Rainfall estimation in the Sahel: the EPSAT-NIGER experiment

Abstract EPSAT-NIGER (Estimation of Precipitation by SATellite—NIGER experiment) has been designed to improve the understanding of the precipitation systems of Sudano-Sahelian Africa and to develop operational rainfall estimation algorithms for this region. It is based on the combined use of a very dense raingauge network (93 gauges over a study area of 16 000 km2) and a C-band weather radar system. The experiment is scheduled to last three years, 1990–1992. The network pattern, a regular grid with nodes spaced at 12.5 km and a 16 gauge target area where the distance between stations is decreased to 1 km, has allowed for some preliminary studies on the rainfall distribution at various space and time scales. Whereas the long term average rainfall gradient is uniform, rainfall increasing north to south, a single rainy season can be markedly different. The local variability may be extremely large. That variability is enhanced at smaller sampling time steps and the computation of reference areal rainfall for ...

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