Advances in sampling tools, analytical methods, and data handling capabilities have been fundamental to the growth of marine organic biogeochemistry over the past four decades. There has always been a strong feedback between analytical advances and scientific advances. However, whereas advances in analytical technology were often the driving force that made possible progress in elucidating the sources and fate of organic matter in the ocean in the first decades of marine organic biogeochemistry, today process-based scientific questions should drive analytical developments. Several paradigm shifts and challenges for the future are related to the intersection between analytical progress and scientific evolution. Untargeted “molecular headhunting” for its own sake is now being subsumed into process-driven targeted investigations that ask new questions and thus require new analytical capabilities. However, there are still major gaps in characterizing the chemical composition and biochemical behavior of macromolecules, as well as in generating reference standards for relevant types of organic matter. Field-based measurements are now routinely complemented by controlled laboratory experiments and in situ rate measurements of key biogeochemical processes. And finally, the multidisciplinary investigations that are becoming more common generate large and diverse datasets, requiring innovative computational tools to integrate often disparate data sets, including better global coverage and mapping. Here, we compile examples of developments in analytical methods that have enabled transformative scientific advances since 2004, and we project some challenges and opportunities in the near future. We believe that addressing these challenges and capitalizing on these opportunities will ensure continued progress in understanding the cycling of organic carbon in the ocean.

中文翻译：

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“组学”时代海洋有机生物地球化学的分析和计算进展、机遇和挑战

在过去的四年中，采样工具、分析方法和数据处理能力的进步是海洋有机生物地球化学发展的基础。分析进步和科学进步之间一直存在强烈的反馈。然而，虽然分析技术的进步通常是推动海洋有机生物地球化学最初几十年阐明海洋中有机物质来源和归宿方面取得进展的驱动力，但今天基于过程的科学问题应该推动分析的发展。未来的几个范式转变和挑战与分析进步和科学进化之间的交叉有关。无针对性的“分子猎头”现在正被纳入流程驱动的有针对性的调查中，这些调查提出新问题，因此需要新的分析能力。然而，在表征大分子的化学成分和生化行为以及为相关类型的有机物制定参考标准方面仍然存在重大差距。现场测量现在通常由受控实验室实验和关键生物地球化学过程的原位速率测量来补充。最后，越来越普遍的多学科调查会产生大量多样的数据集，需要创新的计算工具来整合通常不同的数据集，包括更好的全球覆盖和制图。这里，我们汇编了自 2004 年以来促成变革性科学进步的分析方法发展的例子，我们预计在不久的将来会遇到一些挑战和机遇。我们相信，应对这些挑战并利用这些机会将确保在了解海洋有机碳循环方面取得持续进展。