SEG journals boosted with GeoScienceWorld upgrade

22 November 2011 — GeoScienceWorld (www.geoscienceworld.org) has undergone a major portal upgrade. GSW's 40 journals, including Geophysics and The Leading Edge published by SEG, are being delivered in an XML environment supported by HighWire's Open Platform technology. While the bulk of the platform changes are infrastructural and invisible to users, GSW simultaneously released its new branded look and feel for the site and a powerful new suite of user tools, including Google Maps(TM)-enabled advanced searching.

"GeoScienceWorld's look and features will continue to advance in step with our vision and desire to provide leadership to our community," says Alix Vance, GSW Executive Director. "The new site reflects GSW's enduring, cooperative commitment to advancing nonprofit earth science research and to delivering an unparalleled user experience, which is made possible by premium research content and state-of-the art technology."

"The transition of the GeoScienceWorld sites to HighWire's Open Platform is an exciting step for this important earth sciences research collection," said HighWire's Managing Director, Tom Rump. "The new platform allows the potential for innovation to match the progressive thinking of our partner, GSW. We're excited to be able to offer a vast array of flexible possibilities for their sites, which can be unleashed immediately as the publisher envisions them." 

Notable improvements to the ways in which users interact with GSW's journal content:

  • Advanced search: new Google Maps-based search tool allows users to search and browse by topic using latitude and longitude coordinates in GeoRef.
  • Abstract preview: mouse-over previews of abstracts display from within both the tables of contents and search results pages.
  • Popular articles list: most-viewed and most-cited articles lists for selected journals. 
  • Redesigned GSW portal home pages, with further updates coming in April 2012. 
  • Tag-along navigation: content features follow alongside as users scroll down the article page. 
  • Pop-up references: full citations pop up when users hover over references within the text of an article, for full-text journals. 
  • Keyword pivot searches: keywords are hyperlinked and perform quick searches of that term within all content in that journal. 
  • Feature hideaway: author affiliations, related links, and other functions can be expanded or hidden from view. 
  • Agile, robust content architecture, hosted in industry-standard, NLM XML DTD. 

On the front end, the new 3-column site design greatly enhances content visibility and discoverability for users. A goal of the design was to keep users in context as they conduct their research. Behind the scenes, the new HighWire infrastructure has been designed to cooperate with emerging web services and technologies, as well as to comply with proven industry standards for content delivery.

About SEG
The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (www.SEG.org), the international society of applied geophysics, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the science of geophysics and the education of applied geophysicists. SEG fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources, in characterizing the near surface, and in mitigating Earth hazards. The Society, which has more than 32,000 members in 138 countries, fulfills its mission through its publications, conferences, forums, Web site, and educational opportunities.

SEG Media Relations
Whitney Emerick
Manager of Marketing & Communications
918.497.5523

wemerick@seg.org