Using long-term daily satellite based rainfall data (1983–2015) to analyze spatio-temporal changes in the sahelian rainfall regime

Abstract The sahelian rainfall regime is characterized by a strong spatial as well as intra- and inter-annual variability. The satellite based African Rainfall Climatology Version 2 (ARC2) daily gridded rainfall estimates with a 0.1° × 0.1° spatial resolution provides the possibility for in-depth studies of seasonal changes over a 33-year period (1983–2015). Here we analyze rainfall regime variables that require daily observations: onset, cessation, and length of the wet season; seasonal rainfall amount; number of rainy days; intensity and frequency of rainfall events; number, length, and cumulative duration of dry spells. Rain gauge stations and MSWEP (Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation) data were used to evaluate the agreement of rainfall variables in both space and time, and trends were analyzed. Overall, ARC2 rainfall variables reliably show the spatio-temporal dynamics of seasonal rainfall over 33 years when compared to gauge and MSWEP data. However, a higher frequency of low rainfall events ( 20 mm day−1) for the western/central Sahel over the period of analysis, whereas the opposite trend characterizes the eastern part of the Sahel.

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