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A boundary conforming structured grid for global ocean circulation studies
Author(s) -
Russell William S.,
Eiseman Peter R
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in fluids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1097-0363
pISSN - 0271-2091
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0363(19981015)28:5<761::aid-fld696>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - grid , geometry , geology , boundary (topology) , block (permutation group theory) , domain (mathematical analysis) , boundary value problem , laplace operator , geographic coordinate system , thermal conduction , meteorology , mathematics , mathematical analysis , geodesy , physics , thermodynamics
A boundary conforming two‐dimensional structured grid for the irregular domain of the world's ocean is generated numerically using differential equation techniques. It is calculated using block structured methods which allow the inclusion of all major bodies of water including seas and basins, and which preserve slope continuity of the co‐ordinate lines across the global domain. The block structure is coupled with an innovative blown‐up cube model of the Earth which permits all areas of the global ocean to be modeled with the same resolution, eliminating problems associated with polar singularities. The grid is generated on the curved surface of the Earth (rather than the longitude–latitude plane) by employing the Beltrami operator instead of the standard Laplacian operator. Application of the grid to a steady state heat conduction problem shows the relative computational accuracy and the potential to resolve the complex, smaller scale oceanographic phenomena of great importance to global circulation studies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.