Contribution of TRMM 3B42 Data to Improve Knowledge on Rainfall in the Kayanga/Geba River Basin (Republic of Guinea, Senegal and GuineaBissau)

The use of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data is an option for counteracting challenge of the lack of ground based observations, particularly in Kayanga/Gêba. This paper undertakes validation of monthly TRMM rainfall estimates before using it to understand the spatial and temporal variability in the Basin. This validation based on application of statistical study, made it possible to obtain interesting results with correlation coefficients varying from 0.92 to 0.96 and Nash indices close to 1. The analysis of the seasonal rainfall pattern shows consistence with ground based observations. The study of the annual cycle reveals that their interannual variability is similar to that of ground based observations. Finally, the interpolation of average monthly rainfall in the basin highlights the NorthSouth rainfall gradient, which shows that the South is wetter than the North, with differences more pronounced in August and September

Germination Stage Screening of Mutants of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) to Salinity Tolerance

To test the tolerance of cowpea mutants to salinity, cowpea wilds and mutants were subjected to 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mM NaCl to test for tolerance to salinity. Genotype and salt concentration interaction were significant. GxS explained mostly the variation observed. More informative salt concentrations were found in 50 mM (99.08) and C100 mM (72.50) against 26.80 in the control environment. High salt concentrations had the lowest germination rates. Seed germination rate of cowpea genotypes decreased from 56.46 to 20.58 with a mean of 36.28 and a variance of 99.08. Despite strong correlations observed between indices, very weak ones were found between AD and STI, -0.02, -0.44, -0.7, -0.79 and -0.84 respectively at salt concentration of 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250. Mouride wild types were most tolerant to salt with a germination rate of 43 % at 50 mM versus 48 and 551 % for respectively Melakh and Yacine. Six (6) mutants were more tolerant to the weakest checks performance which was the 9th best performance

Comparative Study of the West African Continental, Coastal, and Marine Atmospheric Profiles during the Summer of 2006

We used sounding data of the Multidisciplinary Analysis of the African Monsoon experience in summer 2006 at continental and coastal sites of West Africa, respectively, to analyze the vertical profiles of relative humidity, temperature, dew point, and speed and wind direction for the JJAS rainy period. The vertical gradient method is applied to the profiles of some thermodynamic parameters estimated from sounding data to do a comparative study of the structure and thermal properties, moisture, and static stability of the atmospheric boundary layer of inland, coastal, and marine sites to show consistent differences related to geographic factors. In vertical profiles of relative humidity, the intensity is higher in Dakar than in Niamey particularly in the core of the season. There are dry intrusions in the low levels at the beginning and end of the season in Dakar, which do not exist in Niamey. The mixing layer on the continent during the day can reach a height greater than 1100 m, and the inversion layer height can exceed 1700 m. Therefore, the maximum thickness of the boundary layer is observed on the continent during the day, while at night the marine boundary layer is the thickest. The diurnal evolution shows that the mixing layer thickness decreases during the night over the continent but increases at the coast and at sea. In the night at the continental site there is a division of the mixing layer with a consistent residual mixing layer. Continental boundary layer is more unstable during the day, while at night it is the marine boundary layer that is more unstable than the coastal and inland ones

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Indices de convection et précipitations quotidiennes en Afrique de l'Ouest (un pas vers la prévision de la pluie à Dakar à quelques jours d'échéance)

PARIS12-CRETEIL BU Multidisc. (940282102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Chapitre 3. Les projections du climat en Afrique de l’Ouest

Introduction L’Afrique de l’Ouest a connu dans les années 1970 une grave sécheresse (Nicholson, 1980 ; Held et al., 2005) dont les conséquences sur l’agriculture, principale activité des populations de cette région, ont largement contribué au retard de son développement. Depuis les années 2000, le Sahel semble retrouver une bonne pluviométrie, sans que l’on puisse affirmer que cette tendance va perdurer les prochaines décennies (Paeth et Hense, 2004). Cette période a coïncidé aussi avec un ré..

Chapter 3. Climate projections in West Africa: the obvious and the uncertain

Introduction A serious drought hit West Africa in the 1970s (Nicholson, 1980; Held et al., 2005) whose consequences for agriculture—the main activity of the people in the region—made a serious contribution to late development. Rainfall in the Sahel seems to have recovered since the 2000s, although it is not possible to say whether the trend will last during the coming decades (Paeth and Hense, 2004). This period also coincided with warming that probably resulted from the increase in greenhous..