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Understanding the impact of global climate change on the circulation patterns over Africa

Precipitation over land is one of the most crucial fields to understand in terms of effects of climate change on human health, economy and the natural environment. Precipitation in Africa has traditionally been studied with a regional focus, emphasizing the role of local seasonal phenomena such as the Intertropical Convergence Zone. I am interested in understanding how climate-related changes in the large-scale circulation across southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean will impact African precipitation. As an introduction to this topic I will focus on boreal summer and examine the connections between the tropical jets, regions of deep convection and descent and precipitation over Africa.  I will also discuss how the African dynamics during boreal summer are linked to the Asian Monsoon, with the long-term goal of understanding how changes in the monsoon could modulate the circulation and precipitation patterns over Africa.