Two models based on the hydrostatic primitive equations are proposed. The first model is the primitive equations with partial viscosity only, and is oriented towards large-scale wave structures in the ocean and atmosphere. The second model is the viscous primitive equations with spectral eddy viscosity, and is oriented towards turbulent geophysical flows. For both models, the existence and uniqueness of global strong solutions are established. For the second model, the convergence of the solutions to the solutions of the classical primitive equations as eddy viscosity parameters tend to zero is also established.