Papers

The Geological Society of Nevada invites authors to submit new abstracts and papers for its 2027 Symposium. The 2027 GSN Symposium marks the 40th anniversary of these gatherings, which have taken place periodically since 1987. The 2027 GSN Symposium technical committee is engaged in organizing a comprehensive program of talks and posters planned for April 26-29, 2027 at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada (https://gsnsymposium.org/). Per tradition at GSN symposia, the committee plans to publish written contributions of the symposium at the time of the meeting in the form of both a hard copy Program with Abstracts and a digital Symposium Proceedings. In support of these efforts, GSN requires that authors who present talks and/or posters for the technical program provide abstracts for publication in addition to strongly encouraging them to contribute technical papers or extended abstracts for publication in the Proceedings. All abstracts and papers will be peer reviewed for placement into the symposium’s technical program and to maintain quality in writing and scientific integrity.   

DUE DATES

Draft Abstracts Due: Closed
Final Revised Abstracts Due: January 15, 2027

Draft Manuscripts Due: October 31, 2026
Final Revised Manuscripts Due: January 15, 2027

We anticipate changes to the draft abstract deadline, although submission by the May 1, 2026, date will ensure evaluation for talks and posters in the technical program. The January 15th deadline is to ensure inclusion of abstracts and papers in the Program with Abstracts and Symposium Proceedings, respectively, both of which are planned for publication at the time of the conference. Authors should follow these guidelines for submission of abstracts and papers. We encourage you to also review more comprehensive guidelines published by the Utah Geological Survey (Hylland et al., 2012): https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/circular/C-105.pdf. Questions on any aspect of the preparation, submission, and review of papers should be directed to Mike Ressel and/or Fleetwood Koutz at: [email protected].

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR ABSTRACTS AND PAPERS

Abstracts
Draft abstracts should be submitted by May 1, 2026 via the 2027 GSN Symposium website (https://gsnsymposium.org/). Navigate to the Abstracts and Proposals tab on the homepage. Remember, early abstracts will have a better chance of being selected for oral presentation. 

Draft abstracts will be reviewed by the Technical Committee, and authors will be notified of their acceptance for a talk or poster. Draft abstracts will also be reviewed by expert referees to increase clarity. We encourage potential authors to review the theme session titles to determine relevancy of contributions for both presentation and publication in this symposium. 

Place-holder or rough draft abstracts are acceptable for firsts submission if authors are awaiting additional data. In such cases, authors should provide us with as much relevant information as possible to make evaluations of the work for the technical program possible. 

Final revised abstracts must be submitted by January 15, 2027, to allow time for their inclusion in the Program with Abstracts.

Papers
Papers are a legacy of GSN symposia and an important source of detailed descriptive and historical information on regional geology, exploration, and ore deposits of the Great Basin, Basin and Range, and Cordilleran areas often not captured in other forms of publication. We encourage authors to continue this tradition by publishing timely papers on the region’s unique geology and mineral deposits.

Drafts of manuscripts should be submitted by October 31, 2026 to the 2027 GSN manuscript repository at: https://www.dropbox.com/home/GSN%202027%20Symposium%20Publications/Draft%20manuscripts. Refer to the following subsections for more detailed information on submission of papers. We recommend that authors refer to papers published in 2010, 2015, and 2022 GSN Symposium Proceedings for style and formatting matters. Any comments regarding preparation, submission, review, and publication of papers should be sent to the editors, Mike Ressel and/or Fleetwood Koutz, at [email protected]. All submissions will receive an email acknowledgement of receipt. If you do not receive acknowledgement in a few days, please contact us. 

Please ensure that approval for publication of a paper is received prior to submission. GSN assumes that the authors have taken the necessary steps for approval and/or internal review of manuscripts prior to submission.

Word Limits – Full papers for consideration will have between 3,000 and 20,000 words including text in references and figure captions. Extended abstracts should have no more than 3,000 words and include an abbreviated abstract (100-250 words) in addition to the main text; note that for extended abstracts, a separate ≤1,000-word abstract is also required for publication in the Program with Abstracts.

Text Format – the main body of text should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document (*.doc or docx) using: 1) portrait orientation, 2) Arial black 12-point font, 3) flush left justification with ragged right margins, 4) no indentations of the first line of paragraphs, 5) single-line spacing within text, 6) double-line spacing between paragraphs. Do not submit manuscripts in double-column or other desktop publishing formats.

The text should include no more than three ranks of headings, all using 12-point Arial text accordingly: 

FIRST ORDER (centered, bold, capital letters)
Second Order (left justified, bold)
Third Order (left justified, italics)

Citations in text should be as follows:

One author, in sentence: Einaudi (1973); or if cited at end of sentence: (Einaudi,1973).
Two authors, in sentence: Miller and Glick (1987); sentence end: (Miller and
Glick, 1987).
More than two authors, in sentence: Machette et al. (1986), sentence end:
(Machette et al., 1986).

Authors must cross-check all citations in text with the reference list. Missing references or missing citations are very common errors in editing and take significant time for reviewers to remedy. References should be included at the end of the main text body. List references in alphabetical-chronological order using the first author’s last name. Please follow the recommendations provided in pages 16-21 of Hylland et al. (2012): https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/circular/C-105.pdf.       

Draft Manuscript Submission – manuscripts should be submitted as digital files organized accordingly:  

Header with Abstract: include the following line items: full title of manuscript, full names, affiliations, and general locations (e.g., city, province, country) of all authors, an email and phone number for the corresponding author, 5 keywords, and a UTM location (if relevant) for the study or work. Include a ≤1,000 word abstract below the header. Include relevant geographical information in the title (e.g., mining district, mountain range, county, state) where relevant.

Text: (.doc or .docx), table (.doc or .docx). Please include the first author’s last name and short descriptor in the file name. The acknowledgements should be no more than a paragraph and precede the references. Also include a list of figures with captions and a list of tables on separate pages at the end of this document.

Figures: (.tif, .jpg, .png, or .pdf). The file name should include the figure number and the lead author’s last name. Ensure that figures are a minimum of 300 dpi with printable size no more than 17 inches by 22 inches (C-size). Use appropriate high contrast colors or patterns to avoid confusion. Maps should include a scale bar, north arrow, and legend. Ensure that figures are properly cited in text, for example: (Figure 3), as the figure will be placed after the first citation during final publication. Refer to https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/circular/C-105.pdf (Hylland et al., 2012) for further information on figure design considerations and formatting.

Tables: (.doc or .docx). The file name should include the table number and the lead author’s last name. Tables should contain a title heading in 12-point Arial bold above the table body. Tables can contain text ranging from Arial black 9-pt to Arial black12-pt fonts, but we recommend using a consistent font size throughout. Cell shading in light gray only is acceptable to differentiate rows or columns. Individual tables should not occupy more than 3 letter- or tabloid-size pages in either landscape or portrait orientations. Ensure that tables are properly cited in text, for example: (Table 3) as the figure will be placed after the first citation during final publication. Refer to https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/circular/C-105.pdf (Hylland et al., 2012) for table formatting.

We recommend that draft paper submissions be packaged as a single .zip folder containing all component files: header and abstract, main text body and references, figures, and tables. Include the corresponding author’s last name and a brief one word descriptor in the folder name. Once all files have been internally reviewed and carefully screened, submit .zip folders to the following Dropbox address:
https://www.dropbox.com/home/GSN%202027%20Symposium%20Publications/Draft%20manuscripts

Editing
The symposium technical and publishing committees retain the right to accept or reject all abstracts and papers. All abstracts and papers will be peer reviewed by experienced geologists and returned to authors for revision. Many of the reviewers’ comments are suggestions, and the reviewer will not rewrite the paper for the authors. Please have all co-authors read the completed abstract or manuscript before first submission and include co-authors in revision process. Some reviewers may wish to be anonymous.

All editorial comments will be made in Microsoft Word using a combination of the “track changes” editing functions, comments, strikethrough, and variable font colors. When accepted final manuscripts are complete, they will be converted to PDF format for a final author check.

Abstract first drafts will be returned to the corresponding author generally with 4-6 weeks of receipt with comments and requests for revisions, if necessary. The technical program committee will decide on an abstract’s suitability for talk or poster taking into account the author’s preference.

Submission of Final Papers
Reviewed manuscripts received by October 31, 2026 will be returned to first authors in early December 2026. Authors should make serious efforts to address all comments made by reviewers. Final revisions to manuscripts are due on January 15, 2027. Note that the papers should conform to the style and formats already outlined in this document.

Finals Proofs will be delivered to the correspoinding author prior to publication; these proofs are not meant to be significantly edited, but small changes like typographical corrections can be made if time allows. Corrections to proofs must be returned by March 15, 2027.

All inquiries concerning these guidelines or other aspects of the editing and publication process can be e-mailed to Mike Ressel and/or Fleetwood Koutz, editors ([email protected]). 

Other Informations

Ethical Guidelines
The Geological Society of America’s Ethical Guidelines for Publication will govern the Symposium’s editorial process (https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/GSA/Pubs/Ethical_Guidelines.aspx).

Disclaimer
All manuscripts of this Symposium are to be published only to ensure the timely dissemination of scholarly research and technical work. All information is published “as is” with all faults and without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. In no event shall the Geological Society of Nevada (GSN), or its officers or members, be liable for any incidental or consequential damages, even if GSN has been informed of the possibility thereof.

Copyright
Copyright and all other rights pertaining to submitted manuscripts are retained by the authors, GSN, and/or by other copyright holders. Any person copying these manuscripts, in whole or in part, is expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author’s copyright. Extensive copying, reprint or republication may require the explicit prior written permission of the copyright holder. Please contact the author(s) and GSN for permission, especially for use in advertising or company promotional material – which is strongly discouraged. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions, specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproductions. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If anyone makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that person may be liable for copyright infringement.