Handheld spectrometer application for Marine Biology

Do you feel excited or joyful when seeing red? Perhaps you also agree that human psychology affected by different colors. The various colors in our life come from the light, so, did you ever wonder if animals and plants on Earth also influenced by the artificial light sources?

The following article will mention a little bit of the “color temperature” which is common used for light colors, and let us dive into the deep blue sea to see one of Japan’s coral feeding specialists, Eiji Myorin, uses UPRtek portable spectrometer for coral growing light design and comparison.

Different Light Colors Give Different Feelings

First, let us look at some different color of lights, below CCT of the lights are between 2000K to 7000K, these different light colors give different feelings. Red corresponds to passion, yellow is warm, white is bright and blue gives a mysterious feeling. Do you feel the same?

Why the Ocean is Blue?

Now, let us discuss about the beautiful marine creature – coral. Before our discussion, do you ever think about why the ocean is blue? From the lower left picture provided by NASA GES DISC, we can see the blue light can transmit into the deeper ocean than other lights. Based on the conclusion from the marine researches, we can comprehend that the coral growth related to the blue light source.

MK350 used for LED Light Designed for Aquarium Corals

Mr. Eiji Myorin, a user of UPRtek MK350, is not only an expert but also a fan of sea creatures. As the picture attached below, he used MK350 to measure the LED light which was designed for aquarium corals. From those spectrum diagrams we found the light designed for corals is also biased in blue. It is holding the same view from last paragraph about the blue light transmit into deeper ocean in order to provide enough lights for sea creatures living in deep ocean.

Coral Growth Lamps Comparison

The following is a comparison of four different coral growth lamps measured by Mr. Eiji Myorin. This type of light source all emphasizes the use of blue light. Thus, it is a reasonable speculation about blue light is a suitable light for coral growth. In the end, people are applying law of nature to design the light so that coral can grow smoothly in the aquarium at home.

uSpectrum PC SW – Long Time Measuremen and Further Analysis

UPRtek handheld light meter series are spectral designed spectrometers, all series include spectrum diagram to help users understand the characteristics of light. For the marine organism research enthusiasts, we recommend uSpectrum PC software, “LOG mode” (long time measurement) and “Transmit mode” to you especially, we hope this could help you have further analysis between light source and marine biology.