Dr George Owusu

Senior Lecturer

Contact info owusugeorge@ug.edu.gh

About

Dr. George Owusu is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon, with a background in hydrology, ecohydrological modelling and geospatial analysis. His area of specialization includes surface energy balance and evapotranspiration modelling, hydrological and flood modelling, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and quantitative research methods. 

Education

2017: PhD Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Ghana

2005: MSc Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

2002: BA Geography (First Class Honours), University of Ghana, Ghana

Research Interest

Application of hydrological modelling, remote sensing and geospatial analysis in:

  1. Evapotranspiration and surface energy balance modelling
  2. Hydrological modelling and flood early-warning systems
  3. Modelling soil water dynamics
  4. Household water security and institutional policy
  5. Urban sprawl and the water nexus in developing countries
  6. Development of open-source research software (R packages)

Publications

Journal Articles

  1. Ochege, F. U., Luo, G., Yuan, X., Owusu, G., Li, C., & Justine, F. M. (2022). Simulated effects of plastic film-mulched soil on surface energy fluxes based on optimized TSEB model in a drip-irrigated cotton field. Agricultural Water Management, 262, 107394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107394
  2. Yiran, G. A. B., Ablo, A. D., Asem, F. E., & Owusu, G. (2020). Urban sprawl in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of the literature in selected countries. Ghana Journal of Geography, 12(1).
  3. Ochege, F. U., Luo, G., Obeta, M. C., Owusu, G., Duulatov, E., Cao, L., & Nsengiyumva, J. B. (2019). Mapping evapotranspiration variability over a complex oasis-desert ecosystem based on automated calibration of Landsat 7 ETM+ data in SEBAL. GIScience & Remote Sensing, 56(8), 1305–1332. https://doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2019.1643531
  4. Yankson, P. W. K., Owusu, A. B., Owusu, G., Boakye-Danquah, J., & Tetteh, J. D. (2017). Assessment of coastal communities' vulnerability to floods using indicator-based approach: A case study of Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. Natural Hazards, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-2985-1
  5. Owusu, G., Owusu-Barima, A., Amankwaa, E. F., & Eshun, F. (2017). Analyses of fresh water stress with a coupled ground and surface water model in the Pra Basin, Ghana. Applied Water Science, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-015-0279-x
  6. Owusu, G. (2016). On philosophical foundations of ecohydrology: The challenge of bridging natural and social science. Ecohydrology, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1690
  7. Eshun, F., Owusu, A. B., Owusu, G., & Amankwaa, E. F. (2015). A missed opportunity? Unravelling the marketing potentials of tourism in Ghana through GIS. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, 4(3–4), 260–278.
  8. Owusu, G. (2014). An assessment of regional and gender equity in healthcare coverage under different healthcare policies in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Geography, 6.
  9. Owusu, G. (2014). Re-engineering DEM to extract geomorphologic parameters for flood prediction in Ghana. Journal of Geomatics, 8(2).
  10. Tachie-Obeng, E., Hewitson, B., Gyasi, E., Abekoe, M., & Owusu, G. (2014). Downscaled climate change projections for Wa District in the Savanna Zone of Ghana. Journal of Disaster Research, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2014.p0422
  11. Amankwaa, E. F., Owusu, A. B., Owusu, G., & Eshun, F. (2014). Accra's poverty trap: Analysing water provision in urban Ghana. Journal of Social Science for Policy Implications, 2(2).
  12. Owusu, G. (2014). Developing R software for simultaneous estimation of Q- and R-mode factor analyses using spatial and non-spatial data. Mathematical Theory and Modeling, 4(2).
  13. Owusu, G. (2012). A GIS-based estimation of soil loss in the Densu Basin in Ghana. West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 20(2).

Book Chapters

  1. Owusu, G. (2013). Contaminant hydrology: Environmental concepts of oil pollutants and water quality. In G. Owusu, S. Agyei-Mensah, P. W. K. Yankson, & E. M. Attua (Eds.), Selected Readings in Geography: Essays in Commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the University of Ghana (Social Sciences Series, Vol. 1). University of Ghana and Woeli Publishing Services.
  2. Ablo, A. D., Asem, F. E., Yiran, G. A. B., & Owusu, G. (2020). Urban sprawl, land use change and the changing rural agrarian livelihood in peri-urban Accra, Ghana. In F. Kapfudzaruwa, S. Kudo, K. Matsuyama, & D. I. Allasiw (Eds.), Rural-Urban Linkages and Sustainable Development: Case Studies from Africa (Vol. 6). Spears Media Press.

Technical Publications & Software

  1. Owusu, G. (2017). Development of Ecohydrological Models to Quantify Soil Water and Crop Evapotranspiration in the Ofin Basin, Ghana [Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana]. http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
  2. Owusu, G., & Yakohene, S. S. (2017). Technical Report on ECOWAS Migration Portal. Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, University of Ghana. http://ecowasmigration.ug.edu.gh
  3. Owusu, G., Forkuor, G., & Dwomoh, F. K. (2012). The Development of an Online GIS Platform for Ghana's Agricultural Sector [Technical report]. Prepared for ACDI-VOCA, funded by USAID. Geokings Associates.
  4. Owusu, G. sebkc: Surface Energy Balance and Crop Coefficient Estimation with R [Computer software]. CRAN. https://gowusu.github.io/
  5. Owusu, G. floodflow: Hydrological Modelling and Flood Early-Warning [Computer software]. CRAN. https://gowusu.github.io/
  6. Owusu, G. qrfactor: Simultaneous Q-Mode and R-Mode Factor Analysis for Spatial Data [Computer software]. CRAN. https://gowusu.github.io/qrfactor/
  7. Owusu, G. (2012). mgraph: Graphing map attributes and non-map variables in R (R package version 1.0) [Computer software]. CRAN. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=mgraph

Manuals & Technical Guides

  1. Owusu, G. (2026). floodflow — A Manual to Climate-Informed Flood Modelling in R. Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana. https://gowusu.github.io/floodflow/articles/floodflow_manual.html
  2. Owusu, G. (2026). Simultaneous Q- and R-Mode Factor Analysis of Spatial Data in R. Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana. https://gowusu.github.io/qrfactor/articles/qrfactor_manual.html
  3. Owusu, G. (2026). How Much Water Does My Crop Need? A Practical Guide to Crop Water and Irrigation Requirements for Farms near Kumasi with the sebkc R Package. Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana. https://gowusu.github.io/sebkc/articles/crop_water_needs.html
  4. Owusu, G. (2026). Evapotranspiration from Weather and Satellites: A Guide to sebkc. Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana. https://gowusu.github.io/sebkc/articles/sebkc_manual.html