Labile Dissolved Organic Matter Workshop Review

In mid-September, C-CoMP (with OCB’s support) hosted the Labile Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Workshop at University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) in Athens, GA. Liz Kujawinski, Art Edison, Lihini Aluwihare, and Krista Longnecker planned and organized the workshop. Following the Labile DOM workshop, Art Edison and his group hosted a smaller hybrid NMR workshop involving some attendees of the Labile DOM workshop and faculty and students from Savannah State University.

The workshop was open to C-CoMP and non-C-CoMP attendees. In total, 67 people participated in the workshop (47 in-person and 20 remote) and 50% of workshop attendees were early career researchers.

The Labile DOM workshop was a launching point for developing connections and organizing around central questions pertaining to the measurement of labile DOM. This workshop highlighted the work of early career researchers and mobilized the community to work together to develop strategies for advancing and improving measurements of dissolved organic matter. Moving forward, workshop attendees will collaboratively develop ideas, methods, and guidelines for improving measurements of dissolved organic matter using NMR and MS. Over the course of the workshop, attendees listened to presentations from early career researchers and plenary speakers, discussed fundamental questions in smaller breakout sessions, networked during poster sessions, and outlined next steps for moving the field forward (Agenda is available here).