Panchromatic properties of galaxies in wide-field optical spectroscopic and photometric surveys

Abstract The past 15 years have seen an explosion in the number of redshifts recovered via wide area spectroscopic surveys. At the current time there are approximately 2 million spectroscopic galaxy redshifts known (and rising) which represents an extraordinary growth since the pioneering work of Marc Davis and John Huchra. Similarly there has been a parallel explosion in wavelength coverage with imaging surveys progressing from single band, to multi-band, to truly multiwavelength or pan-chromatic involving the coordination of multiple facilities. With these empirically motivated studies has come a wealth of new discoveries impacting almost all areas of astrophysics. Today individual surveys, as best demonstrated by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, now rank shoulder-to-shoulder alongside major facilities. In the coming years this trend is set to continue as we begin the process of designing and conducting the next generation of spectroscopic surveys supported by multi-facility wavelength coverage.