What is itcz

Last Updated on Tue, 02 May 2023 | THE The ITCZ might be expected to fall directly on the equator, because, on average, this is where the Sun is strongest. In actuality, the ITCZ moves, but tends to fall preferentially in the northern hemisphere, over the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The shift can be 10 degrees or more in latitude, or several hundred mi. (km.), and it has significant effects. The cause appears to be related to the western boundaries of South America and Africa, particularly the northwest to southeast slopes of the boundaries at the equator. This weakens the northeasterly trade winds, thereby warming the water north of the equator and allowing southeasterlies to cross into the north prior to convergence. The reinforce the hemispheric temperature difference and move it westward. The Sun is closest to the Earth during northern winter, which may also favor prevalence of a northern ITCZ. The dominance of monsoons over trade winds in the Indian Ocean maintains equatorial symmetry there. The ITCZ fluctuates over many timescales. The asymmetry of the ITCZ aids in establishing an annual, rather than a biannual, The southward shift brings dry conditions to South America and perhaps western Africa, and increased rain in eastern Africa. Warming in one hemisphere or cooling in the other moves the ITCZ in the direction of warming. Past deflection of the ITCZ likely resulted from sEE ALso: BIBLIOGRAPHY. H.F. Diaz and R.S. Bradley, eds., TheHadley Circulation:...

In truth, it dates back as far as the mid 19th century when this nautical term originated with sailors of the time when they used it to describe their predicament when their ships came to a stop and were unable to make any progress for days or even weeks on end. This article explores what precisely the doldrums are, how it occurs, and look at some of its main characteristics. Doldrums Definition During the introduction, you already got a glimpse of what the doldrums are, but the description is vague and needs a more thorough and precise explanation. Before delving into the details, though, it is important to define the term first to lay the foundation: "The doldrums" is an old nautical term used by sailors during the 19th century to describe the part of the ocean where their sailing ships got stuck and were unable to make much progress due to the lack of wind. It is clear from the definition that the doldrums is a location (the Intertropical Convergence Zone) and not a situation, as the introduction implied. It may sound a bit confusing, but as you will soon learn, this is simply a result of miscommunication during the 19th Century. Needless to say, there was no radio or any other modern form of direct communication during this period. As a result, communication between ships and their headquarters thousands of miles away had to be relayed via written word or simple "word of mouth." As a result, when reports reached officials on the mainland, describing the conditions they...

with modification Formerly, meteorologists referred to the entire tropical rain belt as the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Today, more and more meteorologists are restricting use of this term to refer to that part of the tropical rain belt found over oceanic regions (see below for why) and it is in this sense that I’ll be talking about it. From space, the ITCZ is often visible as a rough band of cloudiness (up to 300-500 nautical miles wide) that is generally tropical in location and roughly parallels the equator. Below is a photograph showing part of the ITCZ in the eastern Pacific: The ITCZ is often associated with rainfall in the form of showers or atmospheric convection. Atmospheric convection? On land, atmospheric convection is basically synonymous with thunderstorm. That’s not the case over the open ocean. Meteorologists have recently come to realize that the amount of lightning a storm produces is related to the strength of the storm’s updrafts and downdrafts. Apparently, updrafts and downdrafts in oceanic cumulonimbus clouds aren’t as strong as they are in cumulonimbus clouds on or near land. Consequently, despite towering as high and often higher, oceanic cumulonimbus clouds aren’t nearly as apt to produce lightning and associated thunder. Since the ITCZ is now being thought of as a climatic feature largely limited to oceanic areas, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say that it is frequently associated with thunderstorms. So what causes the ITCZ? That’s ...

Last Updated on Thu, 11 May 2023 | Figure 12.1 shows that winds between the tropics converge on a line which we call the Figure 12.1 Maps of the global-scale surface winds prevailing in January and July. The line near the equator shows the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), where Trade winds from the two hemispheres meet. A spur from this line over southern Africa is called the Figure 12.1 Maps of the global-scale surface winds prevailing in January and July. The line near the equator shows the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), where Trade winds from the two hemispheres meet. A spur from this line over southern Africa is called the Zaire Air Boundary (ZAB), where air converges from the Indian and Atlantic oceans, respectively, and another spur over the western South Pacific is known as the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). The letter H indicates a centre of high pressure (i.e. a 'high'), and an L stands for a 'low'. Figure 12.2 Mean streamlines of surface winds in January. Note the convergence of winds at the ITCZ, as in Figure 12.1. The whorls correspond to highs. coldest and driest air at the tropopause. As a result, convective uplift yields copious condensation well above the ground, which releases notable amounts of latent heat, and that in turn stimulates convection. The ITCZ lies at about 5°N on average. This is known as the The movement of the ITCZ across South Africa (Figure 12.1) is complicated by the land's shape, elevation and location, and there i...