GHSL-S2 plugin User Guide

Abstract

The GHSL-S2 Tool (version 1.0) is a visualization and download tool (QGIS plugin) developed in the frame of the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) project . It facilitates the access to the GHSL S2 products using a free and open-source cross-platform Geographic Information System software (QGIS v.3.8 or higher). It provides a handy way to explore the GHSL datasets, to classify the probabilistic built-up layer derived from Sentinel-2 image composite and to export user-defined subsets, while avoiding the download of large files. The GHS-S2 tool is developed in Python programming language as a QGIS plugin. It bridges the QGIS software to the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based platform , making use of the GEE plugin , which integrates GEE and QGIS using the EE Python API . It requires an active GEE account and an internet connection. This document contains the description of the GHS-S2 tool usage, the main features and functionalities. The GHSL-S2 plugin is part of the GHSL tools suite and issued with an end-user licence agreement, included in the download package.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen