ltwilliammowett:Day after day, day after day, We stuck nor breath, nor motion, As idle as a painted
ltwilliammowett:Day after day, day after day, We stuck nor breath, nor motion, As idle as a painted ship, Upon a painted ocean- A ship in the doldrums in : Samuel Taylor. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Illustrated by Edward H. Wehnert. New York: D. Appleton, 1857The “doldrums,” or according to the Glossary of Meteorology “equatorial calms” refers to very specific conditions occurring in a very specific region of the world: the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres converge there. As they meet, the air rises, helped by the heat of the warm water. The rising air eventually turns toward the north or south, traveling thousands of miles before descending back to the surface.HMS Surprise in the doldrums - Master and Commander 2003Since the air is moving upward, there’s little wind in this region — and sometimes none at all. That can leave a sailing vessel stuck for days. But the rising air is quite humid, so as it reaches higher altitudes, it cools and condenses to form clouds, and sometimes thunderstorms.HMS Resolute in the doldrums on the Equator, Dec., 1852, by Baron Henry John Douglas-Scott-Montagu Montagu of Beaulieu 1832- 1905 These zone spans all the world’s oceans. In the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it’s right along the equator. It’s also near the equator in the Atlantic, between Africa and South America. Spending days becalmed in this zone left many sailors feeling dull and depressed. So they gave it their own name, adapted from a word that described a period of low spirits and lack of energy: the doldrums. -- source link