Plankton mixing and blooming

In this example, we simulate the mixing of phytoplankton by convection that decreases in time and eventually shuts off, thereby precipitating a phytoplankton bloom. A similar scenario was simulated by Taylor and Ferrari (2011), providing evidence that the "critical turbulence hypothesis" explains the explosive bloom of oceanic phytoplankton observed in spring.

The phytoplankton in our model are advected, diffuse, grow, and die according to

\[∂_t P + \boldsymbol{u ⋅ ∇} P - κ ∇²P = (μ₀ \exp(z / λ) - m) \, P \, ,\]

where $\boldsymbol{u}$ is the turbulent velocity field, $κ$ is an isotropic diffusivity, $μ₀$ is the phytoplankton growth rate at the surface, $λ$ is the scale over which sunlight attenuates away from the surface, and $m$ is the mortality rate of phytoplankton due to viruses and grazing by zooplankton. We use Oceananigans' Forcing abstraction to implement the phytoplankton dynamics described by the right side of the phytoplankton equation above.

This example demonstrates

  • How to use a user-defined forcing function to simulate the dynamics of phytoplankton growth in sunlight and grazing by zooplankton.
  • How to set time-dependent boundary conditions.
  • How to use the TimeStepWizard to adapt the simulation time-step.
  • How to use AveragedField to diagnose spatial averages of model fields.

Install dependencies

First let's make sure we have all required packages installed.

using Pkg
pkg"add Oceananigans, Plots, JLD2, Measures"

The grid

We use a two-dimensional grid with 64² points and 1 m grid spacing and assign Flat to the y direction:

using Oceananigans
using Oceananigans.Units: minutes, hour, hours, day

grid = RegularRectilinearGrid(size=(64, 64), extent=(64, 64), topology=(Periodic, Flat, Bounded))
RegularRectilinearGrid{Float64, Periodic, Flat, Bounded}
                   domain: x ∈ [0.0, 64.0], y ∈ [0.0, 0.0], z ∈ [-64.0, 0.0]
                 topology: (Periodic, Flat, Bounded)
  resolution (Nx, Ny, Nz): (64, 1, 64)
   halo size (Hx, Hy, Hz): (1, 0, 1)
grid spacing (Δx, Δy, Δz): (1.0, 0.0, 1.0)

Boundary conditions

We impose a surface buoyancy flux that's initially constant and then decays to zero,

buoyancy_flux(x, y, t, p) = p.initial_buoyancy_flux * exp(-t^4 / (24 * p.shut_off_time^4))

buoyancy_flux_parameters = (initial_buoyancy_flux = 1e-8, # m² s⁻³
                                    shut_off_time = 2hours)

buoyancy_flux_bc = FluxBoundaryCondition(buoyancy_flux, parameters = buoyancy_flux_parameters)
BoundaryCondition: type=Flux, condition=buoyancy_flux(x, y, t, p) in Main.ex-convecting_plankton at none:1

The fourth power in the argument of exp above helps keep the buoyancy flux relatively constant during the first phase of the simulation. We produce a plot of this time-dependent buoyancy flux for the visually-oriented,

using Plots, Measures

time = range(0, 12hours, length=100)

flux_plot = plot(time ./ hour, [buoyancy_flux(0, 0, t, buoyancy_flux_parameters) for t in time],
                 linewidth = 2, xlabel = "Time (hours)", ylabel = "Surface buoyancy flux (m² s⁻³)",
                 size = (800, 300), margin = 5mm, label = nothing)

The buoyancy flux effectively shuts off after 6 hours of simulation time.

The flux convention in Oceananigans.jl

Fluxes are defined by the direction a quantity is carried: positive velocities produce positive fluxes, while negative velocities produce negative fluxes. Diffusive fluxes are defined with the same convention. A positive flux at the top boundary transports buoyancy upwards, out of the domain. This means that a positive flux of buoyancy at the top boundary reduces the buoyancy of near-surface fluid, causing convection.

The initial condition and bottom boundary condition impose the constant buoyancy gradient

N² = 1e-4 # s⁻²

buoyancy_gradient_bc = GradientBoundaryCondition(N²)
BoundaryCondition: type=Gradient, condition=0.0001

In summary, the buoyancy boundary conditions impose a destabilizing flux at the top and a stable buoyancy gradient at the bottom:

buoyancy_bcs = TracerBoundaryConditions(grid, top = buoyancy_flux_bc, bottom = buoyancy_gradient_bc)
Oceananigans.FieldBoundaryConditions (NamedTuple{(:x, :y, :z)}), with boundary conditions
├── x: CoordinateBoundaryConditions{BoundaryCondition{Oceananigans.BoundaryConditions.Periodic,Nothing},BoundaryCondition{Oceananigans.BoundaryConditions.Periodic,Nothing}}
├── y: CoordinateBoundaryConditions{Nothing,Nothing}
└── z: CoordinateBoundaryConditions{BoundaryCondition{Gradient,Float64},BoundaryCondition{Flux,Oceananigans.BoundaryConditions.ContinuousBoundaryFunction{Nothing,Nothing,Nothing,Nothing,typeof(Main.ex-convecting_plankton.buoyancy_flux),NamedTuple{(:initial_buoyancy_flux, :shut_off_time),Tuple{Float64,Float64}},Tuple{},Nothing,Nothing}}}

Phytoplankton dynamics: light-dependent growth and uniform mortality

We use a simple model for the growth of phytoplankton in sunlight and decay due to viruses and grazing by zooplankton,

growing_and_grazing(x, y, z, t, P, p) = (p.μ₀ * exp(z / p.λ) - p.m) * P

with parameters

plankton_dynamics_parameters = (μ₀ = 1/day,   # surface growth rate
                                 λ = 5,       # sunlight attenuation length scale (m)
                                 m = 0.1/day) # mortality rate due to virus and zooplankton grazing
(μ₀ = 1.1574074074074073e-5, λ = 5, m = 1.1574074074074074e-6)

We tell Forcing that our plankton model depends on the plankton concentration P and the chosen parameters,

plankton_dynamics = Forcing(growing_and_grazing, field_dependencies = :P,
                            parameters = plankton_dynamics_parameters)
ContinuousForcing{NamedTuple{(:μ₀, :λ, :m),Tuple{Float64,Int64,Float64}}}
├── func: growing_and_grazing
├── parameters: (μ₀ = 1.1574074074074073e-5, λ = 5, m = 1.1574074074074074e-6)
└── field dependencies: (:P,)

The model

The name "P" for phytoplankton is specified in the constructor for IncompressibleModel. We additionally specify a fifth-order advection scheme, third-order Runge-Kutta time-stepping, isotropic viscosity and diffusivities, and Coriolis forces appropriate for planktonic convection at mid-latitudes on Earth.

model = IncompressibleModel(
                   grid = grid,
              advection = UpwindBiasedFifthOrder(),
            timestepper = :RungeKutta3,
                closure = IsotropicDiffusivity(ν=1e-4, κ=1e-4),
               coriolis = FPlane(f=1e-4),
                tracers = (:b, :P), # P for Plankton
               buoyancy = BuoyancyTracer(),
                forcing = (P=plankton_dynamics,),
    boundary_conditions = (b=buoyancy_bcs,)
)
IncompressibleModel{CPU, Float64}(time = 0 seconds, iteration = 0) 
├── grid: RegularRectilinearGrid{Float64, Periodic, Flat, Bounded}(Nx=64, Ny=1, Nz=64)
├── tracers: (:b, :P)
├── closure: IsotropicDiffusivity{Float64,NamedTuple{(:b, :P),Tuple{Float64,Float64}}}
├── buoyancy: BuoyancyTracer
└── coriolis: FPlane{Float64}

Initial condition

We set the initial phytoplankton at $P = 1 \, \rm{μM}$. For buoyancy, we use a stratification that's mixed near the surface and linearly stratified below, superposed with surface-concentrated random noise.

mixed_layer_depth = 32 # m

stratification(z) = z < -mixed_layer_depth ? N² * z : - N² * mixed_layer_depth

noise(z) = 1e-4 * N² * grid.Lz * randn() * exp(z / 4)

initial_buoyancy(x, y, z) = stratification(z) + noise(z)

set!(model, b=initial_buoyancy, P=1)

Adaptive time-stepping, logging, output and simulation setup

We use a TimeStepWizard that limits the time-step to 2 minutes, and adapts the time-step such that CFL (Courant-Freidrichs-Lewy) number hovers around 1.0,

wizard = TimeStepWizard(cfl=1.0, Δt=2minutes, max_change=1.1, max_Δt=2minutes)
TimeStepWizard{Float64}(1.0, Inf, 1.1, 0.5, 120.0, 0.0, 120.0)

We also write a function that prints the progress of the simulation

using Printf

progress(sim) = @printf("Iteration: %d, time: %s, Δt: %s\n",
                        sim.model.clock.iteration,
                        prettytime(sim.model.clock.time),
                        prettytime(sim.Δt.Δt))

simulation = Simulation(model, Δt=wizard, stop_time=24hours,
                        iteration_interval=20, progress=progress)
Simulation{IncompressibleModel{CPU, Float64}}
├── Model clock: time = 0 seconds, iteration = 0 
├── Next time step (TimeStepWizard{Float64}): 2 minutes 
├── Iteration interval: 20
├── Stop criteria: Any[Oceananigans.Simulations.iteration_limit_exceeded, Oceananigans.Simulations.stop_time_exceeded, Oceananigans.Simulations.wall_time_limit_exceeded]
├── Run time: 0 seconds, wall time limit: Inf
├── Stop time: 1 day, stop iteration: Inf
├── Diagnostics: OrderedCollections.OrderedDict with 1 entry:
│   └── nan_checker => NaNChecker
└── Output writers: OrderedCollections.OrderedDict with no entries

We add a basic JLD2OutputWriter that writes velocities and both the two-dimensional and horizontally-averaged plankton concentration,

averaged_plankton = AveragedField(model.tracers.P, dims=(1, 2))

outputs = (w = model.velocities.w,
           plankton = model.tracers.P,
           averaged_plankton = averaged_plankton)

simulation.output_writers[:simple_output] =
    JLD2OutputWriter(model, outputs,
                     schedule = TimeInterval(20minutes),
                     prefix = "convecting_plankton",
                     force = true)
JLD2OutputWriter scheduled on TimeInterval(20 minutes):
├── filepath: ./convecting_plankton.jld2
├── 3 outputs: (:w, :plankton, :averaged_plankton)
├── field slicer: FieldSlicer(:, :, :, with_halos=false)
├── array type: Array{Float32}
├── including: [:grid, :coriolis, :buoyancy, :closure]
└── max filesize: Inf YiB
Using multiple output writers

Because each output writer is associated with a single output schedule, it often makes sense to use different output writers for different types of output. For example, reduced fields like AveragedField usually consume less disk space than two- or three-dimensional fields, and can thus be output more frequently without blowing up your hard drive. An arbitrary number of output writers may be added to simulation.output_writers.

The simulation is set up. Let there be plankton:

run!(simulation)
Iteration: 20, time: 40 minutes, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 40, time: 1.333 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 60, time: 2 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 80, time: 2.393 hours, Δt: 1.191 minutes
Iteration: 100, time: 2.786 hours, Δt: 1.189 minutes
Iteration: 120, time: 3.154 hours, Δt: 1.152 minutes
Iteration: 140, time: 3.518 hours, Δt: 1.110 minutes
Iteration: 160, time: 3.828 hours, Δt: 57.956 seconds
Iteration: 180, time: 4.173 hours, Δt: 1.036 minutes
Iteration: 200, time: 4.466 hours, Δt: 53.150 seconds
Iteration: 220, time: 4.779 hours, Δt: 57.797 seconds
Iteration: 240, time: 5.078 hours, Δt: 55.950 seconds
Iteration: 260, time: 5.419 hours, Δt: 1.026 minutes
Iteration: 280, time: 5.713 hours, Δt: 55.429 seconds
Iteration: 300, time: 6.051 hours, Δt: 1.016 minutes
Iteration: 320, time: 6.405 hours, Δt: 1.078 minutes
Iteration: 340, time: 6.780 hours, Δt: 1.136 minutes
Iteration: 360, time: 7.147 hours, Δt: 1.103 minutes
Iteration: 380, time: 7.495 hours, Δt: 1.080 minutes
Iteration: 400, time: 7.884 hours, Δt: 1.187 minutes
Iteration: 420, time: 8.305 hours, Δt: 1.306 minutes
Iteration: 440, time: 8.762 hours, Δt: 1.437 minutes
Iteration: 460, time: 9.202 hours, Δt: 1.350 minutes
Iteration: 480, time: 9.627 hours, Δt: 1.354 minutes
Iteration: 500, time: 10.099 hours, Δt: 1.490 minutes
Iteration: 520, time: 10.531 hours, Δt: 1.318 minutes
Iteration: 540, time: 11 hours, Δt: 1.437 minutes
Iteration: 560, time: 11.518 hours, Δt: 1.581 minutes
Iteration: 580, time: 11.983 hours, Δt: 1.458 minutes
Iteration: 600, time: 12.454 hours, Δt: 1.444 minutes
Iteration: 620, time: 12.958 hours, Δt: 1.589 minutes
Iteration: 640, time: 13.508 hours, Δt: 1.748 minutes
Iteration: 660, time: 14.128 hours, Δt: 1.922 minutes
Iteration: 680, time: 14.767 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 700, time: 15.433 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 720, time: 16.100 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 740, time: 16.767 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 760, time: 17.433 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 780, time: 18.100 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 800, time: 18.767 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 820, time: 19.433 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 840, time: 20.100 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 860, time: 20.767 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 880, time: 21.433 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 900, time: 22.100 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 920, time: 22.767 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 940, time: 23.433 hours, Δt: 2 minutes
Iteration: 957, time: 1 day, Δt: 2 minutes
[ Info: Simulation is stopping. Model time 1 day has hit or exceeded simulation stop time 1 day.

Notice how the time-step is reduced at early times, when turbulence is strong, and increases again towards the end of the simulation when turbulence fades.

Visualizing the solution

We'd like to a make a plankton movie. First we load the output file and build a time-series of the buoyancy flux,

using JLD2

file = jldopen(simulation.output_writers[:simple_output].filepath)

iterations = parse.(Int, keys(file["timeseries/t"]))

times = [file["timeseries/t/$iter"] for iter in iterations]

buoyancy_flux_time_series = [buoyancy_flux(0, 0, t, buoyancy_flux_parameters) for t in times]

and then we construct the $x, z$ grid,

xw, yw, zw = nodes(model.velocities.w)
xp, yp, zp = nodes(model.tracers.P)

Finally, we animate plankton mixing and blooming,

using Plots

@info "Making a movie about plankton..."

w_lim = 0   # the maximum(abs(w)) across the whole timeseries

for (i, iteration) in enumerate(iterations)
    w = file["timeseries/w/$iteration"][:, 1, :]

    global w_lim = maximum([w_lim, maximum(abs.(w))])
end

anim = @animate for (i, iteration) in enumerate(iterations)

    @info "Plotting frame $i from iteration $iteration..."

    t = file["timeseries/t/$iteration"]
    w = file["timeseries/w/$iteration"][:, 1, :]
    P = file["timeseries/plankton/$iteration"][:, 1, :]
    averaged_P = file["timeseries/averaged_plankton/$iteration"][1, 1, :]

    P_min = minimum(P) - 1e-9
    P_max = maximum(P) + 1e-9
    P_lims = (0.95, 1.1)

    w_levels = range(-w_lim, stop=w_lim, length=20)

    P_levels = collect(range(P_lims[1], stop=P_lims[2], length=20))
    P_lims[1] > P_min && pushfirst!(P_levels, P_min)
    P_lims[2] < P_max && push!(P_levels, P_max)

    kwargs = (xlabel="x (m)", ylabel="y (m)", aspectratio=1, linewidth=0, colorbar=true,
              xlims=(0, model.grid.Lx), ylims=(-model.grid.Lz, 0))

    w_contours = contourf(xw, zw, w';
                          color = :balance,
                          levels = w_levels,
                          clims = (-w_lim, w_lim),
                          kwargs...)

    P_contours = contourf(xp, zp, clamp.(P, P_lims[1], P_lims[2])';
                          color = :matter,
                          levels = P_levels,
                          clims = P_lims,
                          kwargs...)

    P_profile = plot(averaged_P, zp,
                     linewidth = 2,
                     label = nothing,
                     xlims = (0.9, 1.3),
                     ylabel = "z (m)",
                     xlabel = "Plankton concentration (μM)")

    flux_plot = plot(times ./ hour, buoyancy_flux_time_series,
                     linewidth = 1,
                     label = "Buoyancy flux time series",
                     color = :black,
                     alpha = 0.4,
                     legend = :topright,
                     xlabel = "Time (hours)",
                     ylabel = "Buoyancy flux (m² s⁻³)",
                     ylims = (0.0, 1.1 * buoyancy_flux_parameters.initial_buoyancy_flux))

    plot!(flux_plot, times[1:i] ./ hour, buoyancy_flux_time_series[1:i],
          color = :steelblue,
          linewidth = 6,
          label = nothing)

    scatter!(flux_plot, times[i:i] / hour, buoyancy_flux_time_series[i:i],
             markershape = :circle,
             color = :steelblue,
             markerstrokewidth = 0,
             markersize = 15,
             label = "Current buoyancy flux")

    layout = Plots.grid(2, 2, widths=(0.7, 0.3))

    w_title = @sprintf("Vertical velocity (m s⁻¹) at %s", prettytime(t))
    P_title = @sprintf("Plankton concentration (μM) at %s", prettytime(t))

    plot(w_contours, flux_plot, P_contours, P_profile,
         title=[w_title "" P_title ""],
         layout=layout, size=(1000.5, 1000.5))
end

This page was generated using Literate.jl.