Intertropical Convergence Zone it is sometimes referred to as a monsoon trough, a usage more common in Australia and parts of Asia. In the seamen's speech, the zone is referred to as the doldrums because of its erratic (monotonous) weather patterns with stagnant calms and violent thunderstorms. The ITCZ appears as a band of clouds, usually thunderstorms, that encircle the globe near the Equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the trade winds move in a southwestward direction from the northeast, while in the Southern Hemisphere, they move northwestward from the southeast. When the ITCZ is positioned north or south of the Equator, these directions
South Atlantic Convergence Zone while easterly wind anomalies indicate breaks of activity along the SACZ. The feature is also strongest with negative anomalies in the sea surface temperature pattern lie over the southern Atlantic Ocean, while opposite conditions prevail across the northern Atlantic Ocean. South Atlantic Convergence Zone The South Atlantic convergence zone, or SACZ, is an elongated axis of clouds, precipitation, and convergent winds oriented in a northwest-southeast manner across southeast Brazil into the southwest Atlantic Ocean. By definition, the feature is a monsoon trough. It is strongest in the warm season. Thunderstorm activity along the feature magnifies over three or more days