These files contain scalar data values on a regular rectangular grid, either in (x, y) or (longitude, latitude) space. Such files may be displayed in maps created by FiniteMap, and are also used in the OrbData step of creating finite element grids (when nodal variables like elevation and heat flow are assigned).
The first line of a .grd file has 3 numbers: x_min, d_x, x_max (or: lon_min, d_lon, lon_max);
The 2nd line of a .grd file also has 3 numbers: y_min, d_y, y_max (or: lat_min, d_lat, lat_max).
If the grid is defined in (longitude, latitude) then note: Units of lon_min, d_lon, lon_max, lat_min, d_lat, lat_max are degrees (e.g., 24º17′5″ should be converted to 24.2847 degrees). East longitude is +, West is −. North latitude is +, South is −.
If the grid is defined in (x, y) space, the 6 grid parameters can be in units of meters, kilometers, centimeters, miles, or feet. However, they MUST give the actual widths of features on the planet, NOT their reduced sizes on some map! Any origin and any orientation of the (x, y) system is permissible, as long as the +y axis is 90 degrees counterclockwise from the +x axis, and as long as you do NOT mix two or more different Cartesian coordinate systems in one modeling project.
The following lines give the gridded data in text order, i.e., beginning with the top left (maximum y or latitude; minimum x or longitude) corner, going left to right along the top row (increasing longitude or x at constant latitude or y), then left to right along the 2nd row, etc. The number and position of line breaks is not important in this part of the file. You can even have a single value per line. However, it is easier for humans to read these files if the number of columns is equal to 1 + (x_max - x_min)/d_x, as in the example below. There is no restriction on the units of the gridded data values, except that they should all be the same. Personally, I would suggest using SI units (m for elevation, W/m2 for heat flow, etc.) in this file format, and in all other numerical work.
The small sample .grd file below gives an elevation grid around Denali (Mt. McKinley) in Alaska, with the grid defined in (longitude, latitude) space (152-151ºW, 63-64ºN), and the elevations reported in meters. It comes from the ETOPO5 data set, which has lateral resolution of 5′ (0.08333º). The summit is located at (151º00′13″W, 63º04′10″N), so it falls between the last two entries in the right-most column. The + signs on positive elevation values could have been omitted, but the negative sign for the West longitudes is critical, as is their order (more negative number on the left, more positive number on the right).
-152 0.0833333 -151 63 0.0833333 64 +244 +244 +275 +305 +305 +305 +305 +305 +274 +244 +244 +244 +228 +259 +259 +274 +289 +289 +289 +282 +274 +259 +244 +275 +305 +358 +274 +274 +274 +274 +274 +274 +259 +244 +244 +244 +305 +366 +488 +282 +290 +290 +290 +290 +290 +320 +351 +389 +427 +458 +488 +625 +290 +305 +305 +305 +305 +305 +381 +457 +534 +610 +610 +610 +762 +344 +366 +389 +412 +412 +412 +465 +518 +580 +641 +664 +686 +731 +397 +427 +473 +518 +518 +518 +549 +579 +625 +671 +717 +762 +701 +481 +519 +580 +640 +678 +716 +732 +747 +846 +945 +968 +991 +1037 +564 +610 +686 +762 +838 +914 +914 +914 +1067 +1219 +219 +1219 +1372 +701 +762 +877 +991 +1105 +1219 +1372 +1524 +2134 +2743 +243 +2743 +2515 +838 +914 +1067 +1219 +1372 +1524 +1829 +2133 +3200 +4267 +427 +4267 +3657 +1486 +1676 +2058 +2438 +2286 +2134 +2286 +2438 +3048 +3657 +358 +3505 +3047 +2134 +2438 +3048 +3657 +3200 +2743 +2743 +2743 +2896 +3048 +2895 +2743 +2438 |