Lagrangian tracing of Sahelian Sudan moisture sources

The Sahelian Sudan is an arid to semiarid region that depends on the seasonal rainfall as the main source of water, but its rainfall has large interannual variability. Such dry regions usually have their main moisture sources elsewhere; thus, the rainfall variability is directly related to the moisture transport. This study seeks to identify source regions of water vapor for Sahelian Sudan during the monsoon period, from July to September. We have used the Lagrangian trajectory model FLEXPART driven by ERA‐Interim reanalysis for the time period 1998 to 2008. The results show that most of the air masses that reach this region during the monsoon period have their major origins over the Arabian Peninsula, Central Africa, or are associated with the tropical easterly jet. Flow associated with Intertropical Convergence Zone contributes almost half of the total precipitated water; most of it comes from Central Africa. This suggests that moisture recycling is the major contributor, compared to Oceanic sources. The flows from the northeast (Arabian Peninsula and north Asia) and east (Horn of Africa and north Indian Ocean) contribute about one third of the precipitated water. The rest of precipitated water comes from the Mediterranean, subtropical Atlantic, and western Sahel, all with smaller contribution. Our results also indicate that different subregions of Sahelian Sudan have different moisture sources. Such result needs to be taken into account in seasonal forecasting practices.