1. Original Questions:
What are the main observed characteristics of the Sahel rainy season? What is essential for the models to replicate in order to be able to capture long-term changes?
What does the paleo record suggest as important players and mechanisms for long-term variability?
What are the points of agreement and disagreement regarding mechanisms of Sahel rainfall variability that emerge in integrations with different atmospheric GCMs? With the different coupled GCMs in the IPCC archive?
Do GCMs lack adequate representation of essential processes, such as dynamic vegetation or dust? Can different representations of atmosphere/land coupling be at the root of differences among Sahel rainfall changes in GCM integrations?