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Analysis of Rainfall Variations and Trends in Coastal Tanzania

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dc.creator Mahongo, Shigalla B.
dc.creator Francis, Julius
dc.date 2016-09-21T12:58:50Z
dc.date 2016-09-21T12:58:50Z
dc.date 2013-09
dc.date.accessioned 2018-03-27T08:24:06Z
dc.date.available 2018-03-27T08:24:06Z
dc.identifier 0856-860X
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/3853
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/3853
dc.description Rainfall in coastal Tanzania has been investigated for their variability and trends from seven key weather stations during the last 50 years (1960-2009). Results indicate that the island of Mafia receives the highest amount of rainfall (1879 mm/yr) while Kilwa Masoko receives the lowest (1029 mm/yr). Generally, precipitation in the islands is heavier than on the mainland coast due to moisture convergence in sea breezes. The monthly series indicate predominance of annual and semi-annual oscillations in the northern sector, while in the southern coast the annual signal is the most dominant. Partial correlation analysis revealed a significant influence of the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on annual rainfall. However, the effects of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are relatively smaller. In the seasonal timescale, the effects of the large scale climatic phenomena are relatively smaller during the rainfall and Northeast (NE) monsoon seasons, but are significantly larger during the Southeast (SE) monsoon. Linear regressions of the monthly rainfall series portray a general downfall trend at each station, but all the trends are insignificant. The inter-annual and decadal variations show that the year 2003 and the last decade (2000-2009) were generally the driest in the last half century.
dc.language en
dc.publisher Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science
dc.subject Rainfall
dc.subject Variability
dc.subject Trends
dc.subject El Niño Southern Oscillation
dc.subject Indian Ocean Dipole
dc.subject Pacific Decadal Oscillation
dc.title Analysis of Rainfall Variations and Trends in Coastal Tanzania
dc.type Journal Article, Peer Reviewed


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