The Influence of Synoptic and Planetary-Scale Climate Systems on the Occurrence of Drought in Sub-Saharan Africa

这项研究将研究被认为影响撒哈拉以南非洲夏季季风雨季降雨特征的大气和海洋气候系统。调查将集中于季节前大气压力和环流系统的发展及其与海面温度异常模式的相互作用，以努力确定萨赫勒干旱的预测因子。这次调查的主要运载工具是与混合层海洋耦合的GISS GCM。这将是第一个（如果不是第一个）采用大气-海洋耦合模型来调查萨赫勒干旱的原因、维持和可预测性的研究之一。这项研究很重要，因为它可能会大大改善比过去更现实的萨赫勒气候模拟的前景。

This research will study the atmospheric and oceanic climate systems that are thought to influence the rainfall characteristics over sub-Sahara Africa during the summer monsoon rainy season. The investigation will focus on the pre-season development of atmospheric pressure and circulation systems and their mutual interaction with sea-surface temperature anomaly patterns in an effort to identify predictors of the Sahelian drought. The primary vehicle of the investigation is the GISS GCM coupled to a mixed layer ocean. This will be one of the first (if not the first) studies to employ a coupled atmosphere-ocean model to investigate the causes, maintenance, and predictability of the Sahelian drought. This study is important as it is likely to significantly improve the prospects of more realistic Sahelian climate simulation than has been possible in the past.