T144 Time Matters: Celebrating the Scientific Legacy of Samuel A. Bowring

Monday, 26 September 2016
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Mile High Ballroom 3B

THE EARTHTIME INITIATIVE: ACCELERATING ADVANCES IN GEOCHRONOLOGY SINCE 2003

Paper number: T144-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

The EARTHTIME Initiative was conceived by Sam Bowring and Doug Erwin in 2001 as a response to the advances being made in methods used to quantify time in the stratigraphic record. In the preceding decades the precision and resolution of radio-isotopic dating methods had improved significantly in parallel with increasingly quantitative analysis of the fossil and other stratigraphic proxy records. However, as temporal resolution increased, bias between laboratories and dating methods became more apparent and limited the resolving power of geochronology. This was what would become Bowring's ‘double edged sword of high-precision geochronology’ (Bowring, 2010, AGU Bowen Medal Lecture). EARTHTIME was developed in response to this issue, as a means to harness collective efforts, and better interface with the earth science disciplines that have a reliance on geochronologic information.

The focus of EARTHTIME over the first decade was the priority issue of (inter-)calibration of radioisotopic dating methods such that accuracy could catch up with precision. Initiatives included the mixing, calibration, and distribution of a community tracer solution for U-Pb geochronology, calibration of 40Ar/39Ar neutron fluence monitors, primary 40Ar/40K calibration experiments and development of bespoke cyber infrastructure. When combined with improved protocols, this effort has resulted in markedly improved agreement between laboratories and between dating systems (i.e., U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar). Whilst technically challenging, progress has been achieved through substantive and sustained community input, an effort helped along with Bowring’s encouragement that we ‘check our ego’s at the door’. Now geochronologists and collaborators can ask more nuanced questions of the rock record through the sharper lens of geochronology.

Looking forward, the EARTHTIME paradigm continues to expand internationally and the EARTHTIME umbrella now covers a broader range of dating systems and methodologies. Having made progress in addressing the priority issue of (inter-)calibration the EARTHTIME Initiative is shifting focus towards the synergies that exist amongst the broader earth science communities, through the constantly evolving wealth of geochronologic information on offer and the resultant opportunities.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-282709

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