BIOL 335 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Limnology, Inverse Relation, Chemosynthesis
Document Summary
Light is the major source of energy for lakes. Both quantity and quality of light change with increased depth. Only two known ecosystems have no light dependence: deep ocean vents. Life is maintained by breaking chemicals down into energy (chemosynthesis), such as sulfur: some cave ecosystems. Visible light from ~400 nm 700 nm: photosynthesis is located here. Main focus in limnology surrounds: ultraviolet, visible light, infrared. This light spectrum only applies to distilled water (clear, calm water) Energy (e) has an inverse relation with wavelength ( ) White ice: frozen and thawed numerous times, absorbs a lot of light. Black ice: frozen solid rapidly, does not absorb a lot of light, similar to glass in appearance. Incoming light can have 3 distinct actions when it comes into contact with a body of water: absorption, reflection, scattering. Greater absorption and scatter will have greater heat. Beer"s law: as concentration increases, absorption decreases.
