The effects of small water surfaces on turbulent flow in the atmospheric boundary layer: URANS approach implemented in OpenFOAM

A 3-D numerical method is developed to investigate the spatial distribution of surface fluxes over heterogeneous surfaces in (semi-)arid regions. Quantifying the effects of changes in the momentum, thermal and moisture roughness lengths on the airflow and fluxes in the ABL is important for water resources management and local climate studies....

The smart climate observation network that covers all Africa

There is a lack of weather and climate observation stations in Africa, while food production, harvest predictions, and disaster mitigation would benefit from improved data-accessible observation. A new smart and sustainable weather and climate observation network now addresses the important challenge of monitoring the weather in the continent.

A Framework to Simulate Small Shallow Inland Water Bodies in Semi-arid Regions

In this study, a framework for simulating the flow field and heat transfer processes in small shallow inland water bodies has been developed. As the dynamics and thermal structure of these water bodies are crucial in studying the quality of stored water , and in assessing the heat fluxes from their surfaces as well, the heat transfer and...

Validation of IMERG precipitation in Africa

Understanding of hydroclimatic processes in Africa has been hindered by the lack of in situ precipitation measurements. Satellite-based observations, in particular, the TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) have been pivotal to filling this void. The recently released Integrated Multisatellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) project...

Effects of atmospheric stability conditions on heat fluxes from small water surfaces in (semi-)arid regions

Atmospheric stability conditions over the water surface can affect the evaporative and convective heat fluxes from the water surface. Atmospheric instability occurred 72.5% of the time and resulted in 44.7 and 89.2% increases in the average and maximum estimated evaporation, respectively, when compared to the neutral condition for a small...

Investigation of temperature dynamics in small and shallow reservoirs, case study: Lake Binaba, Upper East Region of Ghana

An unsteady fully three-dimensional model of Lake Binaba (a shallow small reservoir) in semi-arid Upper East Region of Ghana has been developed to simulate its temperature dynamics. The model developed is built on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, utilizing the Boussinesq approach. As the results of the model are...