Modelling study using RegCM3 on aerosol precipitation interactions over Sahel in support to Senegalese rain enhancement Program (SENREP): Bawaan

Western Sahel is experiencing a growth of Rain Enhancement Projects (Burkina Faso, Senegal , Mali) for the ongoing ones and others are in study. The Senegale program started in 2005 and we are putting in place an important scientific component insupport to this complex activity. Iin this study a hindcast of 2005 and 2006 summer seasons is done using the Regional Climate Model RegCM3 developed at the International Center for Theoitical Physics (ICTP). The initial and lateral an boundary conditions (ICBCs) are from NCEP Reanalysis NNRP1. Two configurations of the model are used, one with aerosol and the other without aerosol. A further nest startegy is used to go from a wide model domain simulated at 90 km and then a smaller domain covering the Sahel region at 25 km. We looked at the effects of aerosol in various parameters pertinent in precipitation processes. Convective, statiform and total preciptaton for these two runs are then investigated for the different resolutions at different time scales to better undestand aerosol/precipitation interactions in this tropical sahelian area, facing water issues for cental sector like agriculture and others.