MARS/Dissemination

Specifies the target grid which can be either a Gaussian or a Latitude/Longitude grid.

grid=<value>

MARS requests specifying grid=av will return the archived model grid. For Latitude/Longitude output, the format is in degrees, i.e. grid = 2.5/2.5, where the first number denotes the east-west resolution (longitude) and the second denotes the north-south resolution (latitude). The grid spacing needs to be an integer fraction of 90 degrees (latitude range from the Equator to the Pole), e.g. 0.225, 0.25, 0.28125, 0.3, 0.4, ...

Output on a Gaussian grid is specified by a letter denoting the type of Gaussian grid followed by an integer (the grid number) representing the number of lines between the Pole and Equator, e.g. 

  • grid = F160  - full (or regular) Gaussian grid with 160 latitude lines between the pole and equator
  • grid = N320  - ECMWF original reduced Gaussian grid with 320 latitude lines between the pole and equator, see Reduced Gaussian Grids for grid numbers used at ECMWF
  • grid = O640 - ECMWF octahedral (reduced) Gaussian grid with 640 latitude lines between the pole and equator

Not all grid names and grid number combinations are supported. Currently, the Gaussian grid names and numbers supported for MARS retrievals are:

Octahedral reduced Gaussian (O grids)O1280O1024O640O512O400O320O256O200O160O128O96O80O64O48O32
Original reduced Gaussian  (N grids)N1280N1024N640N512N400N320N256N200N160N128N96N80N64N48N32
Regular (Full) Gaussian (F grids)F1280F1024F640F512F400F320F256F200F160F128F96F80F64F48F32


MARS requests specifying an unsupported grid will fail. For example, a retrieval request with grid=O123 will return an error.  If the letter denoting the type of Gaussian grid is omitted, e.g. grid=320, a full (or regular) Gaussian grid with 320 grid lines is returned.

For other keywords controlling the interpolation see the diagram below.

Examples

grid = av,           # will return the archived model grid
grid = 0.1/0.1,            # will return an 0.1 x 0.1 deg longitude/latitude grid
grid = F320,                 # will return a full Gaussian grid with 320 latitude lines between the pole and equator

Dissemination  lat/lon grids allowed are describe for each data set in the Catalogue pages