01 March, 2014

Editors Gather to Consider AAPG Publishing

Ring of the Fellowship

 

The second annual Charles H. Taylor Fellowship meeting, held in late January under the leadership of elected editor Michael L. Sweet, once again threw a bright spotlight on AAPG technical publication efforts.

Michael Sweet

Michael Sweet
Michael Sweet

The second annual Charles H. Taylor Fellowship meeting, held in late January under the leadership of elected editor Michael L. Sweet, once again threw a bright spotlight on AAPG technical publication efforts.

Specifically, those attending focused on the process of selecting papers for the publications awards and discussing publication strategy for the various journals published under AAPG.

“I think the meeting is a good idea, giving associate editors, the elected editor and AAPG publications staff a forum for discussing how we do our work,” said attendee Julia Gale. “We certainly accomplished the business of recommending award winners, and I thought the idea of spreading the nominations through the year was a good one that will allow more input in the future.”

“I was very impressed by the dedication and experience of both the AAPG staff and volunteering editors on hand for this event,” said attendee Kristen Carter. “We had a great list of candidate papers, books and special publications for award consideration this year, too.

“It quickly became clear to me that AAPG’s publications are top-notch,” she said, “due not only to the content of the submissions but also to the commitment of the volunteers and staff who review, revise and ultimately publish the research.”

Items of discussion included:

AAPG Publications Awards.

In selecting the next set of Sproule, Dott and Pratt award winners, the group’s focus was on what constitutes a “best paper.” It was determined that the main judging points would be:

  • Clear presentation of ideas (illustration, organization, writing style).
  • Scientific validity.
  • Global impact.
  • Innovative ideas or application.
  • Utility of application to petroleum geology.
BULLETIN.

In 2012, the Senior Associate Editors Board of the AAPG BULLETIN was formed – a group of specialized editors with the duty to assist the elected editor in selecting reviewers and drafting a decision for specific manuscripts assigned to them.

DEG’s Geosciences Journal.

Geosciences, published since 1994, went exclusively digital in July 2011. The editorial board includes the editor-in-chief, managing editor, special issues editor and 30 associate editors, representing countries and continents around the globe.

Search & Discovery.

Launched in 1997, searchanddiscovery.com is an online publication for E&P geoscientists. Most contributions come from presenters at AAPG ACE, ICE, Section and Region meetings, GTWs, Hedberg conferences, meetings of AAPG-affiliated societies and approved unsolicited manuscripts.

Papers in Search and Discovery are not peer-reviewed, but they are available for free to members and to the general public.

Interpretation Journal.

Launched in October 2012, Interpretation is co-published quarterly by SEG and AAPG. The first issue was published in August 2013, and the journal is off to an excellent start, having published 46 papers in its first two issues.

The editorial board consists of an editor (currently selected by SEG) and deputy editor (currently selected by AAPG), as well as a current group of general editors selected by both organizations.

The evening ended with a talk on Early Diagenesis in Fine-grained Sediments: Cement Precipitation as a Modifier of Fabrics and Porosity Systems in Fine-Grained Rocks by AAPG member Joe Macquaker, ExxonMobil URC, who was the winner (with co-author Andy Aplin) of last year’s Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award for best BULLETIN article.