Preface xvii

1 Congo Basin Research: Building a Foundation for the Future 1
Raphael M. Tshimanga, Guy D. Moukandi N’kaya, Alain Laraque, Sharon E. Nicholson, Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema, Raymond Lumbuenamo, and Douglas Alsdorf

Part I Influences on Rainfall

2 Central African Climate: Advances and Gaps 15
Wilfried Pokam Mba, Derbetini Appolinaire Vondou, and Pierre Honore Kamsu-Tamo

3 The Rainfall and Convective Regime over Equatorial Africa, with Emphasis on the Congo Basin 25
Sharon E. Nicholson

4 Influence of “Slab-Ocean” Parameterization in a Regional Climate Model (RegCM4) over Central Africa 49
François Xavier Mengouna, Derbetini Appolinaire Vondou, Armand Joel Komkoua Mbienda, Thierry C. Fotso-Nguemo, Denis Sonkoué, Zéphirin Yepdo-Djomou, and Pascal M. Igri

5 Understanding the Influence of Climate Variability on Surface Water Hydrology in the Congo Basin 63
Christopher E. Ndehedehe, Vagner G. Ferreira, Augusto Getirana, and Nathan O. Agutu

6 Hydroclimatic Dynamics of Upstream Ubangi River at Mobaye, Central African Republic: Comparative Study of the Role of Savannah and Equatorial Forest 83
Cyriaque-Rufin Nguimalet, Didier Orange, Jean-Pascal Waterendji, and Athanase Yambele

7 Evaluation of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 and 3B43 Products Relative to Synoptic Weather Station Observations over Cameroon 97
Pascal M. Igri, Roméo Stève Tanessong, Derbetini Appolinaire Vondou, Wilfried Pokam Mba, Taguemfo Kammalac Jores, Samuel Kaïssassou, Guy Merlin Guenang, Armand Joel Komkoua Mbienda, and Zéphirin Yepdo-Djomou

Part II Variations in Rainfall and Runoff

8 A New Look at Hydrology in the Congo Basin, Based on the Study of Multi-Decadal Time Series 123
Guy D. Moukandi N’kaya, Alain Laraque, Jean-Emmanuel Paturel, Georges Gulemvuga Guzanga, Gil Mahé, and Raphael M. Tshimanga

9 Historical Changes in Rainfall Patterns over the Congo Basin and Impacts on Runoff (1903–2010) 145
Christopher E. Ndehedehe and Nathan O. Agutu

10 Water Budgets and Droughts under Current and Future Conditions in the Congo River Basin 165
Venkataramana Sridhar, Hyunwoo Kang, Syed A. Ali, Gode B. Bola, Raphael M. Tshimanga, and Venkataraman Lakshmi

11 Spatiotemporal Variability of Droughts in the Congo River Basin: The Role of Atmospheric Moisture Transport 187
Rogert Sorí, Milica Stojanovic, Raquel Nieto, Margarida L. R. Liberato, and Luis Gimeno

Part III Hydrology and Hydraulics

12 Two Decades of Hydrologic Modeling and Predictions in the Congo River Basin: Progress and Prospect for Future Investigations 207
Raphael M. Tshimanga

13 Sources and Sinks of Water of the Cuvette Centrale Wetlands Using Multiple Remote Sensing Measurements and a Hydrologic Model 237
Ting Yuan, Hyongki Lee, R. Edward Beighley, Hahn Chul Jung, and Raphael M. Tshimanga

14 Investigating the Role of the Cuvette Centrale in the Hydrology of the Congo River Basin 247
Pankyes Datok, Clément Fabre, Sabine Sauvage, Guy D. Moukandi N’kaya, Adrien Paris, Vanessa Dos Santos, Alain Laraque, and José-Miguel Sánchez-Pérez

15 Estimation of Bathymetry for Modeling Multi-thread Channel Hydraulics: Application to the Congo River Middle Reach 275
Andrew B. Carr, Mark A. Trigg, Raphael M. Tshimanga, Mark W. Smith, Duncan J. Borman, and Paul D. Bates

16 Reviewing Applications of Remote Sensing Techniques to Hydrologic Research in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a Special Focus on the Congo Basin 295
Guy J.-P. Schumann, Delwyn K. Moller, Louise Croneborg-Jones, and Konstantinos M. Andreadis

17 Spatial Hydrology and Applications in the Congo River Basin 323
Christophe Brachet, Alice Andral, Georges Gulemvuga Guzanga, Blaise-Leandre Tondo, Pierre-Olivier Malaterre, and Sebastien Legrand

18 Monitoring Hydrological Variables from Remote Sensing and Modeling in the Congo River Basin 339
Adrien Paris, Stéphane Calmant, Marielle Gosset, Ayan S. Fleischmann, Taina Sampaio Xavier Conchy, Pierre-André Garambois, Jean-Pierre Bricquet, Fabrice Papa, Raphael M. Tshimanga, Georges Gulemvuga Guzanga, Vinícius Alencar Siqueira, Blaise-Leandre Tondo, Rodrigo Paiva, Joecila Santos da Silva, and Alain Laraque

19 Long-Term Hydrological Variations of the Ogooué River Basin 367
Sakaros Bogning, Fréderic Frappart, Gil Mahé, Fernando Niño, Adrien Paris, Joëlle Sihon, Franck Ghomsi, Fabien Blarel, Jean-Pierre Bricquet, Raphaël Onguene, Jacques Etame, Frédérique Seyler, Marie-Claire Paiz, and Jean-Jacques Braun

Part IV Sediments and Carbon

20 Fluvial Carbon Dynamics across the Land to Ocean Continuum of Great Tropical Rivers: the Amazon and Congo 393
Jeffrey E. Richey, Robert G. M. Spencer, Travis W. Drake, and Nicholas D. Ward

21 Measuring Geomorphological Change on the Congo River Using Century-Old Navigation Charts 413
Mark A. Trigg, Andrew B. Carr, Mark W. Smith, and Raphael M. Tshimanga

22 Site Selection, Design, and Implementation of a Sediment Sampling Program on the Kasai River, a Major Tributary of the Congo River 427
Catherine A. Mushi, Preksedis M. Ndomba, Raphael M. Tshimanga, Mark A. Trigg, Jeffrey Neal, Gode B. Bola, Pierre Mulamba Kabuya, Andrew B. Carr, Jules T. Beya, Paul D. Bates, and Felix Mtalo

23 New Measurements of Water Dynamics and Sediment Transport along the Middle Reach of the Congo River and the Kasai Tributary 447
Raphael M. Tshimanga, Mark A. Trigg, Jeffrey Neal, Preksedis M. Ndomba, Denis A. Hughes, Andrew B. Carr, Pierre Mulamba Kabuya, Gode B. Bola, Catherine A. Mushi, Jules T. Beya, Felly K. Ngandu, Gabriel M. Mokango, Felix Mtalo, and Paul D. Bates

Part V Water Resources

24 Towards a Framework of Catchment Classification for Hydrologic Predictions and Water Resources Management in the Ungauged Basin of the Congo River: An a priori Approach 471
Raphael M. Tshimanga, Gode B. Bola, Pierre Mulamba Kabuya, Landry Nkaba, Jeffrey Neal, Laurence Hawker, Mark A. Trigg, Paul D. Bates, Denis A. Hughes, Alain Laraque, Ross Woods, and Thorsten Wagener

25 The Environmental Issues of the Ubangui Water Transfer Project to Lake Chad 449
Chanel Nzango, Pascal Bartout, Laurent Touchart, and Cyriaque-Rufin Nguimalet

26 Variability Of Lake Chad: What Hydraulic Management Will Preserve Natural Resources? 513
Hadiza Kiari Fougou and Jacques Lemoalle

27 Multi-Return Periods, Flood Hazards, and Risk Assessment in the Congo River Basin 519
Gode B. Bola, Raphael M. Tshimanga, Jeffrey Neal, Laurence Hawker, Mark A. Trigg, Lukanda Mwamba, and Paul D. Bates

28 Putting River Users at the Heart of Hydraulics and Morphology Research in the Congo Basin 541
Mark A. Trigg, Raphael M. Tshimanga, Preksedis M. Ndomba, Felix Mtalo, Denis A. Hughes, Catherine A. Mushi, Gode B. Bola, Pierre Mulamba Kabuya, Andrew B. Carr, Mark Bernhofen, Jeffrey Neal, Jules T. Beya, Felly K. Ngandu, and Paul D. Bates

Index 555