Add new biological varibles to ROMS.

[sunke20021]

Hi all,
I have a 0-dimension model, which related phytoplankton growth to the internal N or P of cell. These two variables could vary during the process of growth. If I add them in ROMS just as tracers, the N and P will move independently. I want cell, N and P move together as a part. If it is possible, how should I define these two variables?

[kate]

I suggest you look at the ecosystem models currently in ROMS, say one of the simple NPZ types. If you play by the ROMS rules, you will have some number of bio tracers which get advected and diffused with the model currents. Any other timestepping happens in the file included by ROMS/Nonlinear/Biology/biology.F. See how the ROMS/Nonlinear/Biology directory has a bunch of files all starting with "nemuro" for instance? Set yours up in the same way and hack the files that include those bits to include yours as well.

[sunke20021]

Hi Kate,
Thank you very much for your reply! Actually, I always want to use Nemuro as the basic model. Among these 11 state variables, iSphy is refered to small phytoplankton. Its growth is related to the external nutrition (NH4 and NO3). However, my model relate growth to the N and P in the cells. They are part of cell and the values of N/cell and P/cell vary during growth.
If I treat N and P as tracers just like the other 11 variables, they could move with the currents independently, but they are not part of cells any more. I do not know whether I explain my question clearly. Maybe my ideal is not suitable to the basic assumption of ROMS. Could you give me more suggestions?

[kate]

I'm not an expert on this, but I think that if the P and N are advected the same way as the cells, they stay together. If your cells instead had behavior, then you would need to apply that behavior to the P/cell and N/cell as well.

[sunke20021]

Thank you very much!