Contrasted land-surface processes along the West African rainfall gradient

We review the main results of land-surface studies obtained in the three sites of the long-term observing system AMMA-CATCH. Runoff in the Sahel enhances the variability of energy partitioning between non-infiltrative areas where sensible heat is dominant and infiltrative areas where soil water availability increases the latent flux. In terms of water resources, an increase in runoff over the past 50 years, already reported for the exoreic Sahel, was revealed in the endoreic Sahel. In the Sudanian domain, the subsurface origin of streamflow could explain its decrease over the same period. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society