Relating multitemporal meteorological satellite data to climatological data for Africa

Abstract

The questions of surface-atmosphere interaction and effects of land surface changes have been investigated by studying the energy balance over Africa. The energy and mass balance model being developed is an adaptation of the Lettau climatonomy model. The climatonic approach is a systems approach which encompasses: (1) a process, (2) an input to the process (forcing function), (3) an output from the process (response function), (4) feedback, and (5) control or management of the system. Steady-state climate is described and parametrized using a series of one-dimensional differential continuity and balance equations for energy and mass