Yeah for sure, it’s an important question what level of detail of this model we want to implement.
I tried to reduce the number of flows in this model to the basic ones that we would need, but of course the bin-flow model will have an inherent level of complexity. I would be up for a simple linear function if we could make it represent the results of the bin-flow model close enough, but I don’t know if that’s possible.
One thing I like about the bin-flow model is that it allows for natural events to alter the model in predictable ways. For example a period of intense volcanism can lead to a lot of carbon dioxide getting released from the mantle into the atmosphere and oceans. This would lead to more ocean acidity and increased greenhouse effect which would warm up the planet. Over time, this carbon would equilibrate back across all the bins and return to its normal levels, but during that period there would be intense climate changes. Such an event is actually theorized to be the cause of the Permian-Triassic extinction and the Triassic-Jurassic extinction.