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Combined Effect of El Nino Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation on Lake Chad Level Variability RegionIn this study, the combined effect of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the Lake Chad (LC) level variability is explored. Our results show that the lake level at the Bol monitoring station has a statistically significant correlation with precipitation (R2 = 0.6, at the 99.5% confidence level). The period between the late 1960s and early 1970s marked a turning point in the response of the regional rainfall to climatic drivers, thereby severely affecting the LC level. Our results also suggest that the negative impact of the cold phase of AMO on Sahel precipitation masks and supersedes the positive effect of La Niña in the early the 1970s. The drop in the size of LC level from 282.5 m in the early 1960s to about 278.1 m in 1983/1984 was the largest to occur within the period of study (1900-2010) and coincides with the combined cold phase of AMO and strong El Niño phase of ENSO. Further analyses show that the current warm phase of AMO and increasing La Niña episodes appear to be playing a major role in the increased precipitation in the Sahel region. The LC level is responding to this increase in precipitation by a gradual recovery, though it is still below the levels of the 1960s. This understanding of the AMO-ENSO-rainfall-LC level association will help in forecasting the impacts of similar combined episodes in the future. These findings also have implications for long-term water resources management in the LC region.
Document ID
20160003522
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Okonkwo, Churchill
(Southern New Hampshire Univ. Manchester, NH, United Kingdom)
Demoz, Belay
(Maryland Univ. Baltimore County Baltimore, MD, United States)
Sakai, Ricardo
(Howard Univ. Washington, DC, United States)
Ichoku, Charles
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Anarado, Chigozie
(Nnamdi Azikiwe Univ. Awka, Nigeria)
Adegoke, Jimmy
(Missouri Univ. Kansas City, MO, United States)
Amadou, Angelina
(Howard Univ. Washington, DC, United States)
Abdullahi, Sanusu Imran
(Lake Chad Basin Commission N’Djamena, Tchad)
Date Acquired
March 17, 2016
Publication Date
December 15, 2015
Publication Information
Publication: Cogent Geoscience
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Online
Volume: 1
Issue: 1
e-ISSN: 2331-2041
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN30416
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
ENSO
Lake Chad
AMO

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