Kickoff Workshop – Time-Integrated Matrix for Earth Sciences (TIMES)

Date: August 12-15, 2025

Location: Carnegie Science, Washington, D.C., USA

Organizing Committee:  Jennifer Kasbohm (Carnegie Science), Adriane R. Lam (Binghamton University), Bärbel Hönisch (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Thomas Westerhold (MARUM, University of Bremen), Anna Joy Drury (University of Leicester), Deborah Tangunan (University College London), Brian Huber (Smithsonian Institution), and Barbara Balestra (American University)

Workshop Resources: 

We have launched the Time Integrated Matrix for Earth Sciences (TIMES) Program, a nascent coordination network of experts, including early-career researchers, across paleoceanography, paleoclimatology, geochronology, and Earth system modeling. TIMES is an ambitious collaborative scheme to construct a single accurate timeline for climatic events of the last 100 million years, to allow for comparison of climate proxy records with orbital-scale (i.e., on the order of 10,000-year) precision. Over the next decade, TIMES aims to recalibrate the dating tools available to paleoclimatologists – the local and regional information obtained from bio-, magneto-, and chemostratigraphy as well as radioisotopic geochronology – using the synchronizing tool of astrochronology. This focused synthesis effort will revolutionize our ability to create new age models for sedimentary records obtained through scientific ocean drilling.

At the TIMES Kickoff Workshop, we will draft a 10-year science plan for TIMES, adopt governing principles, and finalize Steering Committee leadership, through a series of keynote talks, breakout sessions, and general discussions.

This initial workshop will lay the groundwork and foundation for future TIMES workshops, working group meetings, and set the tone of the group (open collaboration and inclusion).

  • The first product will be a 10-year science plan that establishes and lays out the main goals of the working groups.
  • Second, a formalized Steering Committee will be formed during the workshop and will be responsible for: 1) organizing the working groups, 2) ensuring that TIMES is staying on-track to meet the goals established in the 10-year science plan, and 3) upholding the code of conduct.
  • Third, we will invite workshop participants to make additions to the code of conduct that we will draft in advance of the meeting.

In addition to the above, we will also identify specific products and initiatives related to the goals of TIMES for funding proposals to be developed around. Dedicated teams of scientists, with representation from across our twelve working groups, will then work together to draft proposals to fund these projects over Summer and Fall 2025. We will foster collaborations among different specialists in the fields of age model development – who may not usually work together – to tackle complex problems related to age model development and calibration.

The TIMES Kickoff Workshop will be held at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., USA.

Lodging will be provided near the Friendship Heights metro station. Parking on Carnegie’s campus is abundant and free.

Breakfast will be provided at the hotel, lunches and coffee breaks will be provided at the meeting, and there will be two group dinners (see schedule).

The TIMES Workshop will be a hybrid meeting, and we welcome participants to join on Zoom. We will aim to schedule timezone sensitive online-only breakout sessions. Please apply for the workshop whether you are planning to attend in-person or virtually.

The agenda for the TIMES Kickoff Workshop is currently being finalized. We are also aiming to allow time for participants to visit the world-class collections at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, time and date TBD.

  • Tuesday, August 12:  Evening welcome reception & dinner at Carnegie
  • Wednesday, August 13:  Keynotes and Discussion
  • Thursday, August 14:  Keynotes and Discussion, followed by group dinner
  • Friday, August 15:  Keynotes and Discussion; workshop formally concludes after lunch. 

We have obtained funding from the U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP; for U.S.-based participants) and Heising-Simons Foundation to help support travel, lodging, and partial food costs for a limited number of participants. 

The application form can be found here. The deadline to apply for the TIMES Kickoff Workshop is May 22, 2025.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the workshop or the application process, please reach out to Jennifer Kasbohm.