| The baseline time span for this database
is 1996-February 28, 2006. The resulting database contained 2,191 (10 years)
and 583 (2 years) papers; 4,004 authors; 73 countries; 527 journals; and
1,165 institutions. Read the methodology used to create this
special topic.
Tropical storms have become a hot topic of public interest, due to
the destructiveness of such recent storms as Hurricane Katrina in the
United States and Cyclone Larry in Australia. This month, Special
Topics examines the most-cited research in tropical storms over the
past decade and over the past two years. This database contains 2,191
papers based on the search strategy outlined below. Some papers on
storms that are not tropical in origin are also included in the
database.
In general, two time periods bear a remarkable resemblance to one
another: both contain studies of physical aspects of tropical storms,
both contain reports of storm activity, and both contain speculations
on storm trends. The differences lie in the named storms studied, as
well as the areas of impact of the various storms.
In the 10-year period, the most-cited papers on cyclone activity
include studies on maximum potential intensity, the effect of vertical
shear, and the role of global climate change in storm activity.
Hurricane-related studies include multiscale numerical studies of
Hurricane Andrew, studies examining the physical aspects of
hurricanes, like the eyewall, and the roles of El Niño and west
African rainfall on Atlantic hurricane activity. Other studies ponder
the possible storm trends: a report from 1996 talks about how
hurricanes are in a downward trend, whereas a report from 2001 talks
about increased activity. There are three studies on post-traumatic
stress in survivors of Hurricane Andrew; one of these studies focuses
specifically on children. Still other papers discuss the role of
tropical storms as indices of climate change. Finally, one paper
examines the extent of hurricane damages from 1925-1995.
The 2-year list focuses on a great deal of cyclone-related topics,
including the increasing destructiveness of storms, the changes in
number, duration, and intensity in a warming climate, the role of the
Saharan air layer in cyclone activity, storm dynamics, vortex
resiliency, and the impact of cyclones on the Great Barrier Reef.
Hurricane-related topics include the effect of increased carbon
dioxide on storm activity, numerical simulations of Hurricane Bonnie
and multiscale numerical studies of Hurricane Andrew,
hurricane-induced phytoplankton blooms in the Sargasso
Sea, and the ecological impact on reefs in the Caribbean and
lizards in the Bahamas. One paper examines the long-term psychological
impact of Hurricane Andrew in children. Two papers discuss
typhoon-related research: one looks at the role of global warming on
typhoon activity, and the other examines interdecadal changes in
summertime typhoon tracks.
Methodology
To construct this database,
papers were extracted based on title-supplied keywords for Tropical
Storms. The keywords used were as follows:
hurricane*
OR
cyclone*
OR
tropical storm*
OR
tropical depression*
The baseline time span for this database
is 1996-February 28, 2006. The resulting database contained 2,191 (10 years)
and 583 (2 years) papers; 4,004 authors; 73 countries; 527 journals; and
1,165 institutions.
Rankings
Once the database was in place,
it was used to generate the lists of top 20 papers (two- and ten-year
periods), authors, journals,
institutions, and nations, covering a time span of 1996-February 28,
2006; a ten-year plus two-month period.
The top 20 papers are ranked
according to total cites. Rankings for author, journal, institution,
and country are listed in three ways: according to total cites, total
papers, and total cites/paper. The paper thresholds and corresponding
percentages used to determine
scientist, institution, country, and journal rankings according to
total cites/paper, and total papers respectively are as follows:
| Entity: |
Scientists |
Institutions |
Countries |
Journals |
| Thresholds: |
9 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
| Percentage: |
1% |
10% |
50% |
20% |
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