The ALOS PALSAR mosaic over the African continent — A reference baseline dataset for forest- and land cover change monitoring

Within the framework of the ALOS Kyoto & Carbon Initiative, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) is in charge for the generation of a 50 m pixel spacing L-band SAR mosaic over the African continent. The mosaic is generated from full resolution (20 m), dual polarisation (HH + HV) ALOS PALSAR data, acquired from June through October 2007. The mosaic is scheduled for release in the autumn of 2009, and will be made available free of change to scientific users worldwide through the JRC and JAXA. This paper provides a brief overview of the K&C Initiative, and a short description of the procedures employed by the JRC for the Africa mosaic generation.