Portable and Low-Cost Fluorometer for Phytoplankton Monitoring

Phytoplankton monitoring using fluorescence spectroscopy techniques has been frequently used over time. This monitoring is based on the detection of the main photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll-a, as its concentration is widely used as a proxy of phytoplankton biomass in the water column. However, the fluorometers available for their measurement and use in the field are still quite expensive and bulky, which limit its in-situ and widespread use. This paper presents the development of a low-cost, simple and portable device for measuring phytoplankton chlorophyll-a concentration at sea. The fabricated device revealed a good performance for measuring chlorophyll-a concentrations, from 0.1 up to 75 µg/L with potential for in-situ, real-time and long-term monitoring.