Abstract:
Our planet is heated unevenly: the tropics receive lots of sunshine while the poles little to none. The atmosphere tries to even out these differences by transporting warm and moist air towards the poles. But how does this transport happen exactly? In the midlatitudes (where we live), high-frequency disturbances have been shown to efficiently transport this energy poleward. These high-frequency disturbances are assumed to be cyclones and anticyclones, our daily “weather makers”. Our research shows that cyclones and anticyclones are indeed responsible for most of the measured energy transport, but not evenly. For instance, the 10% most intense cyclones transport over 30% of the total energy. Our results are helping to bridge the gap between the day-to-day weather and long-term climate, which is especially relevant to better understand future climate changes.
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