IRES: US-Senegal International Research Experiences for Graduate Students during the AMMA-Senegal 2006 Field Experiment

该奖项将支持美国学生参与国际研究合作，重点是了解塞内加尔和西非及其周边地区的降水过程，并使用数值模拟来探索降水与西非热带季风形成之间的关系。平均每年大约有90-100个被称为非洲东风波的天气锋出现在西非海岸，其中大约10个在大西洋上空发展成命名风暴。多项研究表明，大西洋飓风活动与西非的降雨量呈正相关。在2006年夏天，学生们将与来自非洲、美国和欧洲的科学家和学生一起参加一个名为AMMA(非洲季风多学科活动)的大型国际研究项目。塞内加尔教职员工和学生合作者团队将由塞内加尔达喀尔Cheikh Anta Diop大学的Amadou Gaye博士领导。在这个项目的第二年和第三年，学生们将使用AMMA数据、分析的观测数据和中尺度模式来更深入地了解各种大气过程。学生将继续与塞内加尔同事合作，并将通过访问尼日尔尼亚美的非洲气象应用促进发展中心扩大这些合作，与西非各地的科学家合作模拟降水、季风活动和相关现象。热带季风的形成过程不仅是一个重要的科学问题，而且是一个具有广泛的国家和国际经济影响的现象。自1995年以来，大西洋上空命名的风暴数量有所增加。这些系统对美国沿海人口构成了威胁，2005年就是一个典型的例子。在过去的十年里，主要的大西洋飓风造成了1000多人死亡，1000亿美元的损失，并使大约200万美国公民流离失所。该项目还将使美国学生，特别是那些来自代表性不足/服务不足群体的学生，扩大他们在这些重要大气过程方面的国际合作的科学经验。该项目将有助于开展长期合作，让学生了解西非的文化差异以及科学与社会之间的关系。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会地球科学局共同资助。

This award will support U.S. students to engage in international research collaboration focused on understanding precipitation processes in and around Senegal, West Africa, and using numerical modeling to explore the relationship between precipitation and tropical monsoon formation in West Africa. In an average year approximately 90-100 weather fronts known as African Easterly Waves emerge from the coast of West Africa, with approximately ten of these developing into named storms over the Atlantic. A number of studies have shown that Atlantic hurricane activity is positively correlated to rainfall levels in the West Africa. During the summer of 2006, the students will participate, along with scientists and students from Africa, the U. S. and Europe, in a large international research project called AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities). The team of Senegalese faculty and student collaborators will be led by Dr. Amadou Gaye at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. In the second and third years of this project, students will use AMMA data, analyzed observations and meso-scale models to gain greater insights into various atmospheric processes. Students will continue to collaborate with their Senegalese colleagues, and will expand those collaborations by visiting the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development in Niamey, Niger, to work with scientists from across West Africa on modeling precipitation, monsoonal activities and related phenomena. The process of tropical monsoon formation is not only an important scientific question, but also a phenomenon with broad national and international economic implications. Since 1995 the number of named storms over the Atlantic Ocean has increased. These systems have posed a danger to U. S. coastal populations, with 2005 serving as a prime example. Over the last decade, major Atlantic hurricanes produced more than 1000 fatalities, $100 billion in damages, and displaced approximately two million U. S. citizens. This project will also enable U. S. students, especially those from underrepresented/underserved groups, to broaden their scientific experience with international collaborations on these important atmospheric processes. The project will help to develop long-term collaborations and provide students with an appreciation of cultural differences, as well as with the relationship between science and society in West Africa. This award is co-funded by NSF's Directorate for Geosciences.