Matthew English & Meghan Donovan

The Visible Spectrum of Light

 We can see light with a wavelength from 380nm-750nm.
 Photosynthetic organisms only use light that is 400nm-
700nm in wavelength.
 The energy of light increases as the wavelength decreases.

Picture:
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Photic Zone
 The area of the ocean where enough light can
penetrate to drive photosynthesis.
 All aquatic plants are restricted to the photic zone.
 In the clearest areas of open ocean, the photic zone
extends down to about 200-300m depth.
 But this depth is highly variable and controlled by a
variety of factors such as:
 Light intensity, water turbidity and the sun’s angle to the sea
surface.
 In highly turbid eutrophic lakes, the photic zone may only
be a few cm in depth.
Light Penetration
 The blue wavelengths penetrate the deepest.
 This is due to their lower wavelength and thus higher
energy.
Photosynthetically Active Radiation
(PAR or Irradiance)
 This is the light that drives all the primary productivity
in the oceans.
 Photosynthetic organisms possess a variety of
pigments in order to absorb different
wavelengths of light.
• Chlorophyll a is the most common
pigment.
• As PAR decreases, the amount of
accessory pigments in the organisms
increases to optimize light absorption.
Productivity
 Phytoplankton are one of the main primary producers
in the world’s oceans.
 They photosynthesize to grow and reproduce, and are
eaten by zooplankton to sustain many food webs.
 Plants are also important primary producers and
sustain much life.
 But, productivity varies with the seasons. At mid to
high latitudes, plant productivity is inhibited in the
winter due to a lack of PAR and winter storms that
remove plants from the photic zone.
Critical & Compensation Depth
 Critical depth is the depth at which the net gain of
photosynthetic payoff is zero.
 The growth and death rates of primary producers are equal.
 Compensation depth is the depth at which the O2
produced by photosynthetic organisms is completely
taken up during cellular respiration.
 Both these depths are controlled by a variety of factors
(e.g. season, turbidity, latitude, etc…).
 As the mixed layer of ocean water reduces, primary
productivity greatly increases because plants are not
being carried below their critical depth.
 References
 South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources. (2011).
Photosynthesis. Retrieved from http://www.dnr.sc.gov/ael/
personals/pjpb/lecture/lecture
 Herring, Campbell, Whitfield, & Maddock. (1990). Light And Life In
The Sea. New York: University Press, Cambridge.
 Gross, G. (1977). Oceanography: A View Of The Earth. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc.
 Segar, D. A. (1998). Introduction To Ocean Sciences. London:
Wadsworth Publishing Company.