Three color laser fluorometer for studies of phytoplankton fluorescence

A three-color laser fluorometer has been developed for field work operations. Using two tunable dye lasers (excitation wavelengths at 440 nm and 530 nm), broadband wavelength optical filters were selected to obtain maximum fluorescence sensitivity at wavelengths greater than 675 nm (chlorophyll) and 575 + or - 15 nm (phycoerythrin). The laser fluorometer permits the measurement of phytoplankton pigments under static or flowing conditions and more closely resembles the time scales (ns) and energy levels (mW) of other laser-induced fluorescence instruments.