  A diagnostic package is derived from the concept of specific available
enthalpy, leading to the definition of a local and complete energy cycle. It is
useful to understand the transformations of energy occurring at any particular
pressure level or pressure layer of a limited area domain. The global version
of this diagnostic tool is very similar to the cycle of Lorenz, but the local
counterpart contains several additional terms, with zonal, eddy and
static-stability components close to definitions already given by Pearce. The
new cycle takes into account the flow of energy components across the vertical
and horizontal boundaries, with additional conversion terms involving potential
energy, leading to accurate computations of dissipation and generation terms
obtained as residuals. A new accurate temporal scheme is proposed in order to
allow use of a large time interval in future numerical applications. Finally,
comments are made on the arbitrary choice for two constant reference values for
pressure and temperature.
