Publications des scientifiques de l'IRD

Todzo S., Bichet Adeline, Diedhiou Arona. (2020). Intensification of the hydrological cycle expected in West Africa over the 21st century. Earth System Dynamics, 11 (1), p. 319-328. ISSN 2190-4979.

Titre du document
Intensification of the hydrological cycle expected in West Africa over the 21st century
Année de publication
2020
Type de document
Article référencé dans le Web of Science WOS:000522843500001
Auteurs
Todzo S., Bichet Adeline, Diedhiou Arona
Source
Earth System Dynamics, 2020, 11 (1), p. 319-328 ISSN 2190-4979
This study uses the high-resolution outputs of the recent CORDEX-Africa climate projections to investigate the future changes in different aspects of the hydrological cycle over West Africa. Over the twenty-first century, temperatures in West Africa are expected to increase at a faster rate (+0.5 degrees C per decade) than the global average (+0.3 degrees C per decade), and mean precipitation is expected to increase over the Guinea Coast (+0.03 mm d(-1) per decade) but decrease over the Sahel (-0.005 mm d(-1) per decade). In addition, precipitation is expected to become more intense (+0.2 mm d(-1) per decade) and less frequent (-1.5 d per decade) over all of West Africa as a result of increasing regional temperature (precipitation intensity increases on average by +0.35 mm d(-1) degrees C-1 and precipitation frequency decreases on average by -2.2 d degrees C -1). Over the Sahel, the average length of dry spells is also expected to increase with temperature (+4 % d degrees C-1), which increases the likelihood for droughts with warming in this subregion. Hence, the hydrological cycle is expected to increase throughout the twenty-first century over all of West Africa, on average by +11 % degrees C-1 over the Sahel as a result of increasing precipitation intensity and lengthening of dry spells, and on average by +3 % degrees C-1 over the Guinea Coast as a result of increasing precipitation intensity only.
Plan de classement
Sciences du milieu [021] ; Hydrologie [062]
Description Géographique
AFRIQUE DE L'OUEST
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010078930]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010078930
Contact