The oceans play an important role in moving heat between the equatorial and polar regions, with both large current systems and smaller eddies contributing to this heat transport. This analysis separates the contribution of the larger scale and eddy-scale flows in the North Atlantic, finding that eddy-scale flows account for 25–40 % of the heat transport in middle latitudes near 40° N. The study also shows how the year-to-year variability of eddies contributes to heat transport changes at 40° N.

We analyzed changes in wind patterns during the last 70 years (1948–2017) in the Canary Current area, located in one of the major upwelling regions in the world, using monthly NCEP wind data. Results demonstrate that Trade Winds were quite stable in direction but they suffered a significant net decrease of 1 m s^-1 in intensity. We also found significant correlations between the NAO index and the wind direction and intensity, specifically in winter, and between the AMO index and the wind direction.