CID Bio-Science, October 2015, Story of Autumn

 As a botanist, fall is one of my favorite seasons. The changing hardwoods which surround us here in the Pacific Northwest give me an opportunity to share one of my favorite science “did-you-know?” stories with my non-scientist friends and coworkers.

 
Those brilliant colors you see? They are always there, hidden beneath nitrogen-dense, emerald green chlorophyll molecules. And when plants shut down for winter, they break down their chlorophyll, revealing stunning colors that were present all along.
 
Recently while I was in the woods at Lacamas Lake Regional Park, I used the CI-710 Miniature Leaf Spectrometer to illustrate this phenomenon with hard data. Clamping the CI-710 onto the leaves of a changing vine maple tree, I observed that the levels of anthocyanins and carotenoids were constant and only the chlorophyll peaks changed as we moved from leaf to leaf.
 
The CI-710 is a great teaching tool and makes spectroscopy easy to conceptualize. Our ever-growing list of CI-710 publications point out that it’s also a superior instrument for research.
 
If you’re interested in the CI-710 and would like to try the instrument for yourself, please let us know! I would be happy to take time to speak with you about the instrument, arrange for our team to send you an evaluation instrument, or send you a brochure or pricing information. You can reach me at amelnychenko@cid-inc.com or 360-833-8835 Ext. 204.