PatCC1: An efficient parallel triangulation algorithm for spherical and planar grids with commonality and parallel consistency

Abstract

Graphs are commonly gridded by triangulation, i.e., the generation of a set of triangles for the points of the graph. This technique can also be used in a coupler to improve the commonality of data interpolation between different horizontal model grids. This paper proposes a new parallel triangulation algorithm, PatCC1 (PArallel Triangulation algorithm with Commonality and parallel Consistency, version 1), for spherical and planar grids. Experimental evaluation results demonstrate the efficient parallelization of PatCC1 using a hybrid of MPI (message passing interface) and OpenMP (Open Multi-Processing). They also show PatCC1 to have greater commonality than existing parallel triangulation algorithms (i.e., it is capable of handling more types of model grids) and that it guarantees parallel consistency (i.e., it achieves exactly the same triangulation result under different parallel settings).