Contrasting features of two tropical summers from satellite observations

Droughts and floods are important events which directly affect African water resources. The causes of droughts occurring in semiarid regions are not yet well understood. Here we investigate features controlling the dry and wet seasons in North African tropical regions. Data used in this study are ISCCP 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 diagnose this phenomena.