OSFAC maintains a database of satellite imagery for the Congo Basin and distributes this data upon request. The database contains images of varying resolution and is primarily comprised of LANDSAT, ASTER, ASTER GDEM, SRTM, SPOT and LANDSAT MOSAICS images from 1972 to 2014. Data is available in electronic format through the OSFAC office in Kinshasa, DRC and OSFAC focal points. There is no charge for any data distributed through OSFAC, however some data availability is subject to applicable data sharing regulations. For additional information on specific data sharing conditions, please contact us.


OSFAC maintains a database of approximately 35,000 Landsat images (TM and ETM+; orthorectified and non-orthorectified). This data was provided in large part by the Global Land Cover Facility (UMIACS, University of Maryland), USGS, USFS, ...
  • Coverage area: Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Eq. Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola and Chad ;
  • Dates: 1972 - 2014 ;
  • Resolution: 28.5 m ;
  • Scene size: +/- 180 km x 180 km ;
  • Coordinate system: UTM Zone, North or South ;
  • Common applications: General mapping, forest management, land use planning, protected area monitoring, monitoring land cover, calculating vegetation indicies thanks to its wide spectral resolution (8 bands).

The following information can help OSFAC process requests for images:

  • The Path/Row of the scene, for example p181r063 refers to a portion of Kinshasa ;
  • The location relative to an administrative area or latitude/longitude coordinates, for example in Boende territory or 0o16’53.62’’ S and 20o52’56.43’’ E ;
  • The name of an important town or village in close proximity to the area of interest ;
  • Dates of interest.


OSFAC maintains a database of approximately 3,527 ASTER images.
  • Coverage area: Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo ;
  • Dates: 2000 - 2011 ;
  • Resolution: VNIR = 15 m; SWIR = 30 m; TIR = 90 m ;
  • Scene size: +/- 60 km x 60km ;
  • Datum: WGS84 ;
  • Coordinate system: UTM Zone, North or South ;
  • Common applications: General mapping, forest management, land use planning, protected area monitoring, monitoring land cover, calculating vegetation indicies thanks to its wide spectral resolution (14 bands) and the ability to create elevation datasets.

The following information can help OSFAC process requests for images:

  • The location relative to an administrative area or latitude/longitude coordinates, for example in Boende territory or 0o16’53.62’’ S and 20o52’56.43’’ E ;
  • The name of an important town or village in close proximity to the area of interest.


OSFAC maintains a database of approximately 700 SPOT images.

  • Coverage area: Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo ;
  • Dates: 2008 - 20011 ;
  • Resolution: 5 m ;
  • Scene size: 4 m ;

  

 

The following information can help OSFAC process requests for images:

  • The location relative to an administrative area or latitude/longitude coordinates, for example in Boende territory or 0o16’53.62’’ S and 20o52’56.43’’ E;
  • The name of an important town or village in close proximity to the area of interest.


A database of SRTM images, topographic images obtained by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is available through OSFAC’s head office.

  • Coverage area: Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Eq. Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola and Chad ;
  • Dates: 2000 ;
  • Resolution: 30 and 90 m ;
  • Coordinate system: Geographic ;
  • Datum: WGS84 ;
  • Common applications: General mapping, creating numerical models, a wide range of hydrological applications (delimiting basins, calculating rates of flow).
The following information can help OSFAC process requests for images:

    • The location relative to an administrative area or latitude/longitude coordinates, for example in Boende territory or 0o16’53.62’’ S and 20o52’56.43’’ E ;
    • The name of an important town or village in close proximity to the area of interest.


    As part of their CARPE/CBFP activities, the University of Maryland and South Dakota State University has created Landsat mosaics for the Congo Basin and individual CBFP landscapes.

    Due to persistent cloud cover in the Congo Basin, mulmulti-temporal cloud-free mosaics were created using Landsat data to provide cloud-free images. These mosaics are available in electronic and paper format through OSFAC.

    Posters of 1990-2000 forest change, produced as part of CARPE activities, are also available in electronic or paper copy by contacting OSFAC.

    The following information can help OSFAC process requests for images:

    • The name of the landscape interest.



    Acquiring Data

    In order for OSFAC to process your data requests as rapidly as possible, please:

    • Make your request through OSFAC-DMT Online
    • Bring a CD or DVD to store your data

    Data Sharing

    All satellite data available through OSFAC are distributable according to the following conditions:

    • Landsat, SRTM and various products are available free of charge to all users.
    • ASTER and SPOT data are available subject to data sharing conditions. For additional information on these conditions, contact OSFAC.

    MODIS active fire data (from NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites) are also available through OSFAC upon request. For additional information on this data, please see the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) website: http://earthdata.nasa.gov/firms.

    Useful links to download satellite data and products

    Other Links

    For additional information, contact us.

    1 comment

    • Kyungu Kasolene Kyungu Kasolene 25 Mar 2016

      Thanks to accept my request. I'm Phd candidate on virunga landscape forest use and will request to use landsat image from OSFAC and will need your support.

      Reply

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