Contrasting features of two tropical summers from satellite observations

Droughts and floods are important events which directly affect African wate r resources. The causes of droughts occurring in semiarid regions are not y et well understood. Here we investigate features controlling the dry and we t seasons in North African tropical regions. Data used in this study are IS CCP C2 and Nimbus-7 ERB. We found that changes in surface albedo are major parameters effecting dry and wet seasons. Also, surface longwave radiation and cloud radiative forcing are found to be good indicator parameters to di agnose this phenomena. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.