Diagnosis of the Causes of the Rain Flooding in June in the West Africa Coastal Area — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Diagnosis of the Causes of the Rain Flooding in June in the West Africa Coastal Area
Abidjan Meteorological Center of the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
,
Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
,
Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
,
Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
,
Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
1 Abidjan Meteorological Center of the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
2 Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
3 Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
4 Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
5 Laboratory of Matter, Environmental and Solar Energy Sciences (LASMES), Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Group, University F.H.B. of Cocody Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Rain flooding during June on the West Africa coastal area is analyzed by using the 95th and 75th percentiles, which represent extreme and intense rainfall events respectively. Thus, the contribution of these events that reaches around 50% shows their impact on the rainfall in June. Atmospheric and oceanic factors influence the rain flooding. Indeed, the extreme events are associated with easterly waves propagating from 20 ° E, while those of intense events are initiated around 5 ° E. The impact of oceanic conditions exhibits the warming of the equatorial rail and the Atlantic cold tongue, the warming of the whole ocean basin and a north-south dipole of SST anomalies. The West African monsoon that reaches Abidjan corresponds to a low-level atmospheric flow, whose upward motion extends in latitude from the ocean to the continent. An increase of disturbance contributes to enhancing these events. This is confirmed by the inflow on to the continent of oceanic moisture coming from the ventilation by evaporation of warm water. In addition, the coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations are one of the best candidates that could help to better explain these dramatic events. This study is useful because of showing solutions that could help in adoption of policies for the risks management related to these events.
KeywordsWest Africa CoastRain FloodingThresholdAtmospheric and Ocean Surface Conditions
Ochou, A.D., Aman, A., Kouadio, K.Y. and Assamoi, P. (2005) Nouveau zonage climatique basé sur la variabilité pluviométrique en Côte d'Ivoire et au Ghana. Geotrope, 5, 34-46.
Kouadio, Y.K., Ochou, D.A. and Servain, J. (2003) Tropical Atlantic and Rainfall Variability in Côte d’Ivoire. Geophysical Research Letters, 30, 8005. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL015290
Kouadio, Y.K., Ali, K.E., Zahiri, E.-P. and Assamoi, A.P. (2007) Etude de la prédictibilité de la pluviométrie en Côte d’Ivoire durant la période de Juillet à Septembre. Revue Ivoirienne des Sciences et Technologie, 10, 117-134.
ONU-Habitat (2006) Côte d’Ivoire: Profil urbain de la ville d’Abidjan, édité par le Programme des Nations unies pour les établissement humains. UNON, Nairobi, 1-46.
Reason, C.J.C. and Rouault, M. (2006) Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Tropical Southeast Atlantic Ocean and West African Rainfall. Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L21705. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027145
Lutz, K., Jacobeit, J. and Rathmann, J. (2015) Atlantic Warm and Cold Water Events and Impact on African West Coast Precipitation. International Journal of Climatology, 35, 128-141. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3969
Ali, K.E., Kouadio, K.Y., Zahiri, E.-P., Aman, A., Assamoi, A.P. and Bourles, B. (2011) Influence of the Gulf of Guinea Coastal and Equatorial Upwellings on the Precipitations along Its Northern Coasts during the Boreal Summer Period. Asian Journal of Applied Science, 4, 271-285. https://doi.org/10.3923/ajaps.2011.271.285
Ta, S., Kouadio, K.Y., Ali, K.E., Toualy, E., Aman, A. and Yoroba, F. (2016) West Africa Extreme Rainfall Events and Large-Scale Ocean Surface and Atmospheric Conditions in the Tropical Atlantic. Advances in Meteorology, 2016, Article ID: 1940456. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1940456
Lafore, J.-P., Beucher, F., Peyrille, P., Diongue-Niang, A., Chapelon, N., Bouniol, D., Caniaux, G., Favot, F., Ferry, F., Guichard, F., Poan, E., Roehrig, R. and Vischel, Th. (2017) A Multi-Scale Analysis of the Extreme Rain Event of Ouagadougou in 2009. Quarternary Journal of the Royal Meteorololgical Society, 143, 3094-3109. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3165
Panthou, G., Vischel, T., Lebel, T., Blanchet, J., Quantin, G. and Ali, A. (2012) Extreme Rainfall in West Africa: A Regional Modeling. Water Resources Research, 48, W08501. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012WR012052
Ibrahim, B., Polcher, J., Karambiri, H. and Rockel, B. (2012) Characterization of the Rainy Season in Burkina Faso and It’s Representation by Regional Climate Models. Climate Dynamics, 39, 1287-1302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-011-1276-x
Goula, B.T., Soro, E.G., Kouassi, W. and Srohourou, B. (2012) Tendances et ruptures au niveau des pluies journalieres extrêmes en Côte d’Ivoire (Afrique de l’Ouest). Hydrological Science Journal, 57, 1067-1080. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2012.692880
Huffman, G.J., Adler, R.F., Morrissey, M.M., Bolvin, D.T., Curtis, S., Joyce, R., McGavock, B. and Susskind, J. (2001) Global Precipitation at One-Degree Daily Resolution from Multisatellite Observations. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 2, 36-50. https://doi.org/10.1175/1525-7541(2001)002 2.0.CO;2
Jobard, I., Chopin, F., Berges, J.C. and Roca, R. (2009) An Intercomparison of 10-Day Satellite Precipitation Products during West African Monsoon. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32, 2353-2376. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161003698286
Roca, R., CHambon, P., Jobard, I., Kirstetter, P.E., Gosset, M. and Berges, J.C. (2010) Comparing Satellite and Surface Rainfall Products over West Africa at Meteorologically Relevant Scales during the AMMA Campaign Using Errors Estimates. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 49, 715-731. https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JAMC2318.1
Reynolds, R.W., Rayner, N.A., Smith, T.M., Stokes, D.C. and Wang, W. (2002) An Improved in Situ and Satellite SST Analysis for Climate. Journal of Climate, 15, 1609-1625. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2002)015 2.0.CO;2
Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Zhu, Y., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W., Janowiak, J., Mo, K.C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetmaa, A., Reynolds, R., Jenne, R. and Joseph, D. (1996) The NCEP/NCAR 40-Year Reanalysis Project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 77, 437-472. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1996)077 2.0.CO;2
Huang, W., Chang, S.-Q., Xie, C.-L. and Zhang, Z.-P. (2017) Moisture Sources of Extreme Summer Precipitation Events in North Xinjiang and Their Relationship with Atmospheric Circulation. Advances in Climate Change Research, 8, 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2017.02.001
Zhang, X., Alexander, L., Hegerl, G.C., Jones, P., Tank, A.K., Peterson, T.C., Trewin, B. and Zwiers, F.W. (2011) Indices for Monitoring Changes in Extremes Based on Daily Temperature and Precipitation Data. WIREs Climate Change, 2, 851-870. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.147
Alexander, L.V., Zhang, X., Peterson, T.C., Caesar, J., Gleason, B., Klein Tank, A.M.G., Haylock, M., Collins, D., Trewin, B., Rahimzadeh, F., Tagipour, A., Rupa Kumar, K., Revadekar, J., Griffiths, G., Vincent, L., Stephenson, D.B., Burn, J., Aguilar, E., Brunet, M., Taylor, M., New, M., Zhai, P., Rusticucci, M. and Vazquez-Aguirre, J.L. (2006) Global Observed Changes in Daily Climate Extremes of Temperature and Precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmosphere, 111, D05109. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006290
Ma, S. and Zhou, T. (2015) Observed Trends in the Timing of Wet and Dry Season in China and the Associated Changes in Frequency and Duration of Daily Precipitation. International Journal of Climatology, 35, 4631-4641. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4312
Gao, T., Wang, H.J. and Zhou, T. (2017) Changes of Extreme Precipitation and Nonlinear Influence of Climate Variables over Monsoon Region in China. Atmospheric Research, 197, 379-389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.07.017
Cao, F., Gao, T., Dan, L., Ma, Z., Yang, X. and Yang, F. (2018) Contribution of Large-Scale Circulation Anomalies to Variability of Summer Precipitation Extremes in Northeast China. Atmospheric Science Letters, 19, e867. https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.867
Burpee, R.W. (1972) The Origin and Structure of Easterly Waves in the Lower Troposphere of North Africa. Journal of Atmospheric Science, 29, 77-90. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1972)029 2.0.CO;2
Zhang, C., Woodworth, P. and GU, G. (2006) The Seasonal Cycle in the Lower Troposphere over West Africa from Sounding Observations. Quaterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 132, 2559-2582. https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.06.23
Diawara, A., Yoroba, F., Kouadio, K.Y., Kouassi, K.B., Assamoi, E.M., Diedhiou, A. and Assamoi, P. (2014) Climate Variability in the Sudano-Guinean Transition Area and Its Impact on Vegetation: The Case of the Lamto Region in Côte d’Ivoire. Advances in Meteorolology, 2014, Article ID: 831414. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/831414
Molinari, J., Knight, D., Dickinson, M., Vollaro, D. and Skubis, S. (1997) Potential Vorticity, Easterly Waves, and Tropical Cyclogenesis. Monthly Weather Review, 125, 2699-2708. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1997)125 2.0.CO;2
Molinari, J., Vollaro, D., Skubis, S. and Dickinson, M. (2000) Origins and Mechanisms of Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclogenesis: A Case Study. Monthly Weather Review, 128, 125-139. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2000)128 2.0.CO;2
Hsieh, J.-S. and Cook, K.H. (2008) On the Instability of the African Easterly Jet and the Generation of African Waves: Reversals of the Potential Vorticity Gradient. Journal of the Atmospheric Science, 65, 2130-2151. https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAS2552.1
Liebmann, B., Kiladis, G.N., Allured, D., Vera, C.S., Jones, C., Carvalho, M.V., Bladé, I. and Gonzales, P.L.M. (2011) Mechanisms Associated with Large Daily Rainfall Events in Northeast Brazil. Journal of Climate, 24, 376-396. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JCLI3457.1
Kouadio, K.Y., Servain, J., Machado, L.A.T. and Lentini, C.A.D. (2012) Heavy Rainfall Episodes in the Eastern Northeast Brazil Linked to Large-Scale Ocean-Atmosphere Conditions in the Tropical Atlantic. Advances in Meteorology, 2012, Article ID: 369567. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/369567
Diedhiou, A., Janicot, S., Viltard, A. and De Felice, P. (1998) Evidence of Two Regimes of Easterly Waves over West Africa and the Tropical Atlantic. Geophysical Research Letters, 25, 2805-2808. https://doi.org/10.1029/98GL02152
Diedhiou, A., Janicot, S., Viltard, A., De Felice, P. and Laurent, H. (1999) Easterly Wave Regimes and Associated Convection over West Africa and Tropical Atlantic: Results from the NCEP/NCAR and ECMWF Reanalyses. Climate Dynamics, 15, 795-822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003820050316
Ding, H., Keenlyside, N.S. and Latif, M. (2012) Impact of the Equatorial Atlantic on the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Climate Dynamics, 38, 1965-1972. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-011-1097-y
Caniaux, G., Giordani, H., Redelsperger, J.-L., Guichard, F., Key, E. and Wade, M. (2011) Coupling between the Atlantic Cold Tongue and the West African Monsoon in Boreal Spring and Summer. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, C04003. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006570
Torralba, V., Rodríguez-Fonseca, B., Mohino, E. and Losada, T. (2015) The Non-Stationary Influence of the Atlantic and Pacific Niños on North Eastern South American Rainfall. Frontiers in Earth Science, 3, 55. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2015.00055
Li, H.L., Wang, H.J. and Yin, Y.Z. (2012) Interdecadal Variation of the West African Summer Monsoon during 1979-2010 and Associated Variability. Climate Dynamics, 39, 2883-2894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-012-1426-9
Ferreira, R.N. and Schubert, W.H. (1997) Barotropic Aspects of ITCZ Breakdown. Journal of Atmospheric Science, 54, 261-285. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1997)054 2.0.CO;2
Couvreux, F., Guichard, F., Bock, O., Campistron, B., Lafore, J.-P. and Redelsperger, J.-L. (2010) Synoptic Variability of the Monsoon Flux over West Africa Prior to the Onset. Quaterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 136, 159-170. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.473