Cells and other particles in seawater are also counted with a flow cytometer, in which the cells flow sequentially through the beam of an Argon ion laser. On every particle, the scattered light is measured - forward scatter relates to size, side scatter relates to shape. In addition, the green, orange and red fluorescence is measured which allows plant cells with chlorophyll to be distinguished from animal cells, bacteria and detritus. Typically 10000 particles are counted and measured in 2 minutes. 80 species of phytoplankton and zooplankton have been recorded on this voyage to date.
Diatoms comprise the majority of algal cells seen in the samples.
Dinoflagellates, Phaeocystis sp . The most abundant protozooplankton are choanoflagellates, and tintinnids and unidentified small flagellates. Chaetoceros spp . Initially, Chaetoceros spp. Chaetoceros spp .