Interaction between algae and photons: Derivation of a simplified model (Q4211706)

The present paper deals with modelling the growth dynamics of algae in water under light interaction. A model based on the one-dimensional Boltzman-like equation for radiation intensity and algal biomass concentration in a column of water with given depth (which can be also infinite) is presented and studied by the author. The form of the equations and the kind of the boundary conditions imply a nonlinear and nonhomogeneous problem. Nonlinear semigroup approach is used to prove existence and uniqueness of a positive solution; thereby the original system is consecutively transformed into an evolution problem in a Banach space and in fixed-point equation. A priori estimates for the local solution in terms of the biological meaning of the problem are proved. These bounds are better than that ones derived by the author in a previous study. The global balance system is further obtained which presents the total intensity of radiation and the total number of algae at given time and in a given region. The stationary solutions of the balance system are found and their stability properties are finally studied in the paper.