An explanation of the ITCZ which doesn't mention the role of the
coriolis force in organizing convection strikes me as incomplete.
The ITCZ doesn't entirely manage to follow the sun, as it only moves a
few degrees off the equator. The absence of a horizontal coriolis
force at or near the equator makes it relatively easy to form a
persistent large-scale line of convection there as compared to
elsewhere. It seems reasonable to conclude that the effect Alastair
describes influences the position of the ITCZ as a second order
effect, but to first order it must be near the equator. Elsewhere,
winds are deflected away from the center of the low pressure, and all
sorts of well-known complications ensue, while at the equator, a
convective cell behaves more like one would intuitively expect, with
moisture converging at the low pressure center and kicking off
convective instability.
GCMs tend to produce double ITCZs more than nature does. I don't know
if anyone has worked out why.
mt
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