Space-time representation of Lee et Heghinian approach: case of the
Congo watershed
Abstract
The local or regional approach is often used in studies to detect the
point of change of the mean in the hydro-climatic time series. These
approaches have been applied by previous studies on a limited part of
the Congo basin, in particular on the right bank of the Congo river.
This study is a comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis over the Congo
Basin that deals with the detection of the point of change of the mean
in the precipitation time series using the Lee et Heghinian approach.
The latter has been applied on 9021 precipitation time series over the
Congo watershed which resulted in a spatio-temporal representation of
the probabilities of the point of change of the mean. A clear cut of the
study area unto distinctive zones with high or low probabilities has
been obtained. The point of change of the mean in the precipitation time
series occurred in 1969 or 1970 with high probabilities over two areas
of the basin which correspond to the sub-basins of Oubangi and Kasai.
These sub-basins are seemingly more vulnerable to climate change than
other sub-basins such as the Batéké Plateau sub-basin as well as regions
not yet studied.