H.2 Units

Phytoplankton is accounted within the WQ Module in units of carbon, however carbon need not be explicitly simulated within the WQ Module as either inorganic (not yet available) or organic (labile and/or refractory) to support this approach. If this is the case, then uptake or loss of carbon by phytoplankton is still computed as it is the basis for accounting and reporting phytoplankton concentrations. The associated carbon sources and sinks that interact with phytoplankton carbon however, are assumed to be large and are not specifically accounted for as computed variables. A user specified (or default) conversion ratio between mg of carbon and mg of chlorophyll a, \(X_{cc}^{phy}\), is used to present carbon model outputs in units of \(\mu\)/L chlorophyll a when necessary.