Surface Boundary Forcing and Sahelian Climate Variability and Anomalies

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

The African Sahel is the semi-arid tropical savanna region bordered by the Sahara in the north and more fertile regions to the south, collectively known as the Sudan. This transitional ecoregion is subject to strong seasonal variations in temperature and rainfall. A long running drought in the Sahel observed from the late 1960's, which afflicted millions by famine and dislocation, and a partial recovery in the 1980's has been believed to be significantly influenced by sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, but also by significant land use and land cover changes taken place in the region during the late 20th century. UCLA investigators will conduct a series of numerical climate modeling simulation experiments to better evaluate the relative roles of SST, land surface forcings and land-atmosphere coupling strength over different (diurnal, seasonal, interannual and longer) time scales. General circulation models, regional climate models, biosphere and dynamic vegetation models will be coupled to explore feedback loops and changes amongst these potential factors. The modeling studies will include comparisons of recent satellite imagery and observational data from the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary (AMMA) campaign, in order to better project potential human-induced climate change in this significant region. The work will support the research and education of a post-doctoral researcher and a graduate student.