Preface
xiv
As with all research textbooks published in a rapidly moving field, our challenge is
to produce a volume that is relevant both today and in the years to come. the future for
research into aquatic organic matter fluorescence is exciting, as research opportunities
develop with improvements in technology. At the time of writing, routine fluorescence
analyses are still three-way analyses (excitation, emission, intensity), with the use of xenon
light sources, diffraction gratings, and photomultiplier tubes. However, the use of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (leDs) as light sources, and charge-coupled devices (ccDs) as
detectors, is increasing. the former permit a decrease in instrument power output and size,
leading to increased portability and more diverse in situ applications. the latter increases
analysis speed and the possibility of four-way analyses (excitation, emission, intensity,
time) and novel experimentation. the recent development of turnkey instrumentation, with
integrated absorbance measurements and multivariate modeling software, makes aquatic
organic matter fluorescence measurements easier for the non-expert than they have ever
been before. We feel this latter development makes the need for this book more relevant
than ever.
this volume is an outcome of a series of research initiatives led by the editors over the
last decade. in part, it is a result of the uK initiative Fluoronet, a knowledge transfer network funded by the natural environment research council between 2006 and 2009 and led
by Andy Baker and Jamie lead when they both worked at the university of Birmingham,
united Kingdom. numerous training courses and workshops run by Fluoronet members,
including Darren M. reynolds and robert g. M. spencer, have helped guide the requirements of the contents of this book. At the same time, scientific sessions on organic matter characterization at the American geophysical union Fall Meetings in 2006 and 2007
started to bring together research teams from diverse disciplines. informal gatherings, and
then formal meetings, occurred around these sessions. these led to the idea of the need for
both a specialist conference, to compare methodologies and establish protocols between
different disciplinary groups, as well as for a multidisciplinary research textbook. the
resulting meeting was an American geophysical union chapman conference on Organic
Matter Fluorescence, proposed and convened by Paula g. coble and Andy Baker at the
university of Birmingham, united Kingdom, in 2008. several years later, we are proud that
this edited volume has been produced by cambridge university Press.
xiv
As with all research textbooks published in a rapidly moving field, our challenge is
to produce a volume that is relevant both today and in the years to come. the future for
research into aquatic organic matter fluorescence is exciting, as research opportunities
develop with improvements in technology. At the time of writing, routine fluorescence
analyses are still three-way analyses (excitation, emission, intensity), with the use of xenon
light sources, diffraction gratings, and photomultiplier tubes. However, the use of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (leDs) as light sources, and charge-coupled devices (ccDs) as
detectors, is increasing. the former permit a decrease in instrument power output and size,
leading to increased portability and more diverse in situ applications. the latter increases
analysis speed and the possibility of four-way analyses (excitation, emission, intensity,
time) and novel experimentation. the recent development of turnkey instrumentation, with
integrated absorbance measurements and multivariate modeling software, makes aquatic
organic matter fluorescence measurements easier for the non-expert than they have ever
been before. We feel this latter development makes the need for this book more relevant
than ever.
this volume is an outcome of a series of research initiatives led by the editors over the
last decade. in part, it is a result of the uK initiative Fluoronet, a knowledge transfer network funded by the natural environment research council between 2006 and 2009 and led
by Andy Baker and Jamie lead when they both worked at the university of Birmingham,
united Kingdom. numerous training courses and workshops run by Fluoronet members,
including Darren M. reynolds and robert g. M. spencer, have helped guide the requirements of the contents of this book. At the same time, scientific sessions on organic matter characterization at the American geophysical union Fall Meetings in 2006 and 2007
started to bring together research teams from diverse disciplines. informal gatherings, and
then formal meetings, occurred around these sessions. these led to the idea of the need for
both a specialist conference, to compare methodologies and establish protocols between
different disciplinary groups, as well as for a multidisciplinary research textbook. the
resulting meeting was an American geophysical union chapman conference on Organic
Matter Fluorescence, proposed and convened by Paula g. coble and Andy Baker at the
university of Birmingham, united Kingdom, in 2008. several years later, we are proud that
this edited volume has been produced by cambridge university Press.