GeoEarthScope News

GeoEarthScope Geochronology Working Group Charter

I.a GeoEarthScope, a component of the EarthScope Facility project, includes the acquisition of aerial and satellite imagery and geochronology to examine the strain field beyond the decade time scales available from the PBO geodetic instrumentation. In order to meet the goals of EarthScope, UNAVCO intends to procure geochronology services from several laboratories. In carrying out this effort, UNAVCO will seek advice and assistance from a working group selected to represent a broad spectrum of the geochronology community. The GeoEarthScope Geochronology Working Group will be charged with the following tasks:

• Identify geochronology techniques and products most appropriate to achieving the goals of EarthScope.
• Provide guidelines for the creation of a Request for Proposals (RFP) including a delineation of the dating techniques to be procured, specification of the standards to be met by each technique, metadata to be included, and RFP review process. Note: members of the working group will be ineligible to respond to the RFP.
• Review the RFP responses and produce a ranked list recommending labs and corresponding dollar volumes, for each. There are no a priori constraints on the number of techniques to be included, nor on the number of labs for each technique.

I.b The working group members and chair will be appointed by and will report to the President of UNAVCO, with the concurrence of the EFEC and will be approved by NSF.

I.c The working group will consist of no more than 15 members including a chair.

I.d The working group chair will communicate the findings and recommendations of the group to the President of UNAVCO and the EFEC.  The EFEC will submit the recommendations to NSF for approval.

I.e Recommendations of these working groups are advisory in nature.  UNAVCO, in agreement with the EFEC, will make recommendations on target acquisition based on budget and schedule constraints. NSF will approve the final acquisitions.

II.a Working group members will represent the broad EarthScope community in the field of geochronology. It is their responsibility to gather input from their communities concerning their focus.

II.b Working group will meet as needed to meet GeoEarthScope scheduling goals.

II.c Working group meetings will result in a written report authored by the committee chair. These reports will be cataloged and available via UNAVCO and EarthScope web sites.

III.a Working group membership term is for 1 year. There are no restrictions on the number of terms a member can serve.

III.b Membership will be chosen from the geochronology user community.

III.c Geochronology lab managers will not be allowed in the working group due to potential conflict of interests.

III.d. U.S. government employees may not participate as members, but may participate by ex officio status.

III.e Members will not be allowed to respond to any RFP’s associated with the working group.

III.f In selecting members, attention will be paid to potential conflicts of interest, and members will be required to sign a UNAVCO, Inc. Conflict-Of-Interest statement.