Visualization of spherical data by Yin–Yang grid

Abstract

Abstract Visualization in the spherical geometry is ubiquitous in geophysical data processing. For the spherical visualization, the commonly used spherical polar coordinate system is not ideal due to its grid convergence nature near the poles. We propose to use a spherical overset grid system called Yin–Yang grid as the base grid system of the spherical visualization. The convergence-free nature of the Yin–Yang grid leads to a balanced data distribution and effective visualization processing in a sphere. The Yin–Yang grid is already used in various geophysical simulations including the geodynamo and mantle convection in the spherical geometry. Data produced by the Yin–Yang grid can be, and should be, visualized directly on the same Yin–Yang grid system without any data remapping. Since the component grid of the Yin–Yang grid is a part of (or low latitude region of) the standard spherical polar coordinate system, it is straightforward to convert an existing spherical visualization tool based on the spherical polar coordinates into a tool based on the Yin–Yang grid.