Photosynthesis Earth's atmosphere, and supplies all of the organic compounds and most of the energy necessary for life on Earth. Although photosynthesis is performed differently by different species, the process always begins when energy from light is absorbed by proteins called reaction centres that contain green chlorophyll pigments. In plants, these proteins are held inside organelles called chloroplasts, which are most abundant in leaf cells, while in bacteria they are embedded in the plasma membrane. In these light-dependent reactions, some energy is used to strip electrons from suitable substances, such as water, producing oxygen gas. The hydrogen freed by the splitting
Deep chlorophyll maximum of phytoplankton that have adapted to functioning in low light conditions. To adapt to low light conditions, some phytoplankton populations have been found to have increased amounts of chlorophyll counts per cell, which contributes to the formation of the DCM. Rather than an increase of overall cell numbers, seasonal light limitation or low irradiance levels can raise the individual cellular chlorophyll content. As depth increases within the mixing zone, phytoplankton must rely on having higher pigment counts (chlorophyll) to capture photic energy. Due to the higher concentration of chlorophyll in the phtoplankton present, the DCM does not predict the depth