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An ecophysiological model of phytoplankton growth in mixed or partly mixed water column
Lancelot, C.; Mathot, S. (1989). An ecophysiological model of phytoplankton growth in mixed or partly mixed water column, in: Pichot, G. (Ed.) Progress in Belgian Oceanographic Research 1989: proceedings of the North Sea Symposium held in Ghent, 14 February 1989. pp. 247-262
In: Pichot, G. (Ed.) (1989). Progress in Belgian Oceanographic Research 1989: Proceedings of the North Sea Symposium held in Ghent, 14 February 1989. Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea and Scheldt Estuary: Brussel. 451 pp., more

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Keyword
    Marine/Coastal

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  • Lancelot, C., more
  • Mathot, S.

Abstract
    An idealized mathematical model of phytoplankton growth, taking explicitely into account the nutrient and light history of phytoplankton cells when evolving in the water column is proposed as a general tool for calculating primary production in aquatic environment. This model is based on the description of the main metabolic processes involved in phytoplankton growth like photosynthesis, excretion, reserve synthesis and catabolism, nutrient uptake and assimilation, synthesis of proteins and other functional constituants and the determination of their control by environment al variables. This conceptual model calculates integrated daily photosynthesis (gross primary production) and growth (net primary production) rate of phytoplankton on basis of the knowledge of incident light, ambiant nutrient and the main physical characteristics of the phytoplankton habitat. The predictive capability of this ecophysiological model is successfully tested in two are as of the North Sea, where spring phytoplankton developments are sustained by drastically different physical and nutrients conditions: the partially stratified waters of the Central North Sea and the permanently mixed nutrient enriched coastal waters ofthe Southern Bight of the North Sea. It is shown that the complexity of the model is related to the dominant characteristic of the ecosystem under study and the subsequent environment al purpose.

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