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Large-scale environmental problems have become prominent byproducts of the interactions between human activities and the biophysical settings in which they occur. Some of these problems, such as the destruction of tropical forests, arise in areas within the jurisdiction of individual states but have consequences (e.g., biodiversity loss, climate change) that are regional to global in scope. Other problems, including the seasonal thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer, occur in areas that lie beyond the jurisdiction of nation states. Still others, like marine dead zones, originate in areas within the jurisdiction of individual states but can spread and have impacts on areas outside these jurisdictional boundaries. In all these cases, efforts to come to terms with the relevant problems require international (often global) responses that call for transboundary cooperation and, more often than not, eventuate in the development of regulatory arrangements designed to limit or even prohibit the human actions that give rise to the problems.

The book series Advances in Oil and Gas Exploration & Production publishes scientific monographs on a broad range of topics concerning geophysical and geological research on conventional and unconventional oil and gas systems, and approaching those topics from both an exploration and a production standpoint. The series is intended to form a diverse library of reference works by describing the current state of research on selected themes, such as certain techniques used in the petroleum geoscience business or regional aspects. All books in the series are written and edited by leading experts actively engaged in the respective field. The Advances in Oil and Gas Exploration & Production series includes both single and multi-authored books, as well as edited volumes. The Series Editor, Dr. Rudy Swennen (KU Leuven, Belgium), is currently accepting proposals and a proposal form can be obtained from our representative at Springer, Dr. Alexis Vizcaino (Alexis.Vizcaino@springer.com).

This book is an outcome and an important part of the legacy of COST Action 735, whose overall aim was to develop tools for estimating air-sea fluxes of compounds important for climate, air quality and ocean productivity. The action was closely allied with the SOLAS (Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study) project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), with both having very similar objectives. Because of this, they were mutually supportive in many ways. The action ran for 5 years, starting in September 2006 and ending in September 2011. It involved more than 300 scientists mainly from Europe (77 % from the following 18 countries: Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom) but with a significant number from outside Europe, so that in total scientists from 30 countries participated. One third of the participants were female. The action had a reciprocal agreement with New Zealand. Additional information about the action can be found at http://www.cost-735.org/.