Cycle A - Individual Assignment

List personal understanding, ideas, or hunches.
o
My understanding is that dust storms form when the land is very arid and there
are not enough trees to hold the dirt together through its roots.
o
Maybe the agricultural practices used in the 1930’s are not the same as today.
o
We have several canals and man-made modifications that I don’t think that the
same event, in that magnitude, could happen again.
o
If we need to make sure that this does not happen, then we need to study soil
samples and the amount of moisture in the area and compare it to the time when
the dust storm happened.
o

Meteorological events happen in cycles and this one might be one of them.
List what is known.
o
The dust storm stretched through several states and caused catastrophic
damages.
o
The dust storm happed in the years during the great depression.
o
Dust storms create electrical charges that damage crops.
o
Dust storms damage infrastructure.
o
Many people lose everything because it damages crops and then damages
machinery used in farms.
o
It has been a very dry year and we have been in one of the longest running
droughts in a long time.

o
A strong dry cold front would be needed to create the large dust storm.
o
It’s impossible to stop a dust storm after it has started.
o
Dust storms cause complete darkness even in the middle of the day.
List what is unknown.
o
Did this happen before 1930’s?
o
How many times has this happen in the past and in what magnitude?
o
What meteorological events happen prior to a dust storm?
o
Is there a meteorological team that just concentrates in dust storms?
o
In what area is this event predicted to happen?
o
Did the great depression have anything to contribute to this event?

o
Has anyone in the world been able to prevent this type of dust storm?
o
Are sand storms and dust storms different? And in what way?
List what needs to be done.
o
We need to do research and concentrate on a solution to prevent this event from
happening again.
o
Need to read books on dust storms and the dust storm of the 1930’s.
o
Read articles on innovations to prevent this type of events.
o
Interview anyone that was alive during that time or that might have experienced
this event.

Develop a problem statement.
o
In order to be prepared and avoid events like the dust storm of 1935 we need to
understand what were the causes of it and what people have done different to
prevent them.
o
We need to know about the events that happened before and to see if the events
happening know match or create a patterned.