An open-source web service for creating quadrilateral grids based on the rHEALPix Discrete Global Grid System

Abstract

ABSTRACT The foundation of modern Digital Earth frameworks is the Discrete Global Grid System (DGGS). To standardize the DGGS model, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) recently created the DGGS Specification, which also aims to increase usability and interoperability between DGGSs. To support these demands and aid future research, open implementations are necessary. However, several OGC conformant DGGSs are not available for researchers to use. This has motivated us to develop an open-source web service that allows users to create quadrilateral grids based on the rHEALPix DGGS. In this paper, we describe the implementation of the web service, including issues and limitations, and demonstrate how discrete global grids and regional grids can be created. Lastly, we present examples that show how vector data sets can be modeled and integrated at different levels of resolution – a key benefit of the DGGS model.