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Low-frequency variability and zonal contrast in Sahel rainfall and Atlantic sea surface temperature teleconnections during the last century

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Abstract

This study systematically examines teleconnections between Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) and the west–east distribution of Sahel rainfall throughout the twentieth century, taking nonstationarity into account. Sahel rainfall variability of six selected rain gauges displays three dominant time scales: multi-decadal (>20 years), quasi-decadal (8–18 years) and interannual (2–8 years). Regarding their patterns of low-frequency scales, three coherent Sahelian subregions can be identified: the Atlantic Coast (Dakar), western–central Sahel (Nioro and Mopti) and eastern Sahel (Niamey, Maradi, Maine-Soroa). Cross-analyses combining spectral and multivariate analyses of 20 station-based data and West-African gridded rainfall data statistically confirm dissimilarities between the western and eastern Sahel. Western and eastern Sahel rainfall data are correlated with SSTs from different regions of the Atlantic Ocean, especially in the North and tropical South Atlantic. As determined by wavelet coherence and phase, in-phase relationship with North Atlantic SSTs only occurs in wet periods and at the multi- and quasi-decadal scales. This teleconnection depends on the time period and the time scale, displaying a NW–SE pattern, which suggests nonuniform modulations of meridional displacements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Tropical South Atlantic SST variability is often related to opposite patterns between the Gulf of Guinean Coast (in phase) and Sahel region (out of phase).

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted as part of the CORUS2 project entitled “Impact de la pression anthropique et du Changement Global sur les flux sédimentaires en zone sahélienne” (grant no. 6116) supported by the French Institute of Research for Development (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, IRD). This topic has been a contribution of the AMEDE action (Analyse Multi-Echelle de la Dynamique Eolienne au Sahel) based on the FED 4116 SCALE (TEQQ project) supported by the Upper Normandy region (France). This study also contributes in the FRIEND-AOC research program (Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data in Central and West Africa), which is a UNESCO initiative within its International Hydrological Programme (IHP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière (M2C), Université de Rouen, CNRS, FED 4116 SCALE, Mont-Saint Aignan, France

    B. Dieppois, A. Durand, M. Fournier, N. Massei & D. Sebag

  2. Laboratoire d’étude des Transferts en Hydrologie et Environnement (LTHE), Université de Grenoble, IRD, Grenoble, France

    A. Diedhiou

  3. Centre de Recherches en Climatologie (CRC), Université de Bourgogne, CNRS, Dijon, France

    B. Fontaine

  4. Laboratoire Identité et Différenciation de l’Espace, de l’Environnement et des Sociétés (IDEES), Université de Rouen, CNRS, FED 4116 SCALE, Mont-Saint Aignan, France

    Z. Nouaceur

  5. Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier (HSM), Université de Montpellier 2, IRD, Montpellier, France

    D. Sebag

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  1. B. Dieppois
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Correspondence to B. Dieppois.

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Dieppois, B., Durand, A., Fournier, M. et al. Low-frequency variability and zonal contrast in Sahel rainfall and Atlantic sea surface temperature teleconnections during the last century. Theor Appl Climatol 121, 139–155 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1229-5

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