Meso­scale water cycle within the West African Monsoon

C. Peugeot (1) , F. Guichard (2) , Olivier Bock (3) , D. Bouniol (2) , M. Chong (4) , A. Boone (2) , B. Cappelaere (1) , M. Gosset (5) , Lucas Besson (6) , Yvon Lemaître (6) , L. Seguis (1) , A. Zannou (7) , S. Galle (8) , L Redelsperger (2)

1 HSM - Hydrosciences Montpellier
2 CNRM - Centre national de recherches météorologiques
3 LAREG - LAboratoire de Recherche en Géodésie
4 LAERO - Laboratoire d'aérologie
5 LMTG - Laboratoire des Mécanismes et Transfert en Géologie
6 SPACE - LATMOS
7 DGE - Direction Générale de l'Eau
8 HYBIS

We review the main studies on meso­scale water­cycle from the AMMA project. The estimations of precipitation and evapotranspiration, which are the coupling terms between the atmosphere and the surface water cycles, are addressed. Advances in the evaluation of the various components of atmospheric and surface water budgets are reported, and the yearly surface budgets for the Benin and Niger AMMA meso­scales sites are given as examples. The major outcomes and limitations of atmosphere­ surface model coupling exercises are also reported. The paper concludes with suggestions on the research directions on which the community should make future efforts.

Mots clés: water cycle; water budget; meso­scale; land surface; atmosphere

Domaines: Interfaces continentales, environnement; Océan, Atmosphère; Climatologie; Météorologie

C. Peugeot, F. Guichard, Olivier Bock, D. Bouniol, M. Chong, et al.. Meso­scale water cycle within the West African Monsoon. Atmospheric Science Letters, 2011, 12 (1), pp.45-50. ⟨10.1002/asl.309⟩. ⟨hal-01907364⟩