A generalized cell-based model framework for contaminant dispersion in marine environments

Dispersion modeling is crucial for marine environmental modeling and management. However, operational applications require a practical balance between model accuracy and computational efficiency. To address this challenge, we develop and validate a generalized cell-based model (CBM) framework for contaminant dispersion. The framework enhances physical realism through a novel three-dimensional (3D) transport model and a formulation for chemical reactions. Additionally, a new discretization-based approach is proposed to robustly relate the CBM’s diffusion coefficient to its partial differential equation counterpart, improving performance in scenarios with sharp gradients of the concentration level. The proposed framework’s favorable trade-off between accuracy and efficiency is demonstrated in a comparative simulation study, where the 3D CBM reduces computation time from 14.72 s to 0.06 s compared to finite-element methods (FEM), with a relative Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 7.67%. To demonstrate its practical applicability, the proposed framework is validated using ocean current and nitrate concentration data from the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service. After identifying a key model parameter from the data, the model’s forward predictions accurately reproduce the observed nitrate concentration patterns, confirming its suitability for operational scenarios.