GiantKelpDynamics

$GiantKelpDynamics.jl$ is a Julia package providing a dynamical model for the motion (and in the future the growth and biogeochemical interactions) of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera).

The kinematic model is based on the work of Utter and Denny (1996) and Rosman et al. (2013), and used in Strong-Wright and Taylor (undated).

We have implemented it in the particle in the framework of Strong-Wright et al. (2023) and the coupled with the fluid dynamics of Ramadhan et al. (2020).

Model details

The kinematic model discretises each kelp individual into segments to which several forces: drag, buoyancy, tension, and inertial, are applied. This is shown in this diagram:

Diagram of the discretisation and forces on each segment

Further details can be found in Strong-Wright and Taylor (undated).

Kelp forests

The model is designed to be used to simulate kelp forests and reproduce their motion well (Strong-Wright and Taylor, undated). This figure shows an example of the flow around a forest:

Tracer released from a kelp forest within a simple tidal flow