Engineering Commons^™

Dynamic Effect Of Light And Turbulence On Algal Photosynthetic Rate: A Water-Quality Model, Andres R. Rivas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Several studies provide evidence that algal photosynthetic rates depend on various changing factors such as light attenuation, temperature, and nutrient limitation (Chapra, 1997). However, recent papers show that turbulence and photosynthetic rate dynamics is also important (Ross, 2006). In this study, the photosynthetic rate model used is the one proposed by Chapra (1997), where it depends directly on temperature, nutrient and light limitation factors. At the same time, the effect of turbulence or random-walk of algae particles in the water column was also introduced in this model. To account for this factor, the model added was that proposed by Ross …