9 - Synchrotron radiation-based spatial methods in environmental biogeochemistry

Abstract

A grand challenge in environmental biogeochemistry research is to integrate analytical information from different spatial scales to maximize our ability to understand and manage these complex natural systems. The goal of this chapter is to intellectually challenge the scientific community to develop better ways to integrate information from synchrotron radiation (SR) and other spatio-analytical techniques to have greater scientific and management impacts across disciplines. We describe a variety of synchrotron-based techniques and outline challenges related to scaling analytical information in biogeochemistry. These SR techniques have led to major scientific advances in environmental biogeochemistry, but understanding the advantages and overcoming limitations of these techniques in the context of spatial scaling should lead to even greater impacts. Awareness of scaling issues will help to improve the integration of research being done from atomic to global scales.