Underwater cytometer for in situ measurement of marine phytoplankton by a technique combining laser-induced fluorescence and laser Doppler velocimetry

We present a new type of flow cytometer that can operate underwater for a long time, as long as days, for measuring the size distribution, concentration, and biomass of marine phytoplankton. The major improvement of the instrument over existing techniques is the elimination of sample preparation, which is achieved with a laser Doppler crossed-beam arrangement for both defining a measurement volume and measuring the speed of the particle traversing it. By simultaneously sampling the laser-induced fluorescence signal and the Doppler signals, the technique can discriminate sizes of phytoplankton.