPYRIGHT
The Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists reserves the copyright of accepted and published material.
COMMON STYLE ERRORS
Authors should carefully check symbols, abbreviations, and technical terms to facilitate review and revision. Some common errors and the correct forms are listed below.
IN FIGURES AND TEXT
Abbreviations
m or km : metres or kilometres, must be in lower case, must not be followed by a period, and a space must separate the number and abbreviation, e.g., 5 km or 5 m; if abbreviations are not used, please note the Canadian spelling of these words.
ft or in: feet or inches, use without a period (SI units should be the primary measurement system in all papers; if Imperial units are used they must be preceded by SI units).
Latitude and Longitude
48°15´23´´N: There are no spaces anywhere. Use degree, prime and double prime symbols (not quotation sign or apostrophe); in MS Word these are found under Insert... Symbol... then select the Symbols Font.
45–48°N: Note the en dash symbol between numerical values and no space before N; in MS Word the en dash symbol is found under Insert... Symbol... Special Characters... en dash.
Lines of Cross-Section
A–A´: Use an en dash and prime, not a hyphen and apostrophe (see usage notes below); in MS Word these are found under Insert... Symbol... then select the Symbols Font (prime) or Special Characters (en dash).
Well Locations
Always give well locations in full in both text and figures.
e.g.
c-14-d/94-B-1 NTS system
6-3-25-7-W6M DLS system (sometimes authors include leading 0s)
IN FIGURES
Abbreviations
Fm, Fms, Gp, Gps, Mbr, and Mbrs: these abbreviations must not be followed by a period.
Size and Format
Fonts of all figures should be in Helvetica or Arial (if possible). Figures should be constructed at a minimum size. However, figures should not be at a size that makes them illegible or appear cluttered. Minimum font size should be 6 pt.
IN TEXT
Italics
Whole Latin words, such as genus and species names, and other words such as sensu and in situ must be in italic font style; do not use underline instead of italic. All other abbreviated Latin words should be in regular font style, as listed in the following:
i.e. e.g. et al.
ibid. op. cit. cf.
When citing a personal communication: note the person's name with initials, use the abbreviation pers. comm., and note the year; e.g., A.B. Smith (pers. comm., 2001), or (A.B. Smith, pers. comm., 2001).
Usage of ca.
The abbreviation of circa, "ca.", should be used only for dates and not measurement. If referring to an approximation of a measurement, there are other possible substitutions, such as about, several, and approximately (i.e., ca. 45 m could be replaced by about 45 m.). Do not use tilde (~), e.g., ~45 m, to indicate uncertainty.
Usage of En Dash and Em Dash
A dash is a punctuation mark and should not be confused with a hyphen. The en dash and em dash symbols can be found in MS Word under Insert...Symbol...then Special Characters. These symbols were originally the widths of typeset letters N and M; the em dash is twice the width of the en dash. The en dash has no space before or after.
An en dash (not a hyphen) is used to indicate a closed range, or a connection between two things. When used to indicate a range the equivalent meaning is the word "to".
e.g.
Winnipegosis Formation–Prairie Evaporite transition
Cambrian–Ordovician (but Cambro-Ordovician)
24–45 km (meaning 24 to 45 km)
Twps. 24–29, Ranges 3–6W5
west–east (not west-east)
For negative or minus signs, use en dash; e.g., –45°C (with no spaces).
An em dash is used to indicate a sudden break in thought, for example when inserting a parenthetical statement. Em dash has a space before and after.
Papers in Same Issue
In running text: Bourque et al. (2001a, this issue) or (Smith, 1999; Bourque et al., 2001a, this issue).
In reference list: Bourque, D.C., Jones, F.R., Lovett, L. 2001a. Structural studies of Devonian Gaspe rocks. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, this issue.
Citations in Text
Order for list of citations is first by published year, earliest to latest, and second by alphabetic order.
e.g., Hradsky and Griffin, 1984; Hayes, 1986, 1995; Farshori, 1989; Dawson, 1994; Dolson and Piombino, 1994; Dolson et al., 1994; Arnott et al., 2000; Zaitlin et al., 2002.
Use of Ma and m.y.
In both text and figures, Ma is to be used for specific ages of rocks, and m.y. (lower case) for periods of time, where both are in millions of years.
SI Units
SI units must have priority in the text. If Imperial units are used, they follow the SI values in parentheses.
Capitalization of Geological Terms
Capitalize all names for geological periods, stages, systems, etc. Use Lower, Middle, Upper when referring to rocks that span a specific time interval, e.g., "Lower Silurian dolostones form steep cliffs". "Early Silurian", in this context, would be incorrect. Modifiers such as lower Llandovery or early Ludlow are not formalized parts of these stages and should be in lower case.
