000 04363nam a22005415i 4500
001 978-3-319-00575-1
003 DE-He213
005 20140220082506.0
007 cr nn 008mamaa
008 130903s2014 gw | s |||| 0|eng d
020 _a9783319005751
_9978-3-319-00575-1
024 7 _a10.1007/978-3-319-00575-1
_2doi
050 4 _aGB3-5030
072 7 _aRB
_2bicssc
072 7 _aTQ
_2bicssc
072 7 _aSCI019000
_2bisacsh
072 7 _aNAT011000
_2bisacsh
082 0 4 _a550
_223
100 1 _aHermance, John F.
_eauthor.
245 1 0 _aHistorical Variability of Rainfall in the African East Sahel of Sudan
_h[electronic resource] :
_bImplications for Development /
_cby John F. Hermance.
264 1 _aCham :
_bSpringer International Publishing :
_bImprint: Springer,
_c2014.
300 _aXI, 123 p. 48 illus., 13 illus. in color.
_bonline resource.
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
347 _atext file
_bPDF
_2rda
490 1 _aSpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences,
_x2191-5369
505 0 _aIntroduction.- Analysis of Long Term (100 yr) Patterns of Rainfall Variability -- Interannual and Interseasonal Variations in Monthly Rainfall -- Intra-Seasonal Patterns of Rainfall from Daily Values -- Analysis of Storm Events and Interstorm Dry Periods -- Overview and Conclusions.
520 _aThe northward migration of the African monsoon rains in summer, associated with the seasonal march of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) across the plains south of the Sahara, is the most critical asset for the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local economies of the Sahel.  It is essential that climate science (and its publicly available database) play a key role in characterizing the variabilities of these rainfall patterns in space and time if sustainable life styles are to accommodate the expanding populations of the region.  This study turns to the East Sahel of Sudan by analyzing over 100 years of historical rainfall data from three of the few long term standard WMO rain gauge stations in substantially different rainfall settings.  From north to south, transecting the Sahel, the stations with their annual rainfall are Khartoum (130 mm); Kassala (280 mm); and Gedaref (600 mm).  The conclusions challenge a popular notion that changing climate, drought and desertification in the East Sahel may have already accelerated the deterioration of its water resources. However, any evidence of a persistent and coherent regional trend of diminishing rainfall is obscure.  Quite the contrary, the evidence demonstrates that the fluctuations of climate and weather patterns over the ensuing decades of the past century - at all temporal scales from days to years to decades - profoundly overwhelm any suggestion of a large-scale, coherent decrease (or increase) in rainfall.  The implication is that, it is not long term change, but the highly localized interseasonal, interannual and multiannual variability of rainfall that poses the greatest and most immediate societal threat from naturally-induced causes; a process constantly destabilizing an agrarian economy struggling to survive in a climate that irregularly vacillates between years of drought and years of flooding.  While this report may have some interest for climate scientists, it is primarily directed to a general readership (including students in public policy and anthropology) concerned with the availability of water in the Sahel, particularly the long term sustainability of local small-scale farms and transhumant pastoralism.
650 0 _aGeography.
650 0 _aLife sciences.
650 0 _aClimatic changes.
650 0 _aEnvironmental management.
650 1 4 _aEarth Sciences.
650 2 4 _aEarth System Sciences.
650 2 4 _aMeteorology.
650 2 4 _aClimate Change.
650 2 4 _aPopular Science in Nature and Environment.
650 2 4 _aGeography (general).
650 2 4 _aEnvironmental Management.
710 2 _aSpringerLink (Online service)
773 0 _tSpringer eBooks
776 0 8 _iPrinted edition:
_z9783319005744
830 0 _aSpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences,
_x2191-5369
856 4 0 _uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00575-1
912 _aZDB-2-EES
999 _c92496
_d92496