Publication Abstracts
Druyan and Fulakeza 2012
, and , 2012: Regional climate model applications for West Africa and the Tropical Eastern Atlantic. In Climate Models. , Ed., InTech, pp. 43-58.
The chapter reviews applications of a regional climate model for studies of climate variability over West Africa and the adjacent eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean. Fig. 1a shows the region and identifies some of the geographic features mentioned in the chapter. The savannah region south of the Sahara Desert, known as the Sahel (situated between 10-15°N), is of particular interest to climate scientists because of its vulnerability to recurring drought. The West African monsoon (WAM) is characterized by the advance of precipitation northward to the Sahel region during late June or early July (onset) and its southward retreat during September. Below normal Sahel rainfall during some summers is associated with an abbreviated northward advance of this rain belt. A shortfall in seasonal rainfall has an especially severe negative impact on the pastoral and agricultural economies of the region, causing famine and widespread social upheaval in worst case scenarios. The socio-economic repercussions of drought or even floods lend importance to the ultimate goals of climate model research relevant to this area: improving seasonal forecasts, predicting monsoon onset dates, determining the role of sea-surface temperature anomalies and land surface characteristics on the variability of the developing monsoon and creating reliable projections of the future Sahel climate under a range of greenhouse warming scenarios. Early warning of imminent drought, for example, can allow mitigation strategies to blunt some of the negative impacts. In addition, research is also devoted to better understanding African easterly wave disturbances (AEWs). AEWs enter the tropical Atlantic from West Africa during the summer and can develop into tropical cyclones, and occasionally into hurricanes.
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BibTeX Citation
@inbook{dr08300g,
author={Druyan, L. M. and Fulakeza, M.},
editor={Druyan, L. M.},
title={Regional climate model applications for West Africa and the Tropical Eastern Atlantic},
booktitle={Climate Models},
year={2012},
pages={43--58},
publisher={InTech},
address={Rijeka, Croatia},
}
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RIS Citation
TY - CHAP ID - dr08300g AU - Druyan, L. M. AU - Fulakeza, M. ED - Druyan, L. M. PY - 2012 TI - Regional climate model applications for West Africa and the Tropical Eastern Atlantic BT - Climate Models SP - 43 EP - 58 PB - InTech CY - Rijeka, Croatia ER -
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