A West Africa LDAS for Forecasting Extreme Hydrological Events (WALFEHE)

In this proposal we seek to partner with the SERVIR-West Africa hub AGRHYMET in Niamey, Niger to provide improved estimation and predictability of water resources for integrated water management in the areas of the AGRHYMET member nations, with a focus on (1) hydrologic modeling to provide meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought characterizations and forecasts, and (2) flood modeling and forecasting, including assessments of seasonal and longer -term climate scenarios. The proposal team expects to partner with AGRHYMET to define, implement, test, and transition to operations a Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) based on the NASA Land Information System (LIS) modeling framework. There will be a strong emphasis on assuring that the proposal team and AGRHYMET identify the community of end -users, understand their needs, customize the products for the greatest utility and ease of use, and provide actionable information to the end -users. Other key components of the proposed work include capacity building, drawing on local know ledge and ideas, and establishing and monitoring performance metrics.