Open AccessThe large‐scale water cycle of the West African monsoon
Author(s) -
Bock O.,
Guichard F.,
Meynadier R.,
Gervois S.,
AgustíPanareda A.,
Beljaars A.,
Boone A.,
Nuret M.,
Redelsperger J.L.,
Roucou P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl.288
Subject(s) - climatology , numerical weather prediction , monsoon , environmental science , water cycle , scale (ratio) , meteorology , multidisciplinary approach , range (aeronautics) , geography , geology , engineering , cartography , political science , ecology , biology , aerospace engineering , law
The vertically integrated water budget of West Africa is investigated with a hybrid dataset based on observational and modelling products elaborated by the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA) and with several numerical weather prediction (NWP) products including the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) AMMA reanalysis. Seasonal and intraseasonal variations are quantified over the period 2002–2007. Links between the budget terms are analyzed regionally, from the Guinean coast to the Sahel zone. Water budgets from the NWP systems are intercompared and evaluated against the hybrid dataset. Large deficiencies are evidenced in all the NWP products. Hypotheses are proposed about their origins and several improvements are foreseen. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society