What is it about?
For the first time the low clouds diurnal cycle is depicted in central Africa. in this study we show that in June–September, Western central Africa cloud cover is dominated by single-layered low stratiform clouds. Despite an underestimation of low cloud frequency in satellite estimates at night, comparisons with surface observations bring insights into the spatial distribution and diurnal cycle of low clouds. Both appear strongly influenced by orography: to the west, the coastal plains and the ocean-facing valleys have the largest cloud cover and a lower-amplitude diurnal cycle with a maximum cloud phase at 0400 local time (LT).
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Why is it important?
This article is a first steps to better understand the climate in Central Africa and to evaluate what could be the greater threat on Congo rainforest.
Perspectives
The following questions could be resolved, Are ULLC patterns over the coastal plains driven by dynamics different from ULLC along the windward slopes and plateaus, or are the dynamics driving ULLC formation and maintenance in the windward slopes similar to those observed in Southern Western Africa ?
Mr Atanas DOMMO
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The June–September Low Cloud Cover in Western Central Africa: Mean Spatial Distribution and Diurnal Evolution, and Associated Atmospheric Dynamics, Journal of Climate, December 2018, American Meteorological Society,
DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-17-0082.1.
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