Biogeochemical box modelling at small scale. Application to the inorganic carbon cycle in the bay of Calvi

This paper describes a processes 0D biogeochemical model valid at small scale (1 km, 1 hour). It is used to study the inorganic carbon cycle in the Bay of Calvi (Corsica), a near-shore coastal area characterised by properties that simplify the modelling approach: no river input, no tide, a constant circulation pattern and two quite well-studied ecosystems (the Spring phytoplankton bloom and a Posidonia seagrass bed). The model has been developed from available field data and then calibrated using an independent data set. Results show that the obtained steady-state is close to the one observed in the Bay of Calvi, and calculated fluxes are in good agreement with the measured ones. Numerical integrations have been carried out using two market softwares (SENECA 1.5 and STELLA II) and no significant differences are found.