Last week, more than 70 experts in Earth’s geologic history, including geochronologists, astrochronologists, and paleoclimatologists, gathered in person and online at Carnegie Science’s Earth & Planets Laboratory for a workshop launching the Time-Integrated Matrix for Earth Sciences (TIMES) initiative, organized by Carnegie Staff Scientist Jennifer Kasbohm. TIMES is an ambitious decadal effort that aims to recalibrate global climate records from the last 100 million years on a unified, accurate, and precise timeline.
On geological timescales, Earth’s climate is changing all the time, but occasionally, environmental perturbations severely disrupt Earth’s climate and atmosphere. While scientists have developed a handful of techniques that can date such disturbances to within 10,000 years of their occurrence, the field has largely struggled to standardize data collection and analysis in equal measure across the world’s many regions. Gaps in data are hindering scientists’ ability to fully understand the history of our home planet.
Kasbohm, Thomas Westerhold—TIMES originator and Senior Scientist at the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) at Germany’s University of Bremen—and their collaborators see this effort as an opportunity to remedy those challenges by bridging disciplines and institutions under a common scientific vision, which was outlined during the four-day gathering on five- and 10-year timelines. In accordance with the multidisciplinary, multi-generational, and international nature of the effort, the workshop included presentations on scientific tools and topics like radioisotopic dating, magnetostratigraphy, astrochronology, orbital solutions, climate proxy data modeling, science communication, and database usage. Their work built on the publication last December of “Timing Is Everything,” a white paper featured in the American Geophysical Union’s Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology journal outlining the need for such a collaborative understanding.
“When I first learned that Thomas was assembling a team of scientists to improve the ways we study Earth’s history, I jumped at the opportunity to get involved,” Kasbohm said. “As an Earth historian, I know how vital comprehensive, reliable data is in forming a clear picture of what past perturbations looked like, and how they shaped our world. TIMES presents a major opportunity for those of us who are interested in this work to come together and move forward with a mutual set of goals and guiding principles. I hope that when we all return to our labs, we’ll do so feeling empowered to see this initiative through, and far beyond the timelines we’re working within. If the workshop was any indication, the cohort is very energized to take on this work. I’m not alone in feeling that this effort will have outcomes for, and implications on, generations of research to come.”
While studying the Earth’s history is primarily a backward-looking endeavor, TIMES researchers anticipate that improving their understanding of past perturbations will improve their models for future climate pathways. Historical asteroid collisions and volcanic eruptions deposited large amounts of carbon dioxide into the planet’s atmosphere, triggering geologic responses. As present day human activity is spewing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a stronger understanding of the past may shape how we can expect the Earth to respond, the planet’s capacity for resilience, and how mitigation strategies compare.
“Though Jenn has been a member of Carnegie’s scientific staff for just over a year, she has already demonstrated the vision and value she brings to our research community,” said Earth & Planets Laboratory Director Mike Walter. “We’re proud that EPL is hosting the TIMES cohort for its inaugural gathering and hope that Jenn’s leadership and collaboration with the other scientists will further enhance the geochronological research she’s pioneering in our lab.”
Speakers at the conference traveled from universities and research institutions as far as New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Colombia, and Japan, and virtual participation ensured attendees from still farther countries were able to participate. The gathering was made possible with support by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research, the International Ocean Discovery Program’s U.S. Science Support Program, and Carnegie Science.
Read the White Paper