Model study on Bohai ecosystem 1. Model description and primary productivity

A Nutrient-Phytoplankton-Zooplankton (NPZD) type of ecological model is developed to reflect the biochemical process, and further coupled to a primitive equation ocean model, an irradiation model as well as a river discharge model to reproduce ecosystem dynamics in the Bohai Sea. Modeled primary production shows reasonable consistency with observations quantitatively and qualitatively; in addition, f-ratio is examined in detail in the first time, which is also within the range reported in other studies and reveals some meaningful insight into the relative contributions of ammonium and nitrate to the growth of phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea.