Leonel Yanez
EDTC-6341-60
Student- Centered Learning
Dust Bowl: Is Climate Change Starting Another?
What is known?
In the 1930’s became to be known as the driest (hydrosphere) in recent years that affected
regions of – southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and
Texas (lithosphere) also to be known as the Dust Bowl. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead
Act which allowed 160 acres of unoccupied public land to be sold for a nominal sum of $1.25
per acre. Thousands of people landless citizens, freed slaves and hundreds of thousands of
European immigrants (biosphere) flooded the area. However, not knowing the risk these people
(biosphere) made the moved into an area which was a grassland with few trees (lithosphere),
minimal rainfall (hydrosphere), and scarce other vegetation. Farming increased and hundreds of
acres (lithosphere) were plowed but during the 1930’s a decade of drought spread across
southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas. The area
became to be known as the Dust Bowl. Weather conditions did not improve and severe dust
storms such as the "Black Blizzards" and "Black Rollers," and the most known was named
Black Sunday, dust storms traveled from the Plains to New England and Washington DC. Dust
filled the Atmosphere causing all living things (biosphere) not to be able see or even breathe
causing thousands of death. Thousands of miles of land (lithosphere) were covered by dust that
was lifted by the storms (Atmosphere). Unable to neither see nor breathe all living things
(biosphere) were affected for hundreds of miles from the southeastern Colorado, southwest
Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas (lithosphere).
List personal understanding, ideas, or hunches
In the 1930’s after a decade of drought, the winds carried dust across several hundreds of miles
from southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas. This
was to be known as the Dust Bowl. To my understanding the land was very dry because there
had being no rain for some time during a period of time.
List what is known
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The Homestead Act which provided for a transfer of 160 acres of unoccupied public land
to each homesteader for a nominal sum or for $1.25 per acre
In 1932, 14 dust storms were recorded on the Plains. In 1933, there were 38 storms. By
1934, it was estimated that 100 million acres of farmland had lost all or most of the
topsoil to the winds. By April 1935, there had been weeks of dust storms, but the cloud
that appeared on the horizon that Sunday was the worst. Winds were clocked at 60 mph.
Then it hit.
Leonel Yanez
EDTC-6341-60
Student- Centered Learning
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In 1934, Nebraska saw the driest year on record with only 14.5 inches of rainfall. The
state's corn crop dropped even more too only 6.2 bushels per acre.
In other words, between 1930 and 1934 rainfall dropped 27.5 percent, and as a result corn
crop yields dropped over 75 percent.
The Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s was one of the worst environmental disasters of the
Twentieth Century anywhere in the world. Three million people left their farms on the
Great Plains during the drought and half a million migrated to other states, almost all to
the West.
Much of the Plains had been plowed up in the decades before the 1930s as wheat
cropping expanded west.
Alas, while natural prairie grasses can survive a drought the wheat that was planted could
not and, when the precipitation fell, it shriveled and died exposing bare earth to the
winds. This was the ultimate cause of the wind erosion and terrible dust storms that hit
the Plains in the 1930s.
Modeling experiments suggest that the Dust Bowl disaster was the result of complex
interactions between humans and the environment. First changes in tropical sea surface
temperatures created a drought. Poor land use practices then led to exposure of bare soil
followed by wind erosion and dust storms. The dust storms interacted with radiation to
make the drought worse and move it northward increasing the potential for further wind
erosion.
In May 1934, a cloud of topsoil from the Great Plains blanketed the eastern U.S. as far as
2,400 km (1,500 miles) away. In 1935, the U.S. established the Soil Conservation Service
to promote good soil management practices. But according to some experts, this is not
enough. Human-accelerated soil erosion continues to occur because much of the Great
Plains is suited to moderate grazing rather than farming
List what is unknown
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Could have being there a method to transport water to the areas needed water?
Beside those who died what were the long term effects on those who did not die?
Do we have better Irrigation Techniques to help the areas being affected by recent
droughts?
What is the US doing to drill for underwater in the areas affected by recent droughts to
supply those in need?
With all the technology in place can we avoid another Dust Bowl like what happened
during the 1930’s?
What is the difference in population in the areas affected by the Dust Bowl compared to
now?
Did the dust storms have a meteorological impact?
Leonel Yanez
EDTC-6341-60
Student- Centered Learning
List what needs to be done
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Better monitoring of areas that can be possible have land erosion that can cause
another Dust Bowl
Develop a best practices of farm lands not getting not enough rain
Develop a system where water can be transferred to areas needing water a pipe
line system
Develop a research team to examine the climate, vegetation and soil
measurements over a 20-year period in areas with low rain fall
Developing a better understanding of how climate change may affect wind
erosion
Develop a problem statement
I being given a task to find out what are the effects of climate change and the erosion of land in
areas not receiving enough water as Teacher as Problem Solver. In 1930’s, a cloud of topsoil
from the Great Plains blanketed the eastern U.S. as far as 2,400 km (1,500 miles) away, can it
happen again as it happened during the 1930 as it happened then. Can a severe drought happen
again with poor soil conservation lead to another Dust Bowl? I being given the task to analysis
all possible events that can happen and what are the long term effects surrounding the areas such
as the Great Plains.
Gather information
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In 1934, Nebraska saw the driest year on record with only 14.5 inches of rainfall.
Poor land use practices then led to exposure of bare soil followed by wind erosion and
dust storms
Farming increased and hundreds of acres were plowed but during the 1930’s a decade of
drought spread across southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas and the panhandles of
Oklahoma and Texas.
The dust storms interacted with radiation to make the drought worse and move it
northward increasing the potential for further wind erosion.
Modeling experiments suggest that the Dust Bowl disaster was the result of complex
interactions between humans and the environment
The findings strongly suggest that sustained drought conditions across the Southwest will
accelerate loss of grasses and some shrubs and increase the likelihood of dust production
on disturbed soil surfaces in the future.
In 1932, 14 dust storms were recorded on the Plains. In 1933, there were 38 storms. By
1934, it was estimated that 100 million acres of farmland had lost all or most of the
Leonel Yanez
EDTC-6341-60
Student- Centered Learning
topsoil to the winds. By April 1935, there had been weeks of dust storms, but the cloud
that appeared on the horizon that Sunday was the worst. Winds were clocked at 60 mph.
Present findings
Research has warned that transition of drier climate already or may be underway in area such as
Southwestern United States and parts of northern Mexico.
At this point I am still gathering information that will be posted
Event to Sphere Interactions
Hydrosphere > Lithosphere in the 1930 became to be known as the driest decade, no rain causing
the land to be dry and after the farmers plowed the top soil became very lose
Lithosphere > Biosphere After the dust was blow for thousands of miles all living things were
affected by the dust that was blown during the storms
Biosphere > Lithosphere Farmers plowing the lands, after no rain farmers weren’t able water the
lands, it caused the top soil to be lose making it easy to be picked up the winds and storms
Atmosphere > Lithosphere because the soil was being plowed and there had being no rain
making it very easy for the storms to pick up the dust and blow it for hundreds of miles
Lithosphere > Atmosphere Poor land use practices then led to exposure of bare soil followed by
wind erosion and dust storms
Leonel Yanez
EDTC-6341-60
Student- Centered Learning
Sources:
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/dust_storms.shtml
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ddc&storyid=50702&source=0
http://www.kansashistory.us/dustbowl.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0405-dustbowl.html