Diatoms

Images made through a microscope. All subject types.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Diatoms

Post by Olympusman »

More diatoms from Santorini.
My samples were two weeks old and dying, so I consolidated my Nea Kameni and Therasia samples and strained out any large chunks of sludge. That left a very fine sludge and I thought I might get a cleaner sample by dissolving the plant matter with Sulfuric Acid. I drained of all but 30 ml of the sample being careful not to lose any of the sludge. Then I added 30ml of 50% Sulfuric Acid. This being sea water, the mixture foamed violently. The I stirred the solution and let it sit in my shop over night.
The next day I added tap water to bring the solution to about 100 ml and again stirred it and let it sit overnight.
The next day I drained the solution down to about 20 ml again preserving the sediment and added tap water. Then I dusted in a pinch of Sodium Bicarbonate to neutralize and remaining acid. After the sediment settled, I poured off all but 20 ml of the solution.
The results were remarkable. All of the plant matter was gone as well the remains of any Copepods. Naturally, no chloroplasts remained in the diatoms, but the silica frustule was undamaged. I also found pollen grains survived.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic