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Quasi‐decadal signals of Sahel rainfall and West African monsoon since the mid‐twentieth century
Author(s) -
Dieppois Bastien,
Diedhiou Arona,
Durand Alain,
Fournier Matthieu,
Massei Nicolas,
Sebag David,
Xue Yongkang,
Fontaine Bernard
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2013jd019681
Subject(s) - intertropical convergence zone , climatology , tropical atlantic , troposphere , sea surface temperature , monsoon , environmental science , subtropics , teleconnection , geology , oceanography , precipitation , el niño southern oscillation , geography , meteorology , fishery , biology
Sahel rainfall shows pronounced decadal variability and a negative trend between wet conditions in the 1950s–1960s and dry ones in the 1970s–1980s. Using continuous wavelet transform, the quasi‐decadal variability (QDV) of rainfall reveals zonal contrasts. The highest QDV is identified in the 1950s–1960s over western Sahel and in the 1970s–1980s over eastern Sahel. The quasi‐decadal atmospheric anomalies have been reconstructed using Fourier transform for the 1950s–1960s and the 1970s–1980s, respectively, and assessed by the composite analysis of the QDV phases for the periods before and after 1968. Over western Sahel, the rainfall QDV in the 1950s–1960s is related to the North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) variability, as highlighted by the wavelet coherence. A southward shift trend of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is identified through an enhancement of northeasterly fluxes and moisture convergence over the western part of West Africa. A decrease (increase) of southern (northern) subtropical sinking motions seems to be involved. In the 1970s–1980s, a strengthening of cross‐equatorial Atlantic SST and pressure gradients is related to an increase of monsoon flow from lower troposphere up to the midtroposphere and to the northward shift of the ITCZ, mainly over eastern Sahel. The Pacific SST influence is also identified, which involves changes in the global zonal circulation.