GIS Database

CETRAD maintains a comprehensive database of geospatial data for Kenya and for target areas of the NCCR North-South and ESAPP programmes in Tanzania. The data has been acquired either as primary data from the field or as secondary data from various data sources. This database contains thematically structured datasets at regional, national and International levels; and also contains spatial datasets in ArcInfo coverage, Shapefiles and geodatabase data formats. The regional database holds datasets for Embu, Kirinyaga, Kitui, Laikipia, Machakos, Mwingi, Makueni, Baringo, Kajiado , Isiolo, Mt. Kenya, Samburu, Meru, with varying densities of coverage. Data update is a continuous process and more districts will continue to be covered with time.

Core Activities and Affiliated programmes datasets

Currently, the database contains themes such as:

  • Infrastructure and social services (road network, railways, health facilities, educational facilities, etc);

  • Hydrology (watersheds, rivers, lakes, swamps, water points etc);

  • Administration and politics (Administrative boundaries to sub-location level, constituency, county and wards boundaries, etc);

  • Ecology (forests, lakes, rivers, land-cover, land use, wetlands, conservation areas);.

  • Socio-economic and human settlement data (population density and distribution, land-ownership, land use, property boundaries, towns, and trading centers, etc);.

  • Topography: (Contours, DTM and Topographic maps [1:50'000, 1:100000, 1:250000] and satellite images), among many more.
Geo Information and Mapping

CETRAD has undertaken a number of specific mapping projects from which extra GIS and social economic data layers have been generated. A structured database of project datasets is maintained.

Currently, the database contains information for projects such as;

  • Irrigation schemes.

  • Water use conflicts hotspots

  • DTMs for Laikipia, Mwingi, Makueni, Ewaso Ngiro North basin, Pangani basin, Songwe River basin

  • Water supply inventory for Laikipia district

  • Elephants movement/migration mapping

  • HEC hotspots in the larger Laikipia region

  • Nakuru local urban observatory (LUO) project

  • Large scale horticultural irrigation schemes in Mt. Kenya region

  • Mt. Kenya east pilot project MKEPP

  • Mapping and characterising water points in Mbeti South location, Mbeere District

  • Conservation agriculture (Syngenta)
Hydromet Database

CETRAD also maintains among other Databases a Hydromet Database comprising the following parameters:

  • River flows - for: Gauge heights entry, flows calculation and analysis Queries.

  • Evaporation entry - for: Rainfall entry, calculation and analysis

  • Meteo - for: Temperature, Wind speed, sunshine, radiation, humidity (Both entry and analysis queries)
GeoNetCast Database

The local GeoNetCast ground receiving station is located at CETRAD. The station receives both satellite and environmental data that is re-broadcasted via communication satellites and stores these data in an independent storage server. Data Manager Program is the utility used to handle all the incoming data streams, (e.g., from MSG-1 and MSG-2) and file location configurations options that are defined by the system manager for storage purposes. Main Data sets being received by the station include:-

  • FENYUN: Data from china meteorological agency, e.g. FY2-C.

  • JASON: data from Jason altimeter mission (sea surface height and sea level anomaly)

  • Meteo - For: temperature, wind speed, sunshine, radiation, humidity (Both entry and Analysis queries)

  • LRIT: low rate image transmitted satellite image data from Geostationary satellites (MSG, Meteosat-7, MTSAT1R, GOES-East and GOES-West)

  • LMETOP: data from the various instruments onboard of METOP

  • Mpe_download_Eumetsat: The multi-sensor precipitation estimates, generated from MSG and Met-7 (directly extracted from the EUMETSAT website).

  • MPEF: Secondary Meteorological Products (AMV, GII, CLM, CLAI).

  • NOAA: NOAA based satellite (AVHRR-GAC) and sounder data (e.g. HIRS, GOME, etc).

  • RSS: Rapid Scanning Service, 5 minutes recordings of the northern 1/3 portion of MSG-field of view and secondary products.

  • SAF: Satellite Application Facility Data (e.g. surface radiation budget, bio-geophysical parameters, sea surface temperatures, evapotranspiration).

  • SEVIR: Data from regional visualization and monitoring system, e.g. Mesoamerica.

  • VGT4Africa: Decadal processed data derived from SPOT vegetation instrument, like NDVI, VPI, etc..