Meteorological ingredients of heavy precipitation and subsequent lake-filling episodes in the northwestern Sahara

Rieder, Joëlle C.; Aemisegger, Franziska; Dente, Elad; Armon, Moshe

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1395-2025

Articles | Volume 29, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1395-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1395-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 29, issue 5

Research article

| Highlight paper

|

17 Mar 2025

Research article | Highlight paper |

| 17 Mar 2025

Meteorological ingredients of heavy precipitation and subsequent lake-filling episodes in the northwestern Sahara

Joëlle C. Rieder, Franziska Aemisegger, Elad Dente, and Moshe Armon

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1395-2025-supplement

Data sets

Complete ERA5 from 1940: Fifth generation of ECMWF atmospheric reanalyses of the global climate H. Hersbach et al. https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.143582cf

GPM IMERG Final Precipitation L3 1 day 0.1 degree x 0.1 degree V07 G. F. Huffman et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/GPM/IMERGDF/DAY/06

Executive editor

This paper is the first to present a mechanism for greening of the Sahara that relies on westerlies intensity as the primary mechanism. This mechanism, which is based on cutting edge analysis and observations, has the potential to move the 30 year-long debate on African Humid Period forward. This interdisciplinary study joins several fields, including climatology, paleoclimate, remote sensing, and hydrology.