Decadal variability of rainfall extreme events in Senegal over the 20th century:observations and modelling
- 1Laboratoire de Physique de l’Atmosphère et de l’Océan Siméon Fongang, École Supérieure Polytechnique, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal (aissatou11.badji@ucad.edu.sn)
- 2Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France (juliette.mignot@locean.ipsl.fr)
- 3Departamento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (emohino@fis.ucm.es)
- 4École Supérieure des Sciences et Techniques de l'Ingénieur, Université Amadou Mahtar Mbow de Diamniadio, Sénégal (moussa.diakhate@uam.edu.sn)
The intraseasonal characteristics of rainfall are crucial in monsoon regions, in particular for
agriculture. Crop yields indeed depend on the rainfall seasonal amount, but also on other
intraseasonal characteristics such as the onset of the rainy season or the distribution of rainy days.
In the Sahel region, while the average amount of seasonal rainfall has been shown to be marked by
strong decadal variability over the 20 th century, the modulations of intraseasonal rainfall
characteristics has received less attention in the literature so far. In this study, we show that the
frequency and intensity of intraseasonal rainfall events in Senegal exhibit a marked decadal
variability over the 1918-2000 period, similar to that of mean seasonal rainfall in the Sahel during
the 20 th century, and in phase with the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV). The representation
of the decadal modulation of these rainfall indices is further investigated using the atmospheric
component of the IPSL-CM6 model forced by the historically observed SST. Preliminary results
show that the model represents fairly well the observed decadal modulation of these extreme events.
Thus, the model simulations allow an in-depth understanding of the associated mechanism.
How to cite: Badji, A., Mignot, J., Mohino, E., Diakhaté, M., and Gaye, A. T.: Decadal variability of rainfall extreme events in Senegal over the 20th century:observations and modelling, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-8335, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-8335, 2022.
