Justus Magin

Xarray provides data structures for multi-dimensional labeled arrays and a toolkit for scalable data analysis on large, complex datasets. Many real-world datasets often have hierarchical or heterogeneous structure, and are best organized through groups of related data arrays.

We illustrate the power and flexibility of a new extension point in Xarray's data model: "custom indexes" that allow Xarray users to neatly handle complex grids, and enables at least one new data model (vector data cubes). We present a whirlwind tour of specific examples to illustrate the power of this feature, and aim to stimulate experimentation during the sprints.

Over the past few years, Discrete Global Grid Systems (DGGS) that subdivide the earth into (roughly) equally sized faces have seen a rise in popularity. However, their in-memory representation is different from traditional projection-based data, which is either comprised of evenly shaped rectangular grid (aka raster) or discrete geometries (aka vector), and thus requires specialized tooling.