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

• Published in: Theoretical and Applied Climatology
• Main Authors: Dieppois, B., Durand, A., Fournier, Matthieu, Diedhiou, A., Fontaine, Bernard, Massei, Nicolas, Nouaceur, Z., Sebag, David
• Other Authors: Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière (M2C), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'étude des transferts en hydrologie et environnement (LTHE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Identité et Différenciation de l’Espace, de l’Environnement et des Sociétés (IDEES), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université Le Havre Normandie (ULH), Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Homme et Société (IRIHS), Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU), Hydrosciences Montpellier (HSM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01228760; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1229-5

(IF 2.43; Q2) International audience 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).Theoretical and Applied Climatology Theoretical and Applied Climatology LookInside