A bibliometric analysis of the Sentinel-2 missions in academic literature within the Marrakech region

Abstract

Eight years after the first launch of the Sentinel-2 satellite, its data have become an integral part of the scientific study of managed agricultural landscapes, providing insights into temporal changes and responses to factors such as climate change and overgrazing. This study uses bibliometric analysis to measure the importance of the Sentinel-2 mission in the scientific literature, focusing specifically on research in the Marrakech region from 2015 to 2023. The results reveal a dynamic research landscape, particularly a surge in publications in 2021. Notable contributors such as Abderrahman Lahrouni, Moumni Aicha, and Salah Er-raki emerge as key authors in the field of Sentinel-2 research in Marrakech. Cadi Ayyad University, in collaboration with the University of Toulouse and Mohamed 6 Polytechnic University, plays a key role in the organization of scientific research in the region. In the case study, the classification results highlight the superior performance of the Neural Networks (NN) algorithm in both object-based and pixel-based classifications. Specifically, the object-based classification outperforms the pixel-based classification, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 80%. This study underlines the growing importance of Sentinel-2 data, highlighting its multiple applications and growing prominence in the Marrakech region.