scholarly journals Recent Budget of Hydroclimatology and Hydrosedimentology of the Congo River in Central Africa

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2613
Author(s):  
Alain Laraque ◽  
Guy D. Moukandi N’kaya ◽  
Didier Orange ◽  
Raphael Tshimanga ◽  
Jean Marie Tshitenge ◽  
...  

Although the Congo Basin is still one of the least studied river basins in the world, this paper attempts to provide a multidisciplinary but non-exhaustive synthesis on the general hydrology of the Congo River by highlighting some points of interest and some particular results obtained over a century of surveys and scientific studies. The Congo River is especially marked by its hydrological regularity only interrupted by the wet decade of 1960, which is its major anomaly over nearly 120 years of daily observations. Its interannual flow is 40,500 m3 s−1. This great flow regularity should not hide important spatial variations. As an example, we can cite the Ubangi basin, which is the most northern and the most affected by a reduction in flow, which has been a cause for concern since 1970 and constitutes a serious hindrance for river navigation. With regard to material fluxes, nearly 88 × 106 tonnes of material are exported annually from the Congo Basin to the Atlantic Ocean, composed of 33.6 × 106 tonnes of TSS, 38.1 × 106 tonnes of TDS and 16.2 × 106 tonnes of DOC. In this ancient flat basin, the absence of mountains chains and the extent of its coverage by dense rainforest explains that chemical weathering (10.6 t km−2 year−1 of TDS) slightly predominates physical erosion (9.3 t km−2 year−1 of TSS), followed by organic production (4.5 t km−2 year−1 of DOC). As the interannual mean discharges are similar, it can be assumed that these interannual averages of material fluxes, calculated over the longest period (2006–2017) of monthly monitoring of its sedimentology and bio-physical-chemistry, are therefore representative of the flow record available since 1902 (with the exception of the wet decade of 1960). Spatial heterogeneity within the Congo Basin has made it possible to establish an original hydrological classification of right bank tributaries, which takes into account vegetation cover and lithology to explain their hydrological regimes. Those of the Batéké plateau present a hydroclimatic paradox with hydrological regimes that are among the most stable on the planet, but also with some of the most pristine waters as a result of the intense drainage of an immense sandy-sandstone aquifer. This aquifer contributes to the regularity of the Congo River flows, as does the buffer role of the mysterious “Cuvette Centrale”. As the study of this last one sector can only be done indirectly, this paper presents its first hydrological regime calculated by inter-gauging station water balance. Without neglecting the indispensable in situ work, the contributions of remote sensing and numerical modelling should be increasingly used to try to circumvent the dramatic lack of field data that persists in this basin.

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e1605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise A. Kelly-Hope ◽  
Moses J. Bockarie ◽  
David H. Molyneux

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Marien ◽  
Nicolas Laurent ◽  
Nathalie Smitz ◽  
Sophie Gombeer

In May-June 2021, we detected Aedes albopictus adults near the central hospital in Boende, the capital city of the Tshuapa province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We identified the mosquitoes using morphological and molecular techniques (COI barcoding). This is the first report of this species in the DRC outside of Kinshasa and Kongo Central. Given the central location of Boende in the Congo Basin, our finding suggests that the vector might also have spread to other cities which are located upstream of the Congo River and its major tributaries. Because Aedes albopictus is an important vector for human arbovirus transmission, we highlight the need to investigate its distribution range and to update disease risk maps in Central Africa.


Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Takemoto ◽  
Yoshi Kawamoto ◽  
Takeshi Furuichi

The Congo River functions as a strong geographical barrier for many terrestrial mammals in the Congo Basin, separating forest habitat into right and left banks of the river. However, there has been little discussion on the biogeography of the Congo Basin because the history of the river has been obscured. Based on the recent information of the sea-floor sediments near the mouth of the river and the geophysical survey on the continent, this chapter proposes a plausible hypothesis on the Congo River formation and presents a consequent hypothesis on the divergence of bonobos (Pan paniscus) from other Pan populations. The present hypothesis is also helpful for understanding the distribution of other primates and other mammals in the basin. Furthermore, this hypothesis suggests that all hominid clades, including human, chimpanzee and gorilla, except bonobo, evolved in the area north or east of the Congo River. La rivière du Congo a la fonction d’une barrière géographique forte pour plusieurs mammifères dans le bassin du Congo, séparant l’habitat forêt dans les banques gauches et droites de la rivière. Cependant, il y a eu peu de discussions sur la biogégraphie du bassin du Congo, parce que l’histoire de la rivière a été voilée. Récemment, quelque données importantes qui peuvent avoir des liens avec la formation de la rivière du Congo ont été acquise, surtout par la recherche des sédiments du fond marin près de la bouche de la rivière et par l’enquête géographique du continent. À partir de cette nouvelle information, nous avons proposé une hypothèse plausible sur la formation de la rivière du Congo. Nous avons aussi présenté une hypothèse conséquente sur la divergence des bonobos (Pan paniscus) des autres populations Pan (voire Takemoto et al., 2015 pour la publication originale de cette étude). L’hypothèse présente nous aide aussi à comprendre la distribution des autre primates et des autres mammifères dans le bassin. De plus, cette hypothèse suggère que tous les hominidés clades, humains inclus, chimpanzés et gorilla à l’exception du bonobo, ont évolué dans la régions du nord ou de l’est de la rivière du Congo.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-191
Author(s):  
Henry Mbaya

AbstractThis paper explores the use of the Chewa and Nyanja concepts ofmbumbaandnkhoswein Central Africa and Southern Africa as interpretive tools for an Anglican ecclesiology and theology of leadership. Following an exposition of these two concepts, it conceptualizesmbumbaas a diocese, and bishops asnkhoswederiving from Christ asNkhoswepar excellence. These two concepts entail critical values including responsibility, accountability and mutuality, which can be used as a model to enhance the relationship between a diocese and bishop. Conceptualizing a diocese asmbumbaand the role of a bishop as that ofnkhoswehas the potential to enhance missional practice in Central and Southern Africa.


2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1625) ◽  
pp. 20120300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Mayaux ◽  
Jean-François Pekel ◽  
Baudouin Desclée ◽  
François Donnay ◽  
Andrea Lupi ◽  
...  

This paper presents a map of Africa's rainforests for 2005. Derived from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer data at a spatial resolution of 250 m and with an overall accuracy of 84%, this map provides new levels of spatial and thematic detail. The map is accompanied by measurements of deforestation between 1990, 2000 and 2010 for West Africa, Central Africa and Madagascar derived from a systematic sample of Landsat images—imagery from equivalent platforms is used to fill gaps in the Landsat record. Net deforestation is estimated at 0.28% yr −1 for the period 1990–2000 and 0.14% yr −1 for the period 2000–2010. West Africa and Madagascar exhibit a much higher deforestation rate than the Congo Basin, for example, three times higher for West Africa and nine times higher for Madagascar. Analysis of variance over the Congo Basin is then used to show that expanding agriculture and increasing fuelwood demands are key drivers of deforestation in the region, whereas well-controlled timber exploitation programmes have little or no direct influence on forest-cover reduction at present. Rural and urban population concentrations and fluxes are also identified as strong underlying causes of deforestation in this study.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsbet Lodenstein ◽  
Eric Mafuta ◽  
Adolphe C. Kpatchavi ◽  
Jean Servais ◽  
Marjolein Dieleman ◽  
...  

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