  It is well known that entropy production is a proxy to the detection of
non-equilibrium, i.e. of the absence of detailed balance; however, due to the
global character of this quantity, its knowledge does not allow to identify
spatial currents or fluxes of information among specific elements of the system
under study. In this respect, much more insight can be gained by studying
transfer entropy and response, which allow quantifying the relative influence
of parts of the system and the asymmetry of the fluxes. In order to understand
the relation between the above-mentioned quantities, we investigate spatially
asymmetric extended systems. First, we consider a simplified linear stochastic
model, which can be studied analytically; then, we include nonlinear terms in
the dynamics. Extensive numerical investigation shows the relation between
entropy production and the above-introduced degrees of asymmetry. Finally, we
apply our approach to the highly nontrivial dynamics generated by the Lorenz
'96 model for Earth oceanic circulation.
