Doldrums

created by Webster 1913

(thing) by jafuser (11.4 mon) (print) ? (I like it!) 2 C!s Thu Sep 28 2000 at 5:00:09

This is an area near the equator where winds can be very erratic with long periods of calm. This is where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet. These air masses rise as they are heated by the sun, so there is little wind moving along the planet surface. Ships that sailed by wind were usually stranded here, hence the connotation of the term used when people's lives are stagnant. Tropical storms often form in this region due to the low air pressure, and high dew point.

ASCII Art diagram:

          

              air mass           air mass      
SE trade wind           __-^-__              NE trade wind
  --------->     ____--'       `--____       <---------
             ---'       doldrums      `----  surface 
                           |
                           |
                           |
                           |
                           | <-- equator

(definition) by Webster 1913 (print) Tue Dec 21 1999 at 23:11:50

Dol"drums, n. pl. [Cf. Gael. doltrum grief, vexation?]

A part of the ocean near the equator, abounding in calms, squalls, and light, baffling winds, which sometimes prevent all progress for weeks; -- so called by sailors.

To be in the doldrums, to be in a state of listlessness ennui, or tedium.

printable version
chaos

Horse latitudes	Information wants to be free	Non-ratings period	Monaco
Pacific Ocean	Ennui	Doledrum	William Russell
Neo-Nazi	Intertropical Convergence Zone	Vendée Globe	Negativity
Desolate	tedium	Australia	begrudgery
uplifting	trade winds	dew point	Calm
cyclone	diurnal	Tock the Watchdog	Subsume

Y'know, if you log in, you can write something here, or contact authors directly on the site. Create a New User if you don't already have an account.

Login
Password

remember me
password reminder
register

Everything2 Help

Things you could have written:
SYN attack
PayPal
Puberty seems to depress young women
Sphinx
Islamic Calendar
Requiem for a Dream
The Allegory of the Backpackers
All Along the Watchtower
All ravens are black
October 5, 2006
i sing of Olaf glad and big
water
Modern physics abuse syndrome

Heisenberg
Editor Log: July 2008	(log)
sam512
halfway homes, catacombs, twilight zones	(fiction)
Timeshredder
The Texas UFO Crash of 1897	(event)
Heitah
The Dark Knight	(review)
ignis_glaciesque
Uppsala	(place)
ignis_glaciesque
diffusion of responsibility	(idea)
TheOrientalAfrican
The Soft Meadow of my Childhood	(event)
BookReader
The Dragon Slayers	(fiction)
kohlcass
religiously fashionable	(review)
Pavlovna
waulking song	(thing)
tentative
Stick Man	(poetry)
Ereneta
The Fight with the Snapping Turtle: Or, the American St. George	(poetry)
sitaraika
Fog and fire	(personal)
MonoliTheory
She sobs in response	(fiction)
kohlcass
Arzu	(person)

E2 is a by-product of the existence of The Everything Development Company