Category:Chronologies Working Group

Credit: Julien Emile-Geay (Own work)

Overview

In the Linked Earth context, a working group (WG) is a self-organized coalition of knowledgeable experts, whose activities are governed herewith. This page is dedicated to the discussion of data and metadata standards for chronologies, and aims to formulate a set of recommendations for such a standard.

This WG needs to work closely with other WGs, as constraints will vary by archive. Nevertheless, some aspects are common enough that it is worth pursuing some general recommendations, and devise ad hoc adjustments for individual archives if need be. It is recommended that every WG coordinator join this WG to keep track of discussions.

Specific tasks

We recommend that discussions focus on the following techniques, and explore potential commonalities.

For each chronology type, we recommend:

• structuring discussions around what scientific questions one would want to ask of the data
• listing essential, recommended, and optional information
• provide an ideal chronology table, so the community knows what to report and how to report it.
• provide separate recommendations for new and legacy datasets

While it is recognized that most real-word chronologies are of mixed types (e.g. a Holocene lake sediment chronology may blend radiocarbon dates, 210Pb dates, and volcanic ash markers), it is critical to first define guidelines for how to report pure chronologies. Once the foundations are sound, they will be easier to compose together.

Tie-point chronologies

Radiocarbon

link to existing standards/templates

Lead

no known existing standard/template

U-series

Layer-counted chronologies

Comboul et al^[1]

Varves

Growth rings

Trees, corals, speleothems

Ice layers

Role of flow models.

Polls

Here are polls that the group might want to consider:

For NEW DATASETS: (this is a dummy poll; please update)

For LEGACY DATASETS:

References

1. ↑ Comboul, M., J. Emile-Geay, M. N. Evans, N. Mirnateghi, K. M. Cobb, and D. M. Thompson (2014), A probabilistic model of chronological errors in layer-counted climate proxies: applications to annually banded coral archives, Climate of the Past, 10(2), 825–841, doi:10.5194/cp-10-825-2014