GEOS model
The Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model consists of a group of model components that can be connected in a flexible manner in order to address questions related to different aspects of Earth Science.
Resolution
GEOS uses a spherical cube to as discretization of the earth. Resolution is usually given in the form Cxxx / Lxx, e.g. C1120 / L191, where L denotes the number of vertical levels and C encodes the horizontal resolution as number of grid points per axis on a cube side. Sticking with the example of C1120 / L191, we have
- 1120 grid points per horizontal axis
- 1120 x 1120 grid points per cube side
- 6 x 1120 x 1120 grid points for the full cube
- and 191 vertical levels (for all sides of the cube)
The following table "translates" Cxxx to approximate horizontal resolution in kilo meters.
| C24 | C96 | C180 | C360 | C720 | C1120 | C3072 | C6144 | C12288 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km | 384.2 | 96.0 | 51.2 | 25.6 | 12.8 | 8.2 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.8 |