Editing Intertropical Convergence Zone (section)

== ITCZ over oceans vs. land ==
[[File:ITCZ Africa.png|thumb|Seasonal variability of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), Congo air boundary (CAB), tropical rainbelt, and surface winds over Africa (adapted from [https://oxfordre.com/climatescience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228620-e-511 Dezfuli 2017] with modification). This schematic shows that the ITCZ and the region of maximum rainfall can be decoupled over the continents.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Dezfuli|first=Amin|date=2017-03-29|title=Climate of Western and Central Equatorial Africa|url=https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228620-e-511|journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science|language=en|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.511|isbn=9780190228620|url-access=subscription}}</ref>]]

The ITCZ is commonly defined as an equatorial zone where the trade winds converge. Rainfall seasonality is traditionally attributed to the north–south migration of the ITCZ, which follows the sun. Although this is largely valid over the equatorial oceans, the ITCZ and the region of maximum rainfall can be decoupled over the continents.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nicholson|first=Sharon E.|date=February 2018|title=The ITCZ and the Seasonal Cycle over Equatorial Africa|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |volume=99 |issue=2 |pages=337–348 |doi=10.1175/bams-d-16-0287.1 |bibcode=2018BAMS...99..337N |issn=0003-0007}}</ref> The equatorial precipitation over land is not simply a response to just the surface convergence. Rather, it is modulated by a number of regional features such as local atmospheric jets and waves, proximity to the oceans, terrain-induced convective systems, moisture recycling, and spatiotemporal variability of land cover and albedo.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Alex O. |last2=Ganguly |first2=Indrani |last3=McGraw |first3=Marie C. |last4=Larson |first4=James G. |date=2022-02-15 |title=Rapid Dynamical Evolution of ITCZ Events over the East Pacific |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/35/4/JCLI-D-21-0216.1.xml |journal=Journal of Climate |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=1197–1213 |doi=10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0216.1 |bibcode=2022JCli...35.1197G |s2cid=244551794 |issn=0894-8755|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ganguly |first1=Indrani |last2=Gonzalez |first2=Alex O. |last3=Karnauskas |first3=Kristopher B. |date=2023-10-20 |title=On the role of wind-evaporation-SST feedbacks in the sub-seasonal variability of the east Pacific ITCZ |journal=Journal of Climate |volume=-1 |issue=aop |pages=129–143 |doi=10.1175/JCLI-D-22-0849.1 |s2cid=264384015 |issn=0894-8755|doi-access=free }}</ref>