What causes the windless doldrums that strand sailors? Find upends previous thinking.

New research challenges the conventional explanation for the windless doldrums experienced by sailors in the tropical seas. The traditional theory suggests that rising masses of warm, moist air cause the lack of winds in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). However, a recent study argues that sinking air masses, rather than rising ones, are responsible for the phenomenon. The study analyzed data from buoys deployed in the Atlantic Ocean and found that rain and windless episodes occur separately, contradicting the previous explanation. The researcher behind the study suggests that sinking air may be caused by factors such as dry air outside of rain clouds or thunderstorms creating downdrafts. Further validation of this hypothesis may come from a large-scale research project called ORCESTRA. The findings from this research not only have implications for understanding the doldrums but also for improving tropical weather forecasts and climate models. [Extracted from the article]