mesh-generator v3.2.3¶

Mercurial revision 5803:7164e00e8f3d | 2026-08-18

Description¶

mesh-generator is a tool that generates a 2D mesh based on a given criteria file (.crt). It is designed to create high-quality meshes for oceanographic, coastal, or other geospatial applications.

Usage¶

mesh-generator [OPTIONS] criteria.crt

Options¶

General Options¶

Option	Description
`-h`, `--help`	Display help and exit.
`--limits-only`	Generate density and limits but not the mesh.
`--rootname <name>`	Root name for intermediate output files (default: `anonymous`).
`--debug`	Generate extra output files for debugging purposes.
`--check-limits`	Check the sanity of mesh limits polygons.
`--no-reshape`	Skip the mesh reshaping step.
`--show-map`	Save mesh densities to `<rootname>-criteria*.nc`.

Input/Output Options¶

Option	Description
`-b <file>`	Path to the bathymetry file. Can also be specified in the criteria file via `TOPOGRAPHY_FILE`.
`-f <file>`	Path to the mesh boundaries file (trigrid format). Disables `-d` and `-p`.
`-d <file>`	Path to the genesis boundary descriptor. Disables `-p`.
`-p <file>`	Path to raw polygons for boundaries.
`-m <file>`	Path to a mesh file to merge with the generated mesh.
`-o <file>`	Path to the output mesh file (default: `<rootname>-mesh.nei`).
`-s <file>`	Path to the mesh density file.
`-z <file>`	Path to a local mesh density prescription file.
`-n <file>`	Path to a node file (used for triangulation).

Mesh Generation Options¶

Option	Description
`-r <resolution>`	Resolution in kilometers. Used only when a node file is provided and no criteria file is given.
`--line-mode <mode>`	Line definition mode between polygon vertices. `<mode>` can be: `ORTHODROMIC`, `LOXODROMIC`, or `CARTESIAN` (default: `LOXODROMIC`).
`--smoothing-rate <rate>`	Smoothing rate for mesh optimization.
`--polar`	Enable polar grid mode.

Examples¶

Basic Mesh Generation¶

Generate a mesh using a criteria file:

mesh-generator criteria.crt

Generate Mesh with Custom Output Name¶

Generate a mesh and specify a root name for output files:

mesh-generator --rootname my_mesh criteria.crt

Generate Mesh with Bathymetry¶

Generate a mesh using a custom bathymetry file:

mesh-generator -b bathymetry.nc criteria.crt

Generate Mesh with Boundaries¶

Generate a mesh using a boundaries file:

mesh-generator -f boundaries.trg criteria.crt

Generate Mesh with Raw Polygons¶

Generate a mesh using raw polygons for boundaries:

mesh-generator -p polygons.plg criteria.crt

Generate Mesh with Node File¶

Generate a mesh using a node file and a resolution:

mesh-generator -n nodes.txt -r 1000 criteria.crt

Generate Density and Limits Only¶

Generate density and limits without creating the mesh:

mesh-generator --limits-only criteria.crt

Merge with Existing Mesh¶

Generate a mesh and merge it with an existing mesh:

mesh-generator -m existing_mesh.nei criteria.crt

Debug Mode¶

Generate a mesh with extra debugging output:

mesh-generator --debug criteria.crt

Custom Line Mode¶

Generate a mesh with a specific line mode (e.g., ORTHODROMIC):

mesh-generator --line-mode ORTHODROMIC criteria.crt

Local Mesh Density Prescription¶

Generate a mesh with a local mesh density prescription:

mesh-generator -z local_density.txt criteria.crt

Check Mesh Limits¶

Check the sanity of mesh limits polygons:

mesh-generator --check-limits criteria.crt

Skip Mesh Reshaping¶

Generate a mesh without reshaping:

mesh-generator --no-reshape criteria.crt

Save Mesh Densities¶

Save mesh densities to a NetCDF file:

mesh-generator --show-map criteria.crt

Environment Variables¶

mesh-generator uses OpenMP for parallelization. Key environment variables:

Variable	Description
`OMP_NUM_THREADS`	Number of threads to use.
`OMP_SCHEDULE`	Runtime schedule type and chunk size.
`OMP_DYNAMIC`	Enable/disable dynamic thread adjustment.
`OMP_NESTED`	Enable/disable nested parallelism.

Example:

OMP_NUM_THREADS=4 mesh-generator criteria.crt

Notes¶

Criteria File:

The criteria file (.crt) defines the mesh resolution, bathymetry, and other parameters.
If no criteria file is provided, a node file and resolution (-r) must be specified.

Boundary Files:

Use -f for mesh boundaries files (trigrid format).
Use -d for genesis boundary descriptors.
Use -p for raw polygons.
Priority: -f > -d > -p.

Bathymetry:

Can be specified via -b or in the criteria file using TOPOGRAPHY_FILE.

Output:

The default output mesh file is <rootname>-mesh.nei.
Use -o to specify a custom output path.

Mesh Merging:

Use -m to merge the generated mesh with an existing mesh.

Debugging:

Use --debug to generate additional output files for troubleshooting.

Line Modes:

ORTHODROMIC: Great-circle lines (default).
LOXODROMIC: Rhumb lines.
CARTESIAN: Straight lines in a projected coordinate system.

Polar Grids:

Use --polar for polar grid generation.