1. Albert Rodriguez
EDTC 6341.61
Cycle A Individual Analysis – Teacher as a Problem Solver
The Dust Bowl
Step 1: Read and analyze the scenario and the situation
Scenario:
Recent articles suggest that a new dust bowl is likely to form in the southwest United
States, an area of limited water resources. Your Earth system analysis of the impact
of climate change on this area will help the region adapt if necessary.
A major part of the Dust Bowl story concerns the Ogalalla Aquifer, an underground
water source that covers 10,000 square miles from Texas to the Dakotas. Water from
the Ogallala irrigates one fifth of all U.S. cropland. Yet, there are increasing signs
that this vital resource may be losing in its ability to sustain agriculture at its present
levels.
Your team has been working with NASA satellite missions to quantify changes in the
water resources in the Dust Bowl region. Your work will assist in developing policy
concerning this most precious resource.
Step 2: List what you know
Event on Sphere
E>A
For about 60 years heat, drought, hail, wildfires, clearing of land for farms and
ranches, along with an extremely large western migration of people loosened the
topsoil that covered the Great Plains. This topsoil infused the atmosphere; darkening
the sky with a choking blanket of dirt, dust, and debris for many miles through many
communities.
E>B
People and animals were temporarily lost and some even perished as a result of
suffocation, and/or accidents that happened due to lack of visibility.
E>H
The dust storms blew over and into bodies of water including the Atlantic Ocean
where it affected the hydrosphere to some degree. The drought also dried out small
bodies of water in the drought zone which in essence added to the dry soil available
for displacement by the dust storms.

2. Albert Rodriguez
EDTC 6341.61
Cycle A Individual Analysis – Teacher as a Problem Solver
E>L
The lithosphere was affected by speeding up the process of erosion and deposition.
This cause had negative effects on farming. The lithosphere dynamics no longer
functioned – during and immediately after – in the same way regarding the purposes it
serves. For example, farming for people and habitat for animals were forever
changed by this process.
Sphere to Sphere
L>A>H>B
Parts of the lithosphere were deposited by the atmosphere in hydrosphere which
affected its biosphere.
L>A
The movement of the topsoil (lithosphere) into the air (hydrosphere) disturbed the
balance of the gases available in the atmosphere.
H>B
The drought, the erosion and deposition of topsoil caused a migration of people and
animals from the affected area to more “stable” grounds.
B>L>A
People played a factor, arguably the biggest factor, in altering the lithosphere to
affect the atmosphere with the blowing dust.
Step 3 –List what is unknown
1. What was the actual cause of the Dust Bowl, or was it a combination of factors?
2. Does the fact that there is now a larger population of people in the U.S. and
more area occupied make a difference when considering the possibilities of
there being another Dust Bowl?
3. Does any rainfall or other water source feed into the Ogallala Aquifer?
a. If it does, which source and how much?
b. If there isn’t a feeding source, how much water is left?
4. What amounts of water are lost from the Ogallala Aquifer every year?
5. Do some agricultural crops loosen up the topsoil more than others?
6. Did crop rotation play a role on the large amounts of loose topsoil?

3. Albert Rodriguez
EDTC 6341.61
Cycle A Individual Analysis – Teacher as a Problem Solver
7. Would plowing land in a direction that favors wind patterns as opposed to
plowing land in a direction that favors sunlight have made a difference?
8. How much of the grasslands were lost since 1969 to the beginning of the Dust
Bowl?
9. How much of the grasslands have been replaced or substituted since the end of
the Dust Bowl?
a. How do farmers typically plow their lands?
b. How did farmers typically plow their lands?
10. Are weather patterns today similar to that of the Dust Bowl Era?
11. Can this weather phenomenon be compared to similar weather events in other
parts of the world?
12. Could an equation be done with the factors of the Dust Bowl Era plugged in and
compare that same equation with real-time information?
13. How realistic is the possibility of creating an early warning system for citizens
in the area prone to such an event in case of such as event?
14. How are the populations different and similar to the 1930s?
15. Would global warming contribute to creating an event, just like or even worse
than the Dust Bowl?