Multispectral analysis-ready satellite data for three East African mountain ecosystems

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Remote Sensing
• Ecology

Background:

• East African mountain ecosystems face significant threats from global change, impacting their unique socio-ecological systems.
• Accessible, processed remote sensing data is crucial for monitoring these environmental changes.
• Existing satellite data often requires extensive processing due to geometric inaccuracies and cloud cover, hindering reliable analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide high-quality, analysis-ready Sentinel-2 satellite imagery for key East African mountain ecosystems.
• To enable researchers and stakeholders to conduct immediate and impactful environmental monitoring and research.
• To address the data accessibility and processing challenges for remote sensing in fragile mountain environments.

Main Methods:

• Acquisition and processing of Sentinel-2 satellite data for Bale Mountains (Ethiopia) and Mounts Kilimanjaro and Meru (Tanzania).
• Atmospheric correction and cloud masking to ensure data quality and usability.
• Generation of monthly and annual aggregated data products with 24 spectral indices from 2017-2021.

Main Results:

• A comprehensive dataset of cloud-free, atmospherically corrected Sentinel-2 imagery was created for the specified East African mountain regions.
• The dataset spans from 2017 to 2021, offering both monthly and annual aggregated products.
• Included are 24 distinct spectral indices, enhancing the analytical capabilities of the data.

Conclusions:

• The developed Sentinel-2 dataset significantly lowers the barrier for research and stakeholder analysis in East African mountain ecosystems.
• This readily usable data facilitates critical applications such as vegetation mapping, habitat assessment, land cover change detection, and climate change studies.
• The provision of analysis-ready data is vital for effective monitoring and management of these vulnerable ecosystems under global change.