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On the characteristics of sea breezes over Nigerian coastal region

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Abstract

This paper describes the characteristics of sea breezes over the coastal region of Nigeria. While considerable attention has been paid to monsoon circulation over this coastal region, there is virtually no information in literature on sea breezes over the region. This study analyzed 5 years (1979–1983) data of hourly temperature and wind speed and direction from four coastal stations in Nigerian—Lagos, Warri, Port-Harcourt, and Calabar—in order to examine the characteristics of the sea breeze in the region. The results show that sea breeze usually started between 1000 and 1200 UTC, attained maximum strength of about 2–5 m s−1 in the afternoon around 1500–1600 UTC and subsided between 2000 and 2200 UTC. Consistent with maxima temperature contrast between land and sea, the maximum frequency of sea breeze occurs in February–May and September–November, with duration of about 11–13 h. The diurnal variation of wind vectors with time, portrayed by means of hodograph, shows that sea breeze rotates clockwise and anticlockwise over the region. We found that only the stations adjacent to bay demonstrate clockwise rotation during the day.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the Nigerian Meteorological Agency for providing the surface observation data used for the present work. This work was finalized during the period the first author was doing his Ph.D. at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa USA. The program was supported by U.S. Department of Energy grants DEFG0201ER63250 and DEFG0208ER64534 under the supervision of Dr. Gutowski William Jr. His effort at proof reading this work is also gratefully acknowledge. We give all honor to God for successful completion of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Abayomi A. Abatan

  2. Climate System Analysis Group, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Babatunde J. Abiodun

  3. Department of Meteorology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

    Abayomi A. Abatan & Bayo J. Omotosho

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  1. Abayomi A. Abatan
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  2. Babatunde J. Abiodun
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  3. Bayo J. Omotosho
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Correspondence to Abayomi A. Abatan.

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Abatan, A.A., Abiodun, B.J. & Omotosho, B.J. On the characteristics of sea breezes over Nigerian coastal region. Theor Appl Climatol 116, 93–102 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-0931-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-0931-z

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