Response of the Intertropical Convergence Zone to Climate Change: Location, Width, and Strength
Motivate work to document and understand the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) width and its variability and how it can change.
In this review paper, we synthesize recent work on the drivers and impacts of ITCZ location and width in observations and climate model simulations, with a particular emphasis on the newly emerging work on ITCZ width and its changes. We also present new analysis of the changes in ITCZ width and strength in CMIP5 model simulations.
We show that changes in ITCZ width and strength are tightly correlated across CMIP5 model simulations, and present a scaling equation to quantify this relationship. This work will frame future efforts to understand the relationship between width and strength change, as well as their influence on general circulation.