Fig. 1.

Absorption spectra of pigments present in algae shown in comparison to the intensity of the sun’s radiation at the Earth’s surface. In vivo absorption spectra are shown for chlorophyll a (λ_max = 435, 665 nm), chlorophyll b (λ_max = 480, 650 nm), chlorophyll c (λ_max = 645 nm), β-carotene (λ_max = 450 nm), phycoerythrin (λ_max = 490, 546, 576 nm), and phycocyanin (λ_max = 618 nm).