Uneven warming shifts equatorial rain band, midlatitude westerlies
Monday, May 27, 2013 - 16:30
in Earth & Climate
In a band near the equator, southward Northern Hemisphere winds and northward Southern Hemisphere winds come together to form the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). In the ITCZ the equatorward winds rise and cool, creating a region of high precipitation and weak surface winds. The location of the ITCZ and the precipitation it delivers to the rainforests is not static—seasonal differences in temperature between the hemispheres drive the ITCZ north and south, with the convergence zone moving toward the warmer hemisphere.