Climate Dynamics of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and Similarities with Other Subtropical Convergence Zones in the Southern Hemisphere

Download or read book Climate Dynamics of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and Similarities with Other Subtropical Convergence Zones in the Southern Hemisphere written by Matthew J. Widlansky and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three semi-permanent cloud bands exist in the Southern Hemisphere extending southeastward from the equator, through the tropics, and into the subtropics. The most prominent of these features occurs in the South Pacific and is referred to as the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). Similar convergence zones, with less intensity, exist in the South Atlantic (SACZ) and Indian (SICZ) oceans. We attempt to explain the physical mechanisms that promote the diagonal orientation of the SPCZ and the processes that determine the timescales of its variability. It is argued that the slowly varying sea surface temperature patterns produce upper tropospheric wind fields that vary substantially in longitude. Regions where 200 hPa zonal winds decrease with longitude (i.e., negative zonal stretching deformation, or dU/dx