I am currently a PhD student (since october 2018) at Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (Brest, France).

My research project focuses on the analysis of small-scale horizontal and vertical thermohaline variations within the surface layers of the Gulf of Guinea (GG). It is about studying the conditions of variations of salinity and temperature in the eastern GG freshwater plumes by rivers discharges (Congo and Niger rivers) and heavy precipitation (associated with the seasonal migration of the Inter-tropical convergence Zone). Specifically, this project aims to study the spatio-temporal variability of freshwater plumes from intr-seasonal, seasonal to interannual scale in the GG on the one hand, and the complex structure of the vertical stratification in the Congo River plume of on the other hand, by elucidating the processes involved. For instance, we adress the following questions: What is the seasonal variation of the eastern GG freshwater plumes? What are physical processes involved in their seasonal variation? What is the vertical structure of the stratification within the Congo River plume? How does the Congo River discharge control the stratification of the surface layers? I use SSS SMOS and SSS CCI data, in situ data (CTD from PIRATA cruises, Argo data and TSGs from Voluntary Observing Ships) and SST (NOA-OI) combined with reanalysis data to adress those questions.

This work is done under the supervision of Christophe Maes and Nicolas Kolodziejczyk, and in collaboration with Bernard Bourlès, Casimir Y. Da-Allada and Nicolas Reul.

My project is funded by Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) program of French President Emmanuel Macron and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)

[1] Houndegnonto, O. J., Kolodziejczyk, N., Maes, C., Bourlès, B., Da-Allada, C. Y., & Reul, N. (2021), Seasonal variability of freshwater plumes in the eastern Gulf of Guinea as inferred from satellite measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC017041. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC017041. [Research article]

[2] Houndegnonto, O. J. (2017), Characterization of Niger and Congo rivers plumes in the Gulf of Guinea, Supervisors: Nicolas Kolodziejczyk (Université de Bretagne Occidentale – UBO/Brest, France), Casimir Da-Allada (Université Nationale des Sciences Technologies, Ingénierie et Mathématique – UNSTIM/Abomey, Benin) and, Bernard Bourlès (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement – IRD/Brest, France) [M. Sc. thesis rapport in french]

Ocean Physics and Applications -- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics -- The dynamic of climate -- Air-Sea interactions