The surface water storage (SWS) in the Congo River basin (CB) remains unknown. In this study, the multi-satellite and hypsometric curve approaches are used to estimate SWS in the CB over 1992–2015. The results provide monthly SWS characterized by strong variability with an annual mean amplitude of ~101 ± 23 km³. The evaluation of SWS against independent datasets performed well. This SWS dataset contributes to the better understanding of the Congo basin’s surface hydrology using remote sensing.

This study presents a better characterization of surface hydrology variability in the Congo River basin, the second largest river system in the world. We jointly use a large record of in situ and satellite-derived observations to monitor the spatial distribution and different timings of the Congo River basin's annual flood dynamic, including its peculiar bimodal pattern.

Floods are natural disasters that widely affect people, goods, and ecosystems. Some efforts have been made in predicting floods at a short-term range. However, the usefulness of flood prediction increases as the time lead increases. This work investigated covariates useful for flood prediction several months ahead. Very good relationships were found between flood discharge and some climate indexes which could serve as a basis for seasonal flood forecasting in West Africa.

This study addresses the importance of integrating the effect of land use on soil infiltration rate into land use change impact modeling. Based on field measurements; soil parameterization is computed in a hydrological model using a refined soil map integrating land use change impact of soil infiltration rate and a classic soil map not considering this interaction. The results show that integrating land use related effects on soil properties renders LULC change scenarios more plausible.

The FRIEND-Water program (FWP) is the oldest and the most transverse program within the UNESCO IHP. It allows large communities of hydrologists to collaborate across borders on common shared data and scientific topics, addressed through 8 large world regions. Research priorities evolve according to the projections given by the member States during the IHP councils. FWP further activities follow the IHP IX program with the support of the Montpellier UNESCO Category II Center ICIREWAD.

The objective of this article is to assess recent trends of hydroclimatic quantities in Ogooue basin in the context of climate change. For this, the rainfall and discharges data of this basin were analyzed using the Pettitt test. The results of this study reveal a statistically significant decrease in runoff that the Pettitt test situates in 1972–73, but nothing like that for rainfall at this same time scale.

La sécheresse observée en Afrique tropicale vers la fin des années 1960, a également affecté le bassin de la Bénoué en Afrique centrale, avec une persistance remarquable qui s’est répercutée sur les écoulements. Les ruptures à la baisse ont été mises en évidence dans les séries hydropluviométriques de ce bassin au pas de temps annuel en 1970–71 (pluies) et 1971–72 (débits). Les déficits associés à cette rupture sont de −2,9 % pour les pluies et −14,2 % pour les débits.

The impact of climate change on precipitation and water availability is of major concern for policy makers in the Mono Basin of West Africa, whose economy mainly depends on rainfed agriculture and hydropower generation. The objective of this study is to project rainfall, flows and evapotranspiration (ET) in the future period and understand their changes across Mono River Basin.

This short paper is the preface of the PIAHS volume of the IAHS/UNESCO FRIEND-Water conference of Cotonou in November 2021.

Cet article permet de mettre en évidence, les différentes pratiques endogènes qu'utilisent les producteurs pour mieux s'adapter aux inondations et sécheresses en générale et particulièrement ceux du bassins béninois de la Pendjari. Ainsi, les résultats de cet travail, permet d'accompagner les producteurs agricoles vers une résilience durable face aux effets des risques climatiques. Le bassin béninois de la Pendjari a été choisi, du faite que cet bassin est sujet à l'insécurité alimentaire.

This study aims to assess simulated surface runoff before and after dam construction in the Mono catchment (West Africa) using two lumped models: GR4J (Rural Engineering with 4 Daily Parameters) and IHACRES (Identification of unit Hydrographs and Component flows from Rainfall, Evapotranspiration and Stream data) over two different periods (1964–1986 and 1988–2010). Daily rainfall, mean temperature, evapotranspiration and discharge in situ data were collected for the period 1964–2010.

This study aims to assess the potential impacts of climate change on hydropower potential of the Lagdo dam. The results reveal that under global warming, the hydropower potential of the dam will decrease which is the result of the reduced precipitation and increase of PET, thus decrease in streamflow in the basin. This result will be take into account for future development planning in the basin.

Le comblement et l’eutrophisation des retenues d’eau constituent des contraintes majeures pour les usages qu’en font les populations riveraines. L’étude bathymétrique a révélé une diminution moyenne de 0,116 m/an. Ce comblement s’explique par l’érosion, la dégradation du couvert végétal et le surpâturage. Les mesures directes de la qualité physique : le pH, la température et l’oxygène dissous ont permis d’évaluer le risque d’eutrophisation. Les eaux sont dans un état eutrophe.

This dataset provides a set of hydrometric indices for about 1500 stations across Africa with daily discharge data. These indices represent mean flow characteristics and extremes (low flows and floods), allowing us to study the long-term evolution of hydrology in Africa and support the modeling efforts that aim at reducing the vulnerability of African countries to hydro-climatic variability.

We analyzed the role of Indian Ocean warming and positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events on the chlorophyll concentrations in the Eastern Arabian Sea (EAS). Positive IOD years were found to be less favorable for inducing coastal upwelling in the region. Significant negative correlation between positive IODs and chlorophyll concentrations show that in the event of occurrence of frequent positive IOD events under a warming regime, the chlorophyll concentration is likely to decrease during fall.

This study was done in order to promote the use of remote sensing products when dealing water resources in the Congo river basin. It is the first step of a large research on the evaluation of the performance of remote sensing products on water resources modeling in the Congo river basin.