Topic: The Development and Impact of Tropical Cyclones

GRADE: 12E

GEOG SBA02 TASK 002: Research Task

TOTAL: 100 marks

DUE DATE: 04/02/2025

EXAMINER: A. Ackerman

MODERATOR: G. Griesel

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THIS IS A DESKTOP RESEARCH TASK.

Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork.

To most people it suggests published reports and statistics, and these are certainly important
sources. In the context of this chapter the term is widened to include all sources of information that
do not involve a field survey.

Secondary research or desk research is a research method that involves using already existing
data. Existing data is summarized and collated to increase the overall effectiveness of research.
These documents can be made available by public libraries, websites, and data obtained from
already filled in surveys etc.

HOW TO CONDUCT A DESKTOP RESEARCH TASK

1. Step 1: Define the objective of your research. To search well, you must know what you are
looking for.
2. Step 2: Define your research plan. Specifying your objective was a first (big) step towards
the success of your desk research.’
3. Step 3: Conduct the research.
4. Step 4: Conclude and verify the information.

METHODS OF COLLECTING DESK RESEARCH INCLUDE:

1. Figures.
2. Newspapers.
3. Websites.
4. Government publications e.g. social trends.
5. Commercial publications e.g. Keynote and Mintel reports.

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ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES
Your research paper should be 4 to 6 typed pages in length.

● Font Size: 14
● Theme font: Arial
● Font colour: Black
● Line spacing: 1.5

Activities Marks Information Required

Cover page 5 Name & Surname

Grade and Class
Educator’s Name
Subject
Research Topic: The name of the Cyclone you
are researching.

Index 5 Numbers
Topics Sub-
topics
Page numbers

Mapping 10 World Map Satellite

Images Map with
path Annotated
Diagram

Introduction 10 Brief introduction of

tropical cyclones
Sapphire-Simpson
and Beaufort Scales

Discussions 15 x 4 = 60 Four paragraphs, with sub-topics

Conclusion/Summary 5 Own opinion

Bibliography 5 Harvard method

Total 100 4-6 A4 pages

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Guidelines for discussion

Choose ONE of the following Tropical cyclones:

● Hagibis
● Freddy
● Ingrid
● Idai
● Florence
● Kenneth
● Eloise
The desktop research must center around ONE of the tropical cyclones.
Mapping:

● Find a world map that indicates the regions where tropical cyclones develop.
● Plot the following Tropical cyclones next to the region where they originated on the world.
map. (Hagibis, Nivar, Ingrid, Florence, and Eloise)
● Satellite image of the specific tropical cyclone under research.
● Map indicating the path of the tropical cyclone under research.
● Discuss the path of the tropical cyclone under research.
● Draw an annotated cross-section of a tropical cyclone in its mature stage.

Indicate the following:

❖ Air movement
❖ Cumulonimbus clouds
❖ Eye and Eye wall

Introduction:
Give a brief introductory description of the tropical cyclone you have chosen.
Refer to the Sapphire-Simpson and Beaufort scales to indicate the strength of tropical
cyclones.

Paragraph 1:
● Why do tropical cyclones develop in late summer?
● What is the impact of Coriolis force and latent heat on the development of
tropical cyclones?
● Discuss the stage of development of the tropical cyclone under research.
● Why can category 1 tropical cyclones be more destructive (damaging) than
category 5 tropical cyclones?

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Paragraph 2:
How did the tropical cyclone impact the following?

● Environment
● Economy
● People/Communities

Paragraph 3:

What precautions can be implemented/ or have been implemented to reduce the impact of the
tropical cyclone.
Refer to:
The local government/Government of the country
The local residents

Paragraph 4:

Evaluate the impact of Global Warming on the frequency (regularity) of tropical cyclones.

Conclusion/Summary:

Describe/Discuss your own views/experiences on the impact of tropical cyclones.

EXAMPLE OF SECONDARY RESOURCES:

TROPICAL CYCLONES ARE intense, spinning storm systems, with low-pressure centers that
can be vast in size. They form over warm oceans and can wreak havoc when they approach the
shore.

As the name suggests, tropical cyclones and hurricanes occur in the world’s tropics. They
require the difference in speed of rotation of the Earth at different latitudes to gather momentum
as they spin, and they can form either side of the equator.
Cyclones are called hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, typhoons in Southeast Asia,
and cyclones in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific around Australia.

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[Source: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science
environment/2011/02/cyclones-facts-and-figures/

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 HURRICANES!
Ten Facts about Hurricanes!
1. Hurricanes are giant tropical storms that produce heavy rainfall and super-strong winds.

2. Hurricanes form over warm ocean waters near the equator. The warm, moist air above the
ocean surface rises, causing air from surrounding areas to be “sucked” in. This “new” air then
becomes warm and moist, and rises, too, beginning a continuous cycle that forms clouds. The
clouds then rotate with the spin of the Earth. If there is enough warm water to feed the storm,
a hurricane forms!

3. Hurricanes rotate around a circular center called the “eye “, where it is generally calm with no
clouds. Surrounding the eye is the eye wall – the most dangerous part of the hurricane with the
strongest winds, thickest clouds and heaviest rain!

4. Most hurricanes occur harmlessly out at sea. However, when they move towards land, they
can be incredibly dangerous and cause serious damage.

5. The strong spiraling winds of a hurricane can reach speeds of up to 320 kph – strong enough
to rip up entire trees and destroy buildings!

6. In the southern hemisphere, hurricanes rotate in a clockwise direction, and in the northern
hemisphere they rotate in an anticlockwise direction. This is due to what’s called the Coriolis
Force, produced by the Earth’s rotation.

7. When a hurricane reaches land, it often produces a “storm surge “. This is when the high
winds drive the sea toward the shore, causing water levels to rise and creating large crashing
waves. Storm surges can reach 6m high and extend to over 150 km!

8. Hurricanes are also called cyclones and typhoons, depending on where they occur. In the
Atlantic Ocean and Northwest Pacific, they are hurricanes, in the Northwest Pacific they are
typhoons and in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean they are cyclones.

9. The largest hurricane on record is Typhoon Tip, which occurred in 1979 in the northwest
Pacific. With a diameter of around 2,220km, it was nearly half the size of the United States!

10. Hurricanes are given names by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) so that they can
be distinguished. Each year, tropical storms are named in alphabetical order according to a list
produced by the WMO. That name stays with the storm if it develops into a hurricane. The
names can only be repeated after six years.
[Source:https://www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/geography/physical geography/hurricanes/]

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 Hurricane Irma Facts, Damage, and Costs
Irma damage could have been $300 billion if it hit Miami

Hurricane Irma was one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history. It was a
Category 5 storm when it made landfall on Barbuda on September 6, 2017. Its winds were 185
miles per hour for 37 hours. An unofficial wind gust was clocked at 199 miles per hour. These
winds extended 50 miles from the center.

Tropical-storm-force winds extended 185 miles from the center. Its coastal storm surges were 8
feet above normal tide levels. Above-average ocean temperatures of 86 degrees Fahrenheit
sustained the storm. These temperatures are worsening due to global warming.

Irma held 7 trillion watts of energy. That's twice as much as all bombs used in World War II. Its
force was so powerful that earthquake seismometers recorded it. It generated the most
accumulated cyclone energy in a 24-hour period.

Irma's attack was the first time in 100 years that three storms Category 4 or larger hit the U.S. or
its territories in the same year. Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston on August 25, 2017, and
Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20

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Timeline

President Trump declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. On
September 6, Florida's governor ordered residents of the Keys to evacuate.

• September 6, 2017: Irma hit the Leeward Islands with winds over 180 miles per hour. The
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda described Barbuda as "barely habitable."

• September 7: Irma left hundreds in Puerto Rico without power. It hit the northern part of
Haiti and the Dominican Republic with 15 inches of rain.

• September 8: Irma remained a Category 5 hurricane with a wind of 175 miles per hour. It
affected the Turks and Caicos Islands and the eastern Bahamas. The storm passed over
waters warmer than 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Barbuda's government issued a watch for
Hurricane Jose.

• September 9: Irma affected the north coast of Cuba, flooding Havana. Winds hit
approximately 150 miles per hour and waves reached up to 36 feet. Wind gusts of 55 miles
per hour hit southeast Florida. The storm was downgraded to a Category 3 but was
projected to regain strength before hitting Florida.

• September 10: Irma was upgraded to Category 4. It hit Cudjoe Key, 20 miles north of Key
West, and then Naples. Miami didn't get the core of Irma but still received life-threatening
conditions. The Florida Keys received approximately 12 inches of rain and a 10-foot storm
surge. Rainfall averaged 10 to 15 inches.

• September 11: Irma was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it headed to Tampa,

where it left 12 million people without power. Irma was then downgraded to a tropical storm
as it hit Georgia, where 1.5 million lost powers. The state had ordered people to begin
evacuating on September 9.

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 The Facts on Hurricane Irma's Damage

Irma's death toll included 129 people in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Florida officials
ordered over 6.5 million people to evacuate.7 The Red Cross reported more than 550,000
overnight shelter stays related to the hurricane.

Irma damaged 95% of the buildings on Barbuda. It destroyed almost all communication and left
much of the island uninhabitable. Many of its residents fled to Antigua.
Irma's total cost to the U.S. alone was $50 billion when adjusted for inflation. If such a storm were
to hit Miami, the damage could reach $300 billion, according to insurance firm Swiss Re in a report
examining the damage caused by 1992's Hurricane Andrew.9

Irma threatened losses of up to $2.5 billion for Florida's agricultural produce.10The state is
America's second-largest grower of vegetables like tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers.
The potential shortage pushed orange juice futures and sugar prices higher in the days leading up
to the storm. If Irma had hit Georgia and the Carolinas hard enough, it would have affected corn,
soybeans, cotton, and peanut prices.

Fort Pierce, Florida, received 21.66 inches of rain, the most in the state. The strongest winds at
142 miles per hour hit Naples. Winds were 73 miles per hour in Miami. Three cranes
collapsed, and streets flooded.

Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Broward counties' building codes have the nation's highest wind
standards. They improved their preparation after Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992. But that might not
offer enough protection as hurricanes grow more powerful. “There’s no structure in Miami that’s
built to withstand 185 mph winds,” Keith Wolfe, president of U.S. property and casualty for Swiss
Re, told the Miami Herald.

As The New York Times reported, roughly 70% of the region’s buildings were built before 1994.
Many of them have not been retrofitted. Even high-rises built to higher wind codes will suffer from
heavy rains that seep in through roofs.

Irma could have done more damage, but Florida learned from Hurricane Charley in 2004 and
Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The state revamped building codes to make houses more resilient to
hurricanes. As a result, 80% of the homes in Irma's path were built to better withstand the storms.12

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3 Ways Climate Change Made Irma Worse

Climate change contributed to Irma's impact in three critical ways. First, rising sea levels worsened
storm surges and flooding. Between 1880 and 2015, the average global sea level rose 8.9
inches.14 For perspective, Swiss Re estimates that a 3.34-inch rise in sea level could nearly double
the costs of damages from hurricane-related storm surges.

Second, South Florida’s average August 2017 temperature was four-tenths of a degree above
normal. Miami's average temperature for August was the warmest during that period on record,
and temperature records were broken across the state. Seven of the past 10 summers have been
above normal.

Warmer air holds more moisture, leading to greater build-up leading up to a storm. When this warm
air releases the moisture, the waterfalls in torrents. This creates greater rainfall during a hurricane.
Third, global warming slows weather patterns. It allows hurricanes to hover over an area longer. In
fact, storms have slowed down by 10% since 1949.17 This is caused by a weakened jet stream—
a river of wind high in the atmosphere that races from west to east at speeds up to 275 miles an
hour. It undulates north and south as it goes, driven by temperature contrasts between the Arctic
and temperate zones. Since the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe, it slows down
the jet stream, allowing storms like Irma to move much slower than normal and wreak more havoc
as they linger.

MIT models foresee more hurricanes developing from climate change in the decades
ahead. Extreme storms with winds above 190 miles per hour are likely to form. That is more
powerful than a Category 5, leading many meteorologists to call for a Category 6 designation.

How Irma's Damage Compares to Other Hurricanes

Irma was one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes, but it was not the most destructive because
it skipped the most developed cities in Florida.

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 Criteria Marks
1 2 3 4-5
Poor attempt Most relevant Most relevant All required information
Name and information information ● Name & Surname
surname ● Name and ● Name and ● Grade and Class
Cover page surname surname ● Educator’s Name
● Grade ● Grade ● Subject
● Topic ● Topic ● Research Topic: The name of the
● Colorful and Cyclone you are researching.
effort
0 1 2-3 3-5
No Index Content noted ● Content with page ● Content with page
without page numbers numbers
Index
numbers ● Sequencing ● Sequencing correct
incorrect

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

World map ● World map with ● World map ● World map with ● World map with
without cyclones with cyclones plotted. cyclones plotted.
plotting of plotted. cyclones ● Satellite image ● Satellite image
the ● Satellite image plotted. ● Map indicating ● Map indicating the
cyclones. ● Map indicating ● Satellite the path.
path.
Satellite the area, image ● Discussing the
Mapping
without the ● Map path of the
● Discussing the path
image
path indicating tropical cyclone of the tropical
the path. ● Cross-section cyclone
● Discussing without ● Cross-section with
the path of annotations annotations
the tropical
cyclone
1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
Introduction Vague and Specific Specific Specific Specific introduction
disjointed introduction introduction introduction about discussion
introduction about about about discussion points and topic
No discussion discussion points and topic Indicating the
Specifics points and topic points and Indicating the
Sapphire-Simpson
Indicating the topic Sapphire-
Sapphire- Indicating Simpson and
and Beaufort scales,
Simpson and the Beaufort scales, with indication of the
Beaufort scales Sapphire- with indication of strength of the
Simpson the strength of tropical cyclone
and Beaufort the tropical Information about
scales, with cyclone Sapphire-Simpson
indication of Information scale with the
the strength about Sapphire- Beaufort scale
of the Simpson scale
tropical without the
cyclone Beaufort scale

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 1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 13-15

At least At least TWO ● Each ● Each paragraph ● Each paragraph is

ONE paragraphs paragraph is thoroughly thoroughly
paragraph relevant has relevant constructed. constructed.
relevant Information information. ● Different ● Different source’s
Very poorly from different ● Information source’s Information per
researched sources is from different Information per
paragraph is
paragraph is
with haphazardly sources is
minimum integrated. poorly properly properly integrated.
effort Listing of integrated. integrated. ● Points per
No points ● At least four ● Points per paragraph
integration No solutions points per paragraph thoroughly
of and paragraph discussed. discussed.
information interventions discussed. ● Names of ● Names of
Body/Paragra ● No solutions presenters/writer
from provided presenters/writers/re
phs and s/reporters/journ
different porters/journalists
sources interventions alists not accredited.
Evident that provided accredited.
● Extensive solutions
only one ● Limited solutions
and interventions
and interventions
source has provided.
been used provided.
● Drawing done ● Annotated drawing
with annotation done.
Some ● All paragraphs have
paragraphs have sketches, statistics,
sketches, pictures, etc. to
statistics, illustrate the
pictures, etc. to discussion.
illustrate the
discussion.

Conclusion 0 1 2-3 4-5

● No conclusion ● Own views are ● Own views are ● Own views are discussed,
very vaguely discussed, with with background.
discussed. some ● Conclusion also have a
background summary of the development
and impact of tropical
cyclones
Bibliography 0 1-3 4-5
● No sources ● At least THREE sources from the ● At least THREE sources from
accredited. internet accredited. the internet accredited.
● No Declaration of ● Declaration of Authenticity ● Also, books/articles used.
Authenticity. incomplete. (1) ● Harvard method used.
● Declaration of Authenticity
complete (2).

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