Craig Carlson is a Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. For the past three decades Carlson's research interests have been shaped by an interdisciplinary blend of organic biogeochemistry and marine microbial ecology. His research contributions include assessing the dissolved organic matter (DOM) production, removal, and transformation processes in marine systems, providing accurate measurements of DOM inventories, determining the role of DOM export in the biological carbon pump and it's the fate after export within the dark ocean. The overall goal of these research efforts strives to make quantitative links between microbial community dynamics and DOM biogeochemistry in the open sea. Carlson served as co-editor of the first two editions of this book.