Two Decades of Hydrologic Modeling and Predictions in the Congo River Basin

Tshimanga, Raphael M.

doi:10.1002/9781119657002.ch12

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The long-term average annual temperature of the basin is about 24°C [56], and rainfall varies from 1431 to 1515 mm per year [7]. The Kasai River (KAR), with a length of 2153 km, is the mainstream [52], originating from the Munyango headwaters in Angola [44]. The Kwango, Kwilu, and Loange on the left bank of the KAR and Sankuru and Lulua on the right bank are other key rivers in the KARB with an average flow of 2092, 1207, 427, 2500, and 502 m3/s, respectively [51].…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These rivers confluence in Kutu Moke and have an average annual discharge of 8246 m3/s at the outlet [23], see Figure 1. The main hydrometric station in the KARB is the Kutu-Moke covering a drainage area of 750,000 km2, about 20% of the Congo River Basin [44]. The basin's mean annual rainfall, temperature, streamflow discharge, and drainage area are presented in Table 1.…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-model Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the Streamflow Conditions in the Kasai River Basin, Central Africa

Lesani,

Zahera,

Hassanzadeh

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The Congo River Basin is the second-largest watershed globally, flowing through nine countries before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. The Kasai River Basin (KARB), containing about one-fourth of Congo’s freshwater resources, plays a strategic role in sustaining navigation, food production, and hydroelectricity generation in Central Africa. A multi-model framework suited for data scarce regions is applied for climate change impacts on water availability in the KARB to propose effective development plans in the future. This includes consideration of two conceptual hydrological models calibrated using four reanalysis datasets and fed with bias-corrected outputs of 19 climate models under two future Representative Climate Pathways (RCPs). Changes in mean annual discharge in the KARB from -18% to +3% are projected depending on the considered modeling configuration. This shows the sensitivity of impact assessment to the choice of models as well as input data. Moreover, about 9%, 18%, and 13% decline in streamflow signatures (Q10, Q50 and Q90) are projected based on the ensemble of models under RCP 8.5. A decrease of 14% and 5% in annual hydropower potential of the mainstream is estimated under RCPs 4.5 and 8.5, respectively. These changes in flows conditions should be considered in decision-making around constructing reservoirs and hydroelectricity generation.

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Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-model Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the Streamflow Conditions in the Kasai River Basin, Central Africa

Lesani,

Zahera,

Hassanzadeh

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Hydrological monitoring in the CRB can be traced back to the year 1903, with the implementation of the Kinshasa gauging site. Until the end of 1960, which marks the end of the colonial era for many riparian countries in the basin, more than 400 gauging sites were installed throughout the CRB to provide water level and discharge data (Tshimanga, 2021). It is unfortunate that many of these data could not be accessible to the public interested in hydrological research and water resources management.…”

Section: In Situ Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

A combined use of in situ and satellite-derived observations to characterize surface hydrology and its variability in the Congo River basin

Kitambo

Papa

Paris

et al. 2022

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The Congo River basin (CRB) is the second largest river system in the world, but its hydroclimatic characteristics remain relatively poorly known. Here, we jointly analyse a large record of in situ and satellite-derived observations, including a long-term time series of surface water height (SWH) from radar altimetry (a total of 2311 virtual stations) and surface water extent (SWE) from a multi-satellite technique, to characterize the CRB surface hydrology and its variability. First, we show that SWH from altimetry multi-missions agrees well with in situ water stage at various locations, with the root mean square deviation varying from 10 cm (with Sentinel-3A) to 75 cm (with European Remote Sensing satellite-2). SWE variability from multi-satellite observations also shows a plausible behaviour over a ∼25-year period when evaluated against in situ observations from the subbasin to basin scale. Both datasets help to better characterize the large spatial and temporal variability in hydrological patterns across the basin, with SWH exhibiting an annual amplitude of more than 5 m in the northern subbasins, while the Congo River main stream and Cuvette Centrale tributaries vary in smaller proportions (1.5 to 4.5 m). Furthermore, SWH and SWE help illustrate the spatial distribution and different timings of the CRB annual flood dynamic and how each subbasin and tributary contribute to the hydrological regime at the outlet of the basin (the Brazzaville/Kinshasa station), including its peculiar bimodal pattern. Across the basin, we estimate the time lag and water travel time to reach the Brazzaville/Kinshasa station to range from 0–1 month in its vicinity in downstream parts of the basin and up to 3 months in remote areas and small tributaries. Northern subbasins and the central Congo region contribute highly to the large peak in December–January, while the southern part of the basin supplies water to both hydrological peaks, in particular to the moderate one in April–May. The results are supported using in situ observations at several locations in the basin. Our results contribute to a better characterization of the hydrological variability in the CRB and represent an unprecedented source of information for hydrological modelling and to study hydrological processes over the region.

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“…The (sub-)sub-basins of Lualaba show different relationships. The presence of lakes and wetlands, with massive storage capacities like the Bangwelu swamp, the Upemba depression and Lake Tanganyika, greatly influences the flow regime of the downstream sub-basins (41). In the Lualaba-North, the discharge reaches its maximum in November, while in the Lualaba-South and Lualaba-Lukuga the maximum discharge is reached in April-May (18).…”

Section: Water Storage-discharge Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current availability and distribution of Congo basin's freshwater resources

Tourian

Papa

Elmi

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The Congo Basin is of global significance for biodiversity and the water and carbon cycles. However, its freshwater availability remains highly unknown. Here, we leverage a new method to characterize the relationship between drainable water storage and river discharge across the entire basin. We estimate that the Congo Basin currently holds 481±24 km³ of Total Drainable Water Storage, unevenly distributed throughout the region, with 68% being stored in the southernmost sub-basins, Kasaï (227±17 km³) and Lualaba (146±7 km³), while the northern sub-basins contribute only 173±8 km³. We further estimate the time constant for draining its entire water storage to be 4.3±0.4 month, but, regionally, large lakes act as resistors resulting in greater time constants of up to 105±3 month. Our estimate provides a robust basis to address the challenges of water demand for 120 million inhabitants, a population expected to double in a few decades.

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Two Decades of Hydrologic Modeling and Predictions in the Congo River Basin

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

Multi-model Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the Streamflow Conditions in the Kasai River Basin, Central Africa

Multi-model Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the Streamflow Conditions in the Kasai River Basin, Central Africa

A combined use of in situ and satellite-derived observations to characterize surface hydrology and its variability in the Congo River basin

Current availability and distribution of Congo basin's freshwater resources

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