tillytales92/galamsey

Data Work on STEG "Golden Traps: Self-Reinforcing Dynamics of Artisanal Mining and Agricultural Land Degradation in Ghana" # Ghana Galamsey Mapping Research project mapping galamsey (illegal artisanal gold mining) in Ghana, combining remote sensing classification with spatial and economic analysis of mining incidence. > **Note:** This repository currently contains **code only**. Raw and processed data > (~9GB) are kept out of version control and synced separately via Dropbox. Paths in the > scripts assume a sibling `data/` directory populated from that Dropbox folder. ## Project Structure The project has two sequential phases: 1. **Remote Sensing** (`code/1_remote_sensing/`) — classify mine presence from Landsat/Sentinel-2 imagery via Google Earth Engine, 1995–2025, across all of Ghana. 2. **Descriptives & Analysis** (`code/3_analysis/`) — spatial and economic analysis of mining incidence. Currently uses Barenblitt et al. (2021) as an interim data source; designed to swap in the remote-sensing panel once Part 1 is complete. ### Code layout Scripts carry a folder-role prefix + sequence number and coordinate through data artifacts (RDS/CSV) rather than sourcing one another — renaming a script never breaks the pipeline. ``` code/ ├── 0_data/ d_NN_* — raw-data acquisition & covariate builders │ (elevation, waterways, MERIT hydrology, gold geology, GEE downloads) ├── 1_remote_sensing/ rs_NN_* — Landsat/Sentinel-2 GEE pipeline + embedding classifier ├── 2_build/ b_NN_* — writes data/processed/ artifacts │ (hex/district cross-sections, first-stage models, event panel) ├── 3_analysis/ a_NN_* — produces figures, tables, and reports └── 4_presentation/ — Quarto/LaTeX slides summarizing motivation & findings ``` ### Execution order 1. `0_data/d_03_waterways.R` — prerequisite: writes `waterways_natural.shp`. 2. `2_build/b_01_cross_section.R` — district + hex cross-sections; all downstream scripts read its outputs. 3. `2_build/b_02_firststage_models.R` — MAUP-robustness model ladder. 4. ` …