An AGU Chapman Conference on Hydrologic Research in the Congo Basin

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The Congo River Basin is the second largest in the world and the hydrological balance of the River is poorly defined. Runoff from rainfall is significantly smaller than is expected and evapotranspiration is the dominant water cycle flux. Thus, it is anticipated that upstream deforestation (for hydropower production) will have significant impact on downstream discharges. Furthermore, migration of the rainbelts will change as the northern hemisphere warms more than the southern. This conference will bring 18 Congolese scientists to Washington DC to interact with their North American and European counterparts. The conference topics of discussion will range from the impact of climate variability and human changes on the Congo River Basin system to sharing of data within and outside the Congo River Basin to elucidate water balance unknowns. Conference attendees will assess the current state of knowledge on the Congo Basin water balance using historic and ongoing observations, and identify where key information is lacking. They conference will focus the unknown magnitudes of hydrologic processes including rainfall, evapotranspiration, climate variability, human changes in the Basin, and power generation. The project will enable best design of hydrologic measures for the region which will benefit both the Congo Basin Region as well as better define the impact of variable climate and water sustainability in the region. This information exchange will be used to design plans for collecting new information and for distributing historic and ongoing data. The key design for hydrologic data collection is toward specific hydrologic targets that are designed to enhance discovery and definition of the inner workings of the Congo Basin hydrologic cycle.