Turner Designs Launches Chlorophyll Sensor
Posted by Irina Tabakina
Turner Designs developed a chlorophyll sensor that uses a red excitation light source to detect algal fluorescence for estimating algal abundance. According to Turner, the sensor is ideal for environments rich in DOM and blue-green algae. Because DOM doesn’t absorb red excitation energy, but algae do, red excitation fluorimetry provides fluorescence detection free from interference errors caused by DOM. Studies done with both blue and red excitation chlorophyll sensors showed at least a 16% overestimation of the actual chlorophyll concentration when using the blue excitation sensor and not applying a correction, whereas the red excitation sensor needed no correction. This new red excitation chlorophyll sensor is available as a single sensor in our Cyclops-7 Submersible Sensor family or as one of three sensors on the C3 Submersible Fluorometer. Standard optical kits are available for detecting: in vivo Chlorophyll (blue or red excitation), Crude Oil, Refined Fuels, CDOM/FDOM (dissolved organic material), Blue/Green Algae, Fluorescein Dye, Rhodamine Dye, PTSA Dye, Optical Brighteners, Tryptophan, and Turbidity.
www.turnerdesigns.com
(As published in the September 2014 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/Magazine)