Asymmetry of the Intertropical Convergence Zone Asymmetry of the Intertropical Convergence Zone There are a number of explanations of the asymmetry of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), known by sailors as The Doldrums. The ITCZ would be expected to overlie the geographic equator according to symmetric solar radiation. However, the ITCZ is mostly perennial in the northern hemisphere and in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It was originally explained by the asymmetrical distribution of continents. However, the distribution of land and ocean is severely asymmetric in the Indian Ocean, yet the ITCZ moves back and forth there between the southern and northern hemispheres. Continents surround
Tropical cyclone toward higher latitudes if its energy source changes from heat released by condensation to differences in temperature between air masses; although not as frequently, an extratropical cyclone can transform into a subtropical storm, and from there into a tropical cyclone. From space, extratropical storms have a characteristic "comma-shaped" cloud pattern. Extratropical cyclones can also be dangerous when their low-pressure centers cause powerful winds and high seas. A "subtropical cyclone" is a weather system that has some characteristics of a tropical cyclone and some characteristics of an extratropical cyclone. They can form in a wide band of latitudes, from the equator