Baseline Data
Geographic, geodetic, and spatial baseline for Greater Berbera · Planning boundary established · Survey control network
Geographic Context
Greater Berbera sits on the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden at 10.432°N, 45.016°E — one of the most strategically located positions on the Horn of Africa. The planning boundary encompasses 8,927 hectares from the port on the east to the urban growth reserve on the west, and from the coastline north to the rocky escarpment edge south.
The physical geography presents both constraints and assets: the coastline is ideal for desalination intake and tourism; the escarpment to the south provides water catchment potential; the flat coastal plain offers large-scale infrastructure sites.
| Zone | Area (ha) | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Berbera urban core | 2,840 | Existing built-up |
| Port & BEZ | 1,207 | Industrial / logistics |
| Urban growth reserve | 4,200 | Phases 2–3 expansion |
| Green buffer / coastal | 680 | Ecology / recreation |
| TOTAL | 8,927 | — |
Geodetic Control Network
The baseline establishes a CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station) network designed to support GNSS surveying, UAV ground control, and future deformation monitoring of the dam and infrastructure corridor.
| Station | Type | Lat | Lon | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRB-01 | Primary CORS | 10.432°N | 45.016°E | Port reference |
| BRB-02 | CORS | 10.420°N | 44.980°E | Western urban |
| BRB-03 | CORS | 10.415°N | 45.045°E | BEZ site |
| BRB-04 | CORS | 10.455°N | 44.965°E | Escarpment base |
| BRB-05 | Benchmark | 10.417°N | 44.922°E | Sheikh junction |
| BRB-06 | Benchmark | 10.450°N | 45.010°E | Dam access |
GIS Data Inventory
24 baseline layers assembled from OpenStreetMap, SRTM DEM, Copernicus, and fieldwork. Quality-assessed against INSPIRE metadata standards.
Topography
Available- ·SRTM 30m DEM
- ·Slope derivatives
- ·Hillshade
- ·Contours 10m
Hydrography
Modelled- ·Wadis (drainage lines)
- ·Catchment delineation (modelled)
- ·Coastal bathymetry (GEBCO)
- ·Flood zones (Q100 modelled)
Settlement
Available- ·Building footprints (OSM)
- ·Road network (OSM)
- ·Administrative boundaries
- ·Land use classification
Infrastructure
Partial- ·Port boundary (DP World)
- ·Power lines (partial)
- ·Water supply (partial)
- ·Airport and approaches
Environment
Available- ·Landsat 8 imagery (2024)
- ·NDVI vegetation index
- ·Soil types (FAO)
- ·Protected area boundaries
Survey control
Pending- ·CORS stations (designed)
- ·Benchmarks (designed)
- ·GCP network for UAV
- ·Tide gauge reference
Library integrations in this notebook
contextily provides satellite basemap tiles (Esri World Imagery) for all GIS visualisations. cartopy generates report-quality UTM-37N projection maps and regional inset maps for the Horn of Africa. Both are used throughout NB01 for all published figures.