The Google Earth Engine (GEE) Explorer is a simple web interface to the Earth Engine application program interface (API). Anyone can visualize data provided in the public data catalog whereas the code editor is a web-based integrated development environment (IDE) for the GEE JavaScript API. Code editor requires a ‘trusted tester’ access in which the user has to login into their Gmail account.

1. Remote sensing for land
cover mapping in
Google Earth Engine
Bujumbura
Ismaël HAMENYIMANA
Geologist

2. Agenda
What is Remote Sensing
Why use Remote Sensing
What is Earth Engine
Explore Earth Engine
Sign up with Earth Engine
JavaScript Code Editor
Unsupervised Classification

4. “Remote Sensing is the use of
electromagnetic radiation
sensors to record images of the
environment, which can be
interpreted to yield useful
information” (Curran, 1985)
Schematic-figure-of-satellite-remote-
sensing-technology

5. Why use Remote Sensing
Advantages
● Large spatial coverage
● Complete spatial coverage
● Accessibility
● Repeatability
● Objective measurement
● Affordable(over large areas)
Limitations
● Require extensive
preprocessing
● Technological constraints
(hardware & software)
● Surrogate variables about the
things of interest(indirect
measurements)

6. Land cover & Land use
In remote sensing,
Land cover refers to the physical and biological cover of the
earth’s surface, including vegetation, water bodies, and bare soil.
Land use refers to the human activities that take place on the
land, such as agriculture, urbanization, and forestry 1
.

7. Supervised & Unsupervised classification
Supervised classification is a technique used to classify remote
sensing data into different land cover types using a set of
predefined training samples. The classifier is trained to recognize
the spectral characteristics of each land cover type, and then it is
applied to the entire image to classify each pixel 12
.
Unsupervised classification is a technique used to classify remote
sensing data into different land cover types without predefined
training samples. The algorithm groups pixels with similar spectral
characteristics into clusters, and then the user assigns each
cluster to a land cover type based on their knowledge of the area 12

9. What is Earth Engine
Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a cloud-based platform that provides access to a
vast repository of satellite imagery and other geospatial data. This data can
be used to map land cover, which is the type of vegetation or other material
that covers the Earth's surface. GEE provides several tools for land cover
mapping, including:
Image processing tools: These tools can be used to prepare satellite imagery
for analysis, such as correcting for atmospheric effects and clouds.
Classification algorithms: These algorithms can be used to classify pixels
in satellite imagery into different land cover classes.
Machine learning algorithms: These algorithms can be trained to
automatically identify land cover classes from satellite imagery.

10. “ https://earthengine.google.com”

11. What is Earth Engine
The Google Earth Engine (GEE) Explorer is a simple web interface to
the Earth Engine application program interface (API).
Anyone can visualize data provided in the public data catalog
whereas the code editor is a web-based integrated development
environment (IDE) for the GEE JavaScript API.
Code editor requires a ‘trusted tester’ access in which the user
has to login into their Gmail account.

12. “Sign up for an Evaluator account:
Register here:
https://earthengine.google.com/signup/
It may take up to one week to be granted access”

13. Colocated Data + Computation + APIs

14. The Earth Engine Data Catalog
> 200 public datasets
MODIS
250m daily
Terra Bella
<1m daily–weekly
Weather & Climate
NOAA NCEP, OMI, ...
Terrain &
Land Cover
> 4000 new images every day
> 5 million images > 5 petabytes of data
Landsat & Sentinel
10-30m, 14-day
... and many more, updating daily!

15. Code Editor
• What is it?
• Web based IDE for the Earth Engine API
• Access many pre-made geospatial tools

16. Application Program Interface (Code Editor)
https://code.earthengine.google.com/
Powerful geospatial tool to create complex custom analysis
Requires some programming knowledge
Supports both JavaScript and Python

17. • Additional Learning Materials
https://developers.google.com
/earth- engine/getstarted
https://developers.google.com
/earth- engine/playground

18. Earth Engine
Engine is a cloud-based platform for planetary-scale geospatial analysis.
It allows users to access and process massive amounts of satellite imagery
and other geospatial data.
In a few words, Earth Engine is a powerful tool for analyzing and
visualizing geospatial data. It is used by scientists, researchers, and
policymakers to study a wide range of topics, including climate change,
deforestation, and urban growth.

19. Graphical User Interface (Explorer)
https://explorer.earthengine.google.com/#workspace
User friendly way to begin exploring and analyzing data

20. Source
Dave Thau Manager of Developer Relations, Google Earth Engine and Earth Outreach “Earth
Engine user Summit June 14, 2016” : Google Earth Engine Slide
1,12.Supervised and Unsupervised Classification in Remote Sensing: Supervised and
Unsupervised Classification in Remote Sensing - GIS Geography
Schematic-figure-of-satellite-remote-sensing-technology
Introduction to Google Earth Engine, Developed by remote sensing specialists at the USFS
Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC), located in
Salt Lake City, Utah.

21. Thanks!
Any questions?
Ismael-70 @hamenyimanaisma Ismaël HAMENYIMANA hamenyimanais@gmail.com
+257 79 883 029