Abstract
We present a generic flux limiter to account for mass limitations from an
arbitrary number of substrates in a biogeochemical reaction network. The flux
limiter is based on the observation that substrate (e.g., nitrogen,
phosphorus) limitation in biogeochemical models can be represented as to
ensure mass conservative and non-negative numerical solutions to the
governing ordinary differential equations. Application of the flux limiter
includes two steps: (1) formulation of the biogeochemical processes with a matrix
of stoichiometric coefficients and (2) application of Liebig's law of the minimum
using the dynamic stoichiometric relationship of the reactants. This approach
contrasts with the ad hoc down-regulation approaches that are implemented in
many existing models (such as CLM4.5 and the ACME (Accelerated Climate
Modeling for Energy) Land Model (ALM)) of carbon and nutrient interactions,
which are error prone when adding new processes, even for experienced
modelers. Through an example implementation with a CENTURY-like decomposition
model that includes carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, we show that our
approach (1) produced almost identical results to that from the ad hoc
down-regulation approaches under non-limiting nutrient conditions,
(2) properly resolved the negative solutions under substrate-limited
conditions where the simple clipping approach failed, (3) successfully
avoided the potential conceptual ambiguities that are implied by those ad hoc
down-regulation approaches. We expect our approach will make future
biogeochemical models easier to improve and more robust.
Citation
ID:
191751
Ref Key:
tang2016biogeosciencestechnical