Dr. Mussie Fessehaye

The objective of the research project is to develop a statistical model based on a 100-yr record of precipitation (1914–2015) for the highland of Eritrea with Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs), as previous studies have confirmed the strong correlation between the SST and East Africa precipitation. The statistical relation will also be integrated with analysis of atmospheric circulation cells over the Indian Ocean. Moreover, the relation will be analysed in climate model simulations that are driven by observed sea-surface temperature at the University of Bern. The outcome will be a tested relationship linking observed precipitation variability in the horn of Africa to SSTs. This will enable to predict the variability of precipitation in the central highland of Eritrea with respect to the SST.

In Eritrea, this research project will contribute to the capacity building program particularly in the sector of climate change and development of early warning systems for natural disaster management. At research station level, this study will diversify the research program on climate change and early warning system. At the host institution in Switzerland (University of Bern) this research work will expand the knowledge of long climate records and of SST variability.

Fessehaye M., & Savage M.J. (2006). Field, laboratory and estimated soil-water content limits. Water SA Vol. 32 No. 2.

Fessehaye M., & Savage M.J. (2006). Determination of the timing and amount of irrigation of three winter cover crops with the use of dielectric constant and capacitance soil water content profile methods. S. Afr. J. Plant Soil 2006, Vol. 23 No 3.

Fessehaye M., Tekeste T., Negusse E., Arefaine A., & Gherezghiher T. (2006). “Impact of Integrated Food Security Project Implemented in Northern Red Sea Zone, Eritrea” Presented on workshop organized by the Association of Eritrean in Agricultural Sciences March 03, Asmara, Eritrea.

Fessehaye M., Gherezghiher T., Abdul-Wahab S.A., Savage M.J., Kohler T., Hurni H. (2006). Fog-water Collection for Community Use. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (29): 52–62.

Fessehaye M., Abdul-Wahab S.A., Savage M.J., Kohler T., Gherezghiher T., & Hurni H. (2012). Poster: Testing fog-water collection along the Eastern Escarpment of Eritrea. Conference: 3rd International Conference on Research for Development (ICRD 2012) At: University of Bern, Switzerland.

Klemm O., Schemenauer R.S., Lummerich A., Cereceda P., Marzol V., Corell D., van Heerden J., Reinhard D., Gherezghiher T., Olivier J, Osses P., Sarsour J., Frost E., Estrela M.J, Valiente J.A, Fessehaye M. (2012). Fog as a Fresh water Resource: Overview and Perspectives. AMBIO (41): 221–234.

Fessehaye M., Abdul-Wahab S.A., Savage M.J., Kohler T., & Tesfay S. (2015). The Potential for Scaling Up a Fog Collection System on the Eastern Escarpment of Eritrea. Mountain Research and Development 35(4): 365-373.

Fessehaye M., Sabah A. Abdul-Wahab S.A., Michael J. Savage M.J., Kohler T., Gherezghiher T. & Hurni H. (2017). Assessment of fog-water collection on the eastern escarpment of Eritrea. Water Int. (42): 1022–1036.

Fessehaye M., Yuri Brugnara Y., Savage M.J., & Brönnimann S. (2018). Air temperature and precipitation variability and extremes over the central highlands of Eritrea: 1914 – 2015. Under review by International Journal of Climatology.

Abdul-Wahaba S.A., Fessehaye M., Yetilmezsoyc K., Al-Ghafira A., Al-Barashdia A., Al-Hajria N., Salim Al-Bulushia S. (2018). Optimization of an inverted multi-stage double slope solar still: An environmentally friendly system for seawater purification. Under review by Desalination and Water Treatment

Fessehaye, M., Brugnara, Y., Savage, M. J., and Brönnimann, S. (2019) A note on air temperature and precipitation variability and extremes over Asmara: 1914–2015. International Journal of Climatology, doi:10.1002/joc.6134