National Geochronology Consortium (NGC)
 Venn diagram illustrating that geochronology is central in Earth and planetary research (It’s About Time Geochronology report, 2015). |
 Venn diagram showing the three infrastructural components envisioned for a future National Geochronology Consortium (NGC). Growing Human Infrastructure is the focus of AGeS3. |
The 2020 National Research Council report “A Vision for Earth Sciences, 2020-2030: Earth in Time” recommends that NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences “should fund a National Consortium for Geochronology”. This recommendation builds on previous National Research Council reports that emphasized the importance of geochronology data for addressing first order questions in Earth system-science related to climate change, biologic and landscape change, earthquake cyclicity and hazards, and solid Earth evolution (e.g., NRC, 2003; NRC, 2008; NRC, 2010; NRC, 2011; NRC, 2012). The 2015 National Science Foundation report “It’s about Time” also highlighted the need for expanded access to geochronology and greater support for geochronology technical innovation.
A National Consortium for Geochronology (NGC) is broader in scope than any existing initiative within the geochronology community. Current coordination efforts envision founding the NGC with an infrastructure trio: Human Infrastructure, Technical Instrument-based Infrastructure, and Cyberinfrastructure (as defined in the 2020 Earth in Time report). The AGeS3 initiative is focused on growing the Human Infrastructure pillar of a future NGC in sync with other efforts.