Water column light attenuation estimation to simulate phytoplankton population in tidal estuary

Abstract

The penetration of sunlight into the water column plays a critical role in the aquatic ecosystem. The irradiance available for primary production in a water body depends on the incident light at the water surface, light extinction in the water column, and depth. In this study, the light attenuation through the water column of the Danshuei River–Keelung River estuary was estimated. The measurement of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) indicates that the conventional exponential attenuation of light with depth is a very good model. A light attenuation coefficient may be derived from the PAR measurements at each location. The regression with salinity yields a good correlation, indicating that the fraction of seawater should be a good parameter for estimating the water column light attenuation coefficient (Kd). A laterally averaged two-dimensional finite difference model for hydrodynamic and water quality model was performed and applied to simulate the phytoplankton population at the lower reach of the Danshuei River estuary. In the process of phytoplankton population simulation, the regression model of Kd and salinity was incorporated in the water quality model. The simulated results show that the modeled concentration of chlorophyll a matched the measured values at the lower reach of the Danshuei River estuary.