The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage. An ocean (from Greek, ''Okeanos'' (Oceanus) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the Hydrosphere. The Doldrums (often capitalized when referring to the geographic region) is an area of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ, also known as the Intertropical Front, Monsoon trough, Doldrums or the Equatorial The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the The prevailing winds are the trends in speed and direction of Wind over a particular point on the Earth 's surface The low pressure is caused by the heat at the equator, which makes the air rise and travel north and south high in the atmosphere, until it subsides again in the horse latitudes. This article refers to the geographical area For other uses see Horse latitudes (disambiguation Horsey latitudes or Subtropical High Some of that air returns to the Doldrums through the trade winds. The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly winds found in the Tropics near the Earth's Equator. This process can lead to light or variable winds and more severe weather, in the form of heavy squalls, thunderstorms and hurricanes. This region is also noted for calm periods when the winds disappear altogether, or are light and shifting. Because of the unpredictable weather patterns, the Doldrums became notorious with sailors because this region's periods of deadly calm could trap boats for days or weeks on end as they waited for enough wind to power their sails.
In colloquial usage, "being in the doldrums" refers to being in a state of listlessness, despondency, inactivity, stagnation, or a slump.
Doldrums in literature
The Pacific doldrums were famously described in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in the following stanzas:
All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon. Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (original The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere) is the longest major Poem by the English Poet
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
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