Abstract
Nowadays, lake eutrophication, especially extreme algal growth phenomena, affects significantly drinking water resources and causes heavy damage to water supply systems. Therefore, analyses of algal growth mechanism and model construction of algal population dynamics are necessary for the conservation of water resources. This paper discusses a computer model for simulating algal population dynamics and spatial distribution in the lake, which is based on the hydrodynamic characteristics such as vorticity and retention time. Spatial distribution of vorticity and currents in the lake are computed by the 2-dimensional vorticity-stream function model.
Next, a biological submodel describes the algal population distribution. This hydrodynamic process oriented model is applied to the southern part of the Lake Biwa.
As a result, vorticity, which is considerd the extent of local water circulation, makes substantial retention time of algae and affects algal growth process as well as nutrient condition.
