WAMME: West African Monsoon Modeling and Evaluation

Summary

West African Monsoon Modeling and Evaluation (WAMME) is a Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) Inter-Monsoon Model Study (CIMS) initiative. We plan to initiate a West African Monsoon Modeling and Evaluation project (WAMME) using GCMs and regional climate models (RCMs) to address issues regarding the role of land-ocean-atmosphere interaction, land-use and water-use change, vegetation dynamics, as well as aerosol, particularly dust, on WAM development. In the WAMME project, we plan (1) to evaluate the performance of current GCMs and RCMs in simulating WAM precipitation and relevant processes at diurnal, intraseasonal, to interannual scales, as well as its onset and withdrawal, (2) to identify the common discrepancies and provide better understanding of fundamental physical processes in WAM; (3) to conduct sensitivity experiments to isolate important key physical processes for interannual and interdecadal variations of WAM, (4) to demonstrate the utility and synergy of CEOP and AMMA field data in providing a pathway for model physics evaluation and improvement, and (5) to evaluate the nested RCMs? ability of downscaling West African regional climate simulations.