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
1987–88 South Pacific cyclone season New Zealand Meteorological Service, while the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center and Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center also monitored the region. During December 1987, the South Pacific Convergence Zone started to intensify as upper level westerly winds appeared near the equator, with two depressions forming near Tuvalu towards the end of December as a result. Despite the low-level conditions being ideal for the development of a tropical cyclone at this stage, the surrounding upper-level conditions were unfavourable and the depressions dissipated while still in the low-latitudes. Tropical Cyclone 04P was monitored near Tuvalu, by the JTWC and the