The assumptions of our model

Spatial substrate

Our model treats a thin strip of salt marsh, a vertical section along a line from the dump to the bay.

• This is understood to be three meters high, 300 meters long, and one meter wide.
• All of the control parameters are understood to be relative to this narrow strip.
• The state variables are concentrations of a single COC, spatially distributed over the planar section of the face of the strip. That is, we assume a uniform concentration across the one meter thickness of the strip of sediment and root system.
• For purposes of simulation, this strip is divided into discrete computational cells, like mud bricks, one meter square by 6 inches high.
• In this planar system, we simulate diffusion proportional to the concentration gradient, and reaction according to Monod dynamics.