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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Environmental Research Letters

Distinct pathways organize poleward-transported Arctic cyclones

  • Di Chen1,2
  • Minghu Ding3
  • Xinyan Lyu4
  • Tao Zuo5
  • Qizhen Sun6
6 affiliations
  1. 1School of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
  2. 2University of Pennsylvania
  3. 3Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences
  4. 4National Meteorological Center, China Meteorological Administration
  5. 5Tianjin Marine Meteorological Centre
  6. 6National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center
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Abstract

Poleward-transported (PT) cyclones account for a substantial part of winter Arctic cyclone activity, but their routes into the Arctic have rarely been examined as a distinct aspect of cyclone variability. Using objectively identified winter cyclone tracks for 1979–2025, we find that PT cyclones preferentially follow four recurrent pathways rather than entering the Arctic randomly. The North Atlantic–Barents/Kara pathway is the most common, accounting for about 43% of PT cyclones, while North Atlantic–Fram cyclones are also frequent and relatively intense but tend to remain closer to the Arctic margin. Baffin Bay–West Greenland cyclones are less common but reach comparatively high latitudes. These pathway differences are accompanied by distinct large-scale circulation patterns before Arctic entry. The relative importance of the pathways has also changed over time. Between 1980–2002 and 2003–2025, the North Atlantic–Barents/Kara contribution decreased by about 9.4 percentage points, while the Pacific and North Atlantic–Fram pathways increased. These results show that changes in Arctic cyclone activity involve not only the number of poleward-moving systems, but also the routes by which they enter and travel through the Arctic.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{chen2026distinct,
  title = {{Distinct pathways organize poleward-transported Arctic cyclones}},
  author = {Di Chen and Minghu Ding and Xinyan Lyu and Tao Zuo and Qizhen Sun},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/aeb4c9},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb4c9},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Distinct pathways organize poleward-transported Arctic cyclones
AU  - Di Chen
AU  - Minghu Ding
AU  - Xinyan Lyu
AU  - Tao Zuo
AU  - Qizhen Sun
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/26
JO  - Environmental Research Letters
DO  - 10.1088/1748-9326/aeb4c9
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb4c9
AB  - Poleward-transported (PT) cyclones account for a substantial part of winter Arctic cyclone activity, but their routes into the Arctic have rarely been examined as a distinct aspect of cyclone variability. Using objectively identified winter cyclone tracks for 1979–2025, we find that PT cyclones preferentially follow four recurrent pathways rather than entering the Arctic randomly. The North Atlantic–Barents/Kara pathway is the most common, accounting for about 43% of PT cyclones, while North Atlantic–Fram cyclones are also frequent and relatively intense but tend to remain closer to the Arctic margin. Baffin Bay–West Greenland cyclones are less common but reach comparatively high latitudes. These pathway differences are accompanied by distinct large-scale circulation patterns before Arctic entry. The relative importance of the pathways has also changed over time. Between 1980–2002 and 2003–2025, the North Atlantic–Barents/Kara contribution decreased by about 9.4 percentage points, while the Pacific and North Atlantic–Fram pathways increased. These results show that changes in Arctic cyclone activity involve not only the number of poleward-moving systems, but also the routes by which they enter and travel through the Arctic.
SN  - 1748-9326
ER  -