Covariability of Components of Poleward Atmospheric Energy Transports on Seasonal and Interannual Timescales

Abstract Vertically integrated atmospheric energy and heat budgets are presented with a focus on the zonal mean transports and divergences of dry static energy, latent energy, their sum (the moist static energy), and the total (which includes kinetic energy), as well as their partitioning into the within-month transient and quasi-stationary components. The latter includes the long-term mean and interannual variability from 1979 to 2001 and, in the Tropics, corresponds to the large-scale overturning global monsoon and the embedded Hadley and Walker circulations. In the extratropics, it includes the quasi-stationary planetary waves, which are primarily a factor in the Northern Hemisphere winter. In addition to the mean annual cycle, results are presented for the interannual variability. In the extratropics, poleward transports of both latent and dry static energy reinforce one another. However, the results highlight strong cancellations between the transports of latent and dry static energy in the Tropics a...

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