U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. and USGS Earth Observation Activities in Africa Sarah J Ryker, PhD USGS Deputy Associate Director for Climate and Land Use Change GEO-XI Plenary 12 November, 2014 Landsat images of Lake Chad 1963 () and 2010 () 1963 (25,000 km²) and 2010 (1,350 km²)

Overview Updates Updates U.S. commitments at the U.N. Climate Summit, September 2014 U.S. commitments at the U.N. Climate Summit, September 2014 Next steps for global 30 meter elevation data Next steps for global 30 meter elevation data GEO Global Forest Observation Initiative task GEO Global Forest Observation Initiative task USGS examples of existing Earth observations and science capacities, resources, and partnerships USGS examples of existing Earth observations and science capacities, resources, and partnerships o Water resources o Land cover, land change, and conservation practices 2

U.S. Announcements at U.N. Climate Summit, September 2014 President Obama announced data releases and commitments related to climate resilience, including: NASA, NGA, USGS released Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 30 meter resolution elevation data for most of Africa Data releases for additional regions over the next year Training workshops and tool development NOAA to work on improving 15- to 30-day extreme weather outlooks NOAA Training Desk program to build meteorological institutions’ capacity in climate predictions, monitoring, and assessments Planning for new public/private partnerships to develop and share data, tools, and services supporting climate-resilient international development

SRTM 30 meter Elevation Data: Releases Release schedule: Sep 2014Region 1: Africa, southwestern Europe Nov 2014Region 2: Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, South Pacific Isles Nov 2014Region 4: North America and Europe May 2015Region 3: Southeast Asia, Australia, West Pacific Isles May 2015Region 5: Northern China, Mongolia, Russia. NW Pacific Isles Aug 2015Region 6: Middle East, rest of Africa, rest of Asia

SRTM 30 meter Elevation Data: Workshops Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Capacity Building & Data Democracy workshops Focus on digital elevation models from SRTM and other data Build on the 2013 Nairobi workshop hosted by the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development/NASA SERVIR o Focused on use of elevation data in flood modeling for disaster management in South Sudan and Somalia o Participants from Ethiopia, Somalia, Zambia, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda o Instructors from SANSA, INPE, RCMRD/NASA SERVIR, USGS, FEWSNET, SWF Workshop schedule South Africa, hosted by SANSA, March 23-27, 2015 Mexico, hosted by CRECTEALC, May 2015 Nepal, hosted by ICIMOD (with SERVIR), TBD West Africa, possibly Gabon, TBD 2016 Southeast Asia, host and dates still TBD

U.S. SilvaCarbon and the GEO Global Forest Observation Initiative International partners in GFOI: In establishing SilvaCarbon, the United States joined the governments of Australia, Norway, Canada, and Japan, along with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in co-leading GFOI. SilvaCarbon works to: Partner with developing countries to improve monitoring of forest and terrestrial carbon Improve understanding of methods and collection and dissemination of data Coordinate US science, innovation, and technical expertise U.S. partners in SilvaCarbon: U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. State Department, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, NASA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NOAA, Smithsonian Institution, and U.S. universities, NGOs, donors, and industry

2014 SilvaCarbon Workshop in the Congo Basin Data Interoperability for Forest Monitoring (Interopérabilité des données, vue d'ensemble et méthodes utilisées sur le terrain), Doula, Cameroon, June 2-6, 2014 Accomplishments included: Inter-agency coordination; leveraging funding; strengthening national science partnerships Supporting regional and national programs (CARPE, Congo Basin Forest Fund, OSFAC, COMIFAC) Provision of data: Gabon, DRC, ROC, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya Joint international research on forest degradation, use of air and terrestrial LiDAR

USAID Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) An information system to identify problems in the food supply system that potentially lead to famine or other food-insecure conditions in: Sub-Saharan Africa Afghanistan Central America Haiti Online data and interpretive resources: Map Viewer Early Warning Explorer

Dese, Ethiopia 2013 – Actual ET at 100m resolution From Landsat 8 thermal infrared data Evapotranspiration in Dese, Ethiopia

Waterhole Monitoring in the Sahel Landsat, ASTER, SRTM, satellite rainfall estimates Senay et al., Establishing an operational waterhole monitoring system using satellite data and hydrologic modelling: Application in the pastoral regions of East Africa. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 3:20.

Waterhole Monitoring: Model Validation

Mapping Conservation Practices in Mali Extent and density of tree cover in agricultural parklands, Seno Plains, Mali Maps will show patterns and density of practices: By focus zones By practices Over time

Regreening Areas and Potential Directions of Expansion, West Africa

Land Cover, Burkina Faso, 1975

Land Cover, Burkina Faso, 2000

Land Cover, Burkina Faso, 2013

New (2014): Crop Land Map of Senegal Landsat and ASTER (2014)

Land Cover, Eastern and Southern Africa USGS 30 meter Global Land Cover dataset on: Closed Forest, Open Forest, Shrub lands, Grasslands, Croplands, Barren, Wetlands, Water Bodies In development with: South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Kenya

What Supports These Efforts Earth observations Earth observations Free and open data policies Free and open data policies Remote sensing with consistent global coverage, coordinated with in situ observations Remote sensing with consistent global coverage, coordinated with in situ observations Partnerships to bring together: Partnerships to bring together: Data Data Funding Funding Technical expertise Technical expertise Understanding of users’ needs Understanding of users’ needs 19