Hemispheric shift of the zonal mean ITCZ during the last deglaciation

The zonal-annual mean inter-hemispheric convergence zone (ITCZ) is located in the northern hemisphere in the modern climate. A transient simulation of the last deglaciation using the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM), suggests that the ITCZ was located in the southern hemisphere 14 kyrs ago. This shift is due to a substantial cooling of the northern hemisphere relative the southern hemisphere, after the release of melt water pulse 1a. The ITCZ compensates for these changes in the surface temperature by shifting south, thereby leading to a northward atmospheric heat transport away from the southern hemisphere. Along with the southward shift, the intensity of the precipitation within the ITCZ decreases. These changes in the intensity of precipitation can be explained by using a framework based on the moist static energy budget. We find that these changes are primarily related to the changes in the large-scale vertical motion of the atmosphere in the tropics. This affects the vertical transport of the moist static energy, and hence total gross moist stability (TGMS).