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
South Pacific convergence zone using uncoupled atmospheric models with prescribed sea surface temperatures, and those 3 models each with differing complexity showed less severe double ITCZ bias than the ensemble of coupled models. At its southeast edge, the circulation around the feature forces a salinity gradient in the ocean, with fresher and warmer waters of the western Pacific lying to its west. Cooler and saltier waters lie to its east. Tropical textbook : from trade winds to cyclone (2 vol), 897 pp., Florent Beucher, 25 mai 2010, Météo-France, South Pacific convergence zone The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), a reverse-oriented monsoon trough, is a