Patent Document ID: 20100094597
Application ID: 12574880
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method for automatically generating a mesh for use in a coastal model, comprising: receiving data of at least one boundary associated with a geographic area covered by the mesh, the boundary data having a spatial coordinate system associated therewith; receiving data of a bathymetry associated with the geographic area covered by the mesh; receiving data of a plurality of initial mesh elements of the mesh, each of the initial mesh elements being associated with a geographical area in the mesh and having an initial size and an initial shape; automatically refining the mesh based on the bathymetry data, the refining step including changing at least one of a size and a shape of at least one initial mesh element to reflect the bathymetry of a geographic area associated with that mesh element; automatically determining an extent of computing resources needed to generate the mesh as refined; and automatically generating the refined mesh; wherein the generated mesh reflects the boundaries and the bathymetry of the geographic area associated with the mesh.