Light and photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems

1994/01/01 by John T. O. Kirk · 8 citations
Environmental Science · #Water Quality Monitoring and Analysis

paper · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511623370

openalex publication_date 1994/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Penetration of light into aquatic ecosystems is greatly affected by the absorption and scattering processes that take place within the water. Thus within any water body, the intensity and colour of the light field changes greatly with depth and this has a marked influence on both the total productivity of, and the kinds of plant that predominate in, the ecosystem. This study presents an integrated and coherent treatment of the key role of light in aquatic ecosystems. It ranges from the physics of light transmission within water, through the biochemistry and physiology of aquatic photosynthesis, to the ecological relationships which depend on the underwater light climate.

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