Standardized rainfall indices for the West and Central Sahel, and the Guinea Coast

For years, various indices of seasonal West African precipitation have served as useful predictors of the overall tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Ocean. Since the mid-1990s, the correlation unexpectedly deteriorated. In the present study, statistical techniques are developed to describe the nonstationary nature of the correlations between annual measures of Atlantic tropical cyclone activity and three selected West African precipitation indices (namely, western Sahelian precipitation in June-September, central Sahelian precipitation in June-September, and Guinean coastal precipitation in the preceding year's August-November period). The correlations between these parameters are found to vary over the period from 1921 to 2007 on a range of time scales. Additionally, considerable year-to-year variability in the strength of these correlations is documented by selecting subsamples of years with respect to various meteorological factors. Broadly, in years when the environment in the main development region is generally favorable for enhanced tropical cyclogenesis (e.g., when sea surface temperatures are high, when there is relatively little wind shear through the depth of the troposphere, or when the relative vorticity in the midtroposphere is anomalously high), the correlations between indices of West African monsoon precipitation and Atlantic tropical cyclone activity are considerably weaker than in years when the overall conditions in the region are less conducive. Other more remote climate parameters, such as the phase of the Southern Oscillation, are less effective at modulating the nature of these interactions.

Abrupt shifts of the Sahara-Sahel boundary during Heinrich stadials demonstrated on a sediment core transect

Relict dune fields that are found as far south as 14° N in the modern-day African Sahel are testament to equatorward expansions of the Sahara desert during the Late Pleistocene. However, the discontinuous nature of dune records means that abrupt millennial-timescale climate events are not always resolved. High-resolution marine core studies have identified Heinrich stadials as the dustiest periods of the last glacial in West Africa although the spatial evolution of dust export on millennial timescales has so far not been investigated. We use the major-element composition of four high-resolution marine sediment cores to reconstruct the spatial extent of Saharan-dust versus river-sediment input to the continental margin from West Africa over the last 60 ka. This allows us to map the position of the sediment composition corresponding to the Sahara-Sahel boundary. Our records indicate that the Sahara-Sahel boundary reached its most southerly position (13° N) during Heinrich stadials and hence suggest that these were the periods when the sand dunes formed at 14° N on the continent. Heinrich stadials are associated with cold North Atlantic sea surface temperatures which appear to have triggered abrupt increases of aridity and wind strength in the Sahel. Our study illustrates the influence of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation on the position of the Sahara-Sahel boundary and on global atmospheric dust loading.

Modelo de escuelas evolutivas para campos de refugiados y desplazados en el Sahel

La Fundación Entreculturas, en línea con sus actividades para el desarrollo integral de los sectores desfavorecidos en África, ha elaborado un proyecto en consorcio con JRS (Servicio Jesuita al Refugiado) con el objetivo de “garantizar el acceso a una educación primaria de calidad para la población retornada y las comunidades reintegradas en zonas de acogida en el Este de Chad”. Este proyecto tratará de intervenir en las condiciones educativas tratando la problemática de una manera global: a través de la formación de docentes, la promoción comunitaria, la reducción de la pobreza, la equidad de género y la construcción de infraestructuras. La presente propuesta trata de responder a este último punto, planteando una solución técnica adecuada y pertinente desde el punto de vista del producto y del proceso. Con el documento se pretende aportar una serie de soluciones constructivas que puedan ser utilizadas tanto en los contextos específicos de este proyecto como en otros con características similares, de manera que se contribuya a una estandarización de los procesos y soluciones garantizando la calidad, seguridad, economía, rapidez y control en este tipo de situaciones de emergencia, en los que el tiempo de planificación y ejecución es limitado.

Micronutrients and the Sahel: The Need for International Food Aid Reform

The 2012 Food Assistance Convention (FAsC) will replace the 1999 Food Aid Convention (FAC), shortly becoming the new document governing international food aid. This new convention will allow for culturally- and nutritionally-appropriate food purchases, but it lacks sufficient guidance and enforcement mechanisms to ensure the inclusion of micronutrients in food assistance. In conjunction with other United Nations-based programs, reforms focused on cooperation, measurement, and education in micronutrient interventions are recommended for the FAsC framework. These reforms stand to benefit the persistently hungry and micronutrient deficient Sahel region of Africa.