Further Studies on the Meteorology of Western Equatorial Africa

该项目的总体目标是进一步了解控制赤道非洲西部降雨及其年际变化的因素。这项工作将侧重于该区域的平均气候和大气环流、南半球的非洲东风急流、波活动、中尺度对流系统和年际变率。它将主要是观察性的。一个普遍的主题是地形的作用。还将强调厄尔尼诺-南方涛动和大西洋的作用，认为它们是影响年际变化的可能因素。这项工作的重要性在于，它将有助于填补我们对非洲气象学的理解中的两个主要空白。一个是关于其赤道部门的知识差距。另一个缺口是大气环流的“黑匣子”，它将海面温度的影响传递给非洲降雨量的变化。这项工作将产生许多更广泛的影响。所产生的知识将为在全球基础上研究赤道过程提供基础。 这项研究的结果可以通过应用于了解/预测非洲的干旱和洪水来造福社会。此外，该地区是许多半干旱地区的水源。更好地了解区域气象将对这些邻近地区的供水产生影响。此外，该项目还将对代表性不足的群体产生教育影响。

The overall goal of this project is to further our understanding of the factors that govern rainfall and its interannual variability in western equatorial Africa. The work will focus on the mean climate and general circulation in the region, the African Easterly Jet of the Southern Hemisphere, wave activity, mesoscale convective systems, and interannual variability. It will be primarily observational. A pervasive theme is the role of topography. The role of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic will also be emphasized as possible factors in interannual variability. The significance of this work is that it will help to fill in two major gaps in our understanding of African meteorology. One is the knowledge gap concerning its equatorial sector. The other gap is the "black box" of atmospheric circulation that transmits the influence of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) to African rainfall variability. This work will have many broader impacts. The knowledge generated will provide a basis for studying equatorial processes on a global basis. The results of this study can potentially benefit society via their application to understanding/forecasting of droughts and floods in Africa. Also, this region is the source of water for many semi-arid regions. A better understanding of regional meteorology will have implications for water supply in these adjacent regions. In addition, the project will also have educational impacts on under-represented groups.