Abstract
The Intertropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, is a belt of wind convergence and associated convection encircling the globe in the near-equatorial region. In a zonally averaged view, it is located at the equatorward edge – the rising branch – of the Hadley cell. The ITCZ is characterized by the low-level wind convergence, low sea level pressure, intense convection and associated cloudiness. The zonally averaged ITCZ is not stationary, but slowly migrates from south of the equator during the northern hemisphere winter to north of the equator during the northern hemisphere summer, following the Sun.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Chao, W.C., Chen, B.: Multiple quasi-equilibria of the ITCZ and the origin of monsoon onset. Part II. Rotational ITCZ attractors. J. Atmos. Sci. 58, 2820–2831 (2001)
Chao, W., Chen, B.: Single and double ITCZ in an acqua planet model with constant sea surface temperature and solar angle. Clim. Dynam. 22, 447–459 (2004). doi:10.1007/s00382-003-0387-4
Charney, J.G.: Tropical cyclogenesis and the formation of the ITCZ. In: Reid, W.H. (ed.) Mathematical problems of geophysical fluid dynamics. Lectures in applied mathematics. Am. Math. Soc. 13, 355–368 (1971)
Clement, A.C., Seager, R., Murtugudde, R.: Why are there tropical warm pools? J. Climate 18, 5294–5311 (2005)
Hartmann, D.L., Michelsen, M.: Large-scale effects on the regulation of tropical sea surface temperature. J. Climate 6, 2049–2062 (1993)
Kirtman, B.P., Schneider, E.: A spontaneously generated tropical atmospheric general circulation. J. Atmos. Sci. 57, 2080–2093 (2000)
Lau, K.M., Suie, C.H., Chou, M.D., Tao, W.K.: An inquiry into the Cirrus cloud thermostat effect on tropical sea surface temperature. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 1157–1160 (1994)
Liebmann, B., Smith, C.A.: Description of a complete (interpolated) outgoing longwave radiation dataset. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 77, 1275–1277 (1996)
Lindzen, D., Nigam, S.: On the role of sea surface temperature gradients in forcing low-level winds and convergence in the tropics. J. Atmos. Sci. 44, 2418–2436 (1987)
Moorthi, S., Suarez, M.J.: Relaxed Arakawa-Schubert: a parameterization of moist convection for general circulation models. Mon. Weather Rev. 120, 978–1002 (1992)
Philander, S.G.H., Gu, D., Halpern, D., Lambert, G., Lau, N.–.C., Li, T., Pacanowski, R.C.: Why the ITCZ is mostly north of the equator. J. Climate 9, 2958–2972 (1996)
Pike, A.C.: The inter-tropical convergence zone studied with an interactive atmosphere and ocean model. Mon. Weather Rev. 99, 469–477 (1971)
Ramanathan, V., Collins, W.: Thermodynamic regulation of ocean warming by cirrus clouds deduced from observations of the 1987 El Niño. Nature 351, 27–32 (1991)
Sobel, A.H., Held, I.M., Bretherton, C.S.: The ENSO signal in tropical tropospheric temperature. J. Climate 15, 2702–2706 (2002)
Sumi, A.: Pattern formation of convective activity over the aqua planet with globally uniform sea surface temperature. J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. 70, 855–876 (1992)
Tackacs, L.L., Molod, A., Wang, T.: Documentations of the Goddard earth observing system (GEOS) general circulation model-Version 1. NASA Technical Memovandum 104606, vol. 1, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, p. 97 (1994)
Waliser, D.: Some considerations on the thermostat hypothesis. Bull. Am. Meteor. Soc. 77, 357–360 (1996)
Wallace, J.M.: Effect of deep convection on the regulation of tropical sea surface temperature. Nature 357, 230–231 (1992)
Xie, P., Arkin, P.A.: Analyses of global monthly precipitation using gauge observations, satellite estimates, and numerical model predictions. J. Climate 9, 840–858 (1996)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Krishnamurti, T.N., Stefanova, L., Misra, V. (2013). The Intertropical Convergence Zone. In: Tropical Meteorology. Springer Atmospheric Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7409-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7409-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7408-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7409-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)