NDLI: Changing rainfall inputs in the Volta basin: implications for water sharing in Ghana

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Owusu, Kwadwo Waylen, Peter Qiu, Youliang
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	We present evidence from the analysis of gridded annual rainfall data that, increased variability and declining rainfall totals are the main cause of declining lake levels in the Volta basin above the Akosombo Dam. West Africa has undergone a period of diminished rainfall, punctuated by a series of severe droughts and marked by a shift in rainfall regime. As a result, lake levels behind the hydro-electric impoundment have fluctuated so widely at times that, power has had to be rationed. The trends in the spatial and temporal variability of annual rainfall in the riparian nations explain the low impoundment levels frequent in recent decades. The drying of Burkina Faso and Mali is particularly marked and synchronous to an apparent shift in the rainfall regime in Ghana towards a longer dry season and vanishing short dry spell, the effects which tend to negate each other. The various regional and temporal associations between El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon (ENSO) are investigated as a possible cause of variation across the basin. The strengths of these associations and low frequency shifts suggest an unfortunate correspondence between national and climatological boundaries which may serve to heighten regional political tensions resulting from ENSO effects. Lack of re-investment in the Akosombo Dam as a result of management policies, political and pre-construction contractual agreements have all conspired in recent decades to make these hydro-climatological changes more devastating.
Starting Page	201
Ending Page	210
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISSN	03432521
Journal	GeoJournal
Volume Number	71
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	15729893
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2008-07-01
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Declining rainfall ENSO Ghana Shifting rainfall regime Transboundary conflict Volta basin West Africa Hydrogeology Ecology Environmental Management Geography (general) Human Geography
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Geography, Planning and Development

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

The transboundary water resources management regime of the Volta Basin

Assessing changes in the rainfall regime in Nigeria between 1961 and 2004

The Volta Lake and Declining Rainfall and Streamflows in the Volta River Basin

Shifting agrifood systems: a comment

Comparative urbanization in Ghana and Kenya in time and space

Implications of climatic variability and climate change for water resources availability and management in West Africa

Peace Parks and jaguar trails: transboundary conservation in a globalizing world

Tourism development preferences among the residents of Lake Bosomtwe Basin, Ghana

Shifting agrifood systems: the contemporary geography of food and agriculture; an introduction

Changing rainfall inputs in the Volta basin: implications for water sharing in Ghana

Similar Documents

The transboundary water resources management regime of the Volta Basin

Assessing changes in the rainfall regime in Nigeria between 1961 and 2004

The Volta Lake and Declining Rainfall and Streamflows in the Volta River Basin

Shifting agrifood systems: a comment

Comparative urbanization in Ghana and Kenya in time and space

Implications of climatic variability and climate change for water resources availability and management in West Africa

Peace Parks and jaguar trails: transboundary conservation in a globalizing world

Tourism development preferences among the residents of Lake Bosomtwe Basin, Ghana

Shifting agrifood systems: the contemporary geography of food and agriculture; an introduction

Changing rainfall inputs in the Volta basin: implications for water sharing in Ghana