Abstract
The present study analyses large values (or pulses) of local and zonally integrated meridional atmospheric heat transport due to transient eddies. The data used is the European Centre for Medium‐range Weather Forecasts ERA‐Interim reanalysis with daily, 0.7° latitude and longitude resolution. The domain of interest is the extratropics. First, the circulation associated with local pulses of heat transport is described. This is found to match many of the features found in warm conveyor belts, although important regional differences exist. The large values of heat transport are seen to be associated with co‐varying meridional velocity and moist static energy anomalies. Next, it is shown that there exist strong pulses of meridional heat transport when a zonal integral around a given latitude circle is considered. These zonal pulses are only partly driven by the synchronized occurrence of a large number of local pulses. The existence of such pronounced variability in zonally integrated meridional heat transport can have important consequences for the energy balance of the high latitudes.
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