Satellites weigh Africa's water (BBC)

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By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco

Africa has experienced a significant drying in the past three years, new satellite data reveals.

The volume of water lost from the land amounts to 334 cubic km, which is almost as much as all Africans have consumed over the period.

The data comes from Nasa spacecraft that can detect changes in gravity caused by water as it cycles between the sea, the atmosphere and the land.

Experts stress no firm conclusions should be drawn from the short study.

Professor Jay Famiglietti from the University of California-Irvine said much longer times series were needed to detect real trends and any signal that might indicate a significant shift in climate.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6174689.stm

[lapfog_1]

1. Africa is well on it's way to de-population

via a "crash". Not enough water, desertification, AIDs, other pandemics.