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A TECHNIQUE FOR THE ESTIMATION OF INDICES OF REFRACTION OF MARINE PHYTOPLANKTERS 1
Author(s) -
Carder Kendall L.,
Tomlinson Richad D.,
Beardsley George F.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1972.17.6.0833
Subject(s) - refractive index , refraction , isochrysis galbana , wavelength , optics , homogeneous , volume (thermodynamics) , scattering , particle size , seawater , light scattering , mineralogy , chemistry , geology , physics , biology , oceanography , botany , algae , thermodynamics , paleontology
Measurements of light scattering and particle size distribution were performed on a growing culture of the unicellular phytoplankter Isochrysis galbana. The culture represented a narrow, polydisperse distribution of nearly spherical particles. Assuming the culture to be homogeneous in refractive index, a technique was developed that provided an estimate of the index of refraction of the culture for the wavelengths 5,460 Å and 5,780 Å. The relative index of refraction (relative to that of seawater) of the culture varied with time from 1.026 to 1.036 over a 12‐day sampling period and seemed to be related to changes in the surface area: volume ratio of the cells. The indices of refraction determined using green light (5,460 Å) corresponded closely with those found using yellow (5,780 Å), with slight fluctuations perhaps due to changes in cell pigmentation ratios.