Team 3-The Earthlings: Priscilla Velez, Mina Hernandez, Leonel Yanez and Martin Rodriguez October 28, 2012 EDTC 6341-Student Centered Learning Dr. J. Chavez

Dust Bowl Cycle A: Team Knowledge Building Assignment

A dust storm approaches Stratford, Texas.

Team Assignment: • Read the Knowledge Building Rubric. • Brainstorm a list of questions you think you need to answer to understand

the scenario. • Post your questions in Discussion Space. • Review your teammates' questions. • List the key questions and plan how to investigate them as a team. • List answers to your questions as you build knowledge together. • By the end of the cycle, develop a team problem statement and post it in

Discussion Space. • Upload assignment to your Portfolio (ESSEA) for a grade.

Dust Bowl Problem-Based Learning Module PBL Step 4: List what is unknown (TEAM). Priscilla

• What areas were affected the most. • Are the people safe living in this region? • How did the sea surface temperature contribute to the Dust Bowl? and

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• What are those temperatures today. • What are the effects today in comparison from back then. • Is the hole in the ozone layer above the plains? • How else did the Dust Bowl affect the region? • What is the source of the aquifer? • Does FEMA have a plan of action if a Dust Storm were to occur? • Is there technology is place to predict future Dust Storms.

Martin • What could we have done to prevent the Dust Bowl? • How many people died? • How many people left the region? • How many people came back? • What psychological trauma did these people face? • What signs do we look for to prevent another Dust Bowl • Is FEMA prepared for another Dust Bowl? • Are we over extending our faming lands?

Leo • Could have being there a method to transport water to the areas needed

water? • Beside those who died what were the long term affects 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?

Mina • How serious are the consequences of a second Dust Bowl? • What are the long-range weather trends predicted for the Southern U.S.? • How much of the Southwest is currently used for farming? • Do we need to make changes to the way farmers utilize their soil? • How long do scientists predict the Ogallala will remain viable if everything

stays as it is? • Are the areas not being used for farming being converted with the proper

plants, bushes to prevent the soils from eroding? • What practices can farmers and the community do to help follow the

declining water levels?

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PBL Step 5: List what needs to be done as a TEAM. As a team we researched on these key questions to develop our understanding of the Dust Bowl: Priscilla 1. What was the cause of Dust Storms in the Southwest? The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to the prairie lands from 1930 to 1936 (in some areas until 1940). The phenomenon was caused by severe drought coupled with decades of extensive farming without crop rotation, fallow fields, cover crops or other techniques to prevent wind erosion. Deep plowing of topsoil of the Great Plains had displaced the natural deep-rooted grasses that normally kept the soil in place. The Dust Bowl was an area of the United States comprised of Kansas, northeastern and southeastern New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. Source Did dust storms make the Dust Bowl drought worse? Retrieved from http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/dust_storms.shtml 2. If there is minimal rainfall, how is it that many agricultural products come from these states? The agriculture in this area is primarily cattle ranching with some cultivation. The area is semi-arid, receiving less than 20 inches of rain annually; this rainfall supports the short grass prairie biome originally present in the area. The region is also prone to extended drought, alternating with unusual wetness of equivalent duration. During wet years, the rich soil provides bountiful agricultural output, but crops fail during dry years. Source: From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel. Retrieved from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/DustBowl/ The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it covers an area of approximately 174,000 mi² (450,000 km²) in portions of the eight states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. It was first tapped in 1911 when a farmer dug a well by hand for irrigation purposes. Source: Groundwater Drawdown. Retrieved from  http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/WORMKA/

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An aquifer is a groundwater storage reservoir in the water cycle. While groundwater is a renewable source, reserves replenish relatively slowly. Some estimates say it will dry up in as little as 25 years. Source: Dust Bowl. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl Mina 3. How serious are the consequences of a second Dust Bowl? After reading an interesting article about some biological effects on outcomes on dust storm http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/valley-fever/Valley-Fever-blowin2019-on-a-hotter-wind Dr. Ted Zobeck, a research soil scientist for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (AARS), another occurrence of a Dust Bowl like the one in the 1930’s is highly unlikely because of today’s better farming practices as well as the farmer’s awareness of the danger if these practices are not followed. There have being many duststorms in the following decades, but as serious as the Dust Storm in the 1930’s no there is no evidence that it will occur as long as the farmers are aware of what needs to be done for history not to repeat itself. 4. What practices can farmers and the communities do to help follow the declining water levels? Farmers can utilize new irrigation technologies such as subsurface drip irrigation (SD) and use of automatic irrigation systems that uses sensors to determine times when plant leaves require water and avoid overwatering. Citizens can install high efficiency water faucets, toilets, and showerhead as well as education family members on water saving practice.

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Source: With the Drought more Dust. Retrieved from http://www.texastribune.org/texas-environmental-news/environmental-problems-and-policies/drought-could-cause-rise-dust-storms/ Leo 5. Could have being there a method to transport water to the areas needed water? After years of applying to the federal government, in 1935 the Public Works Administration approved the project which allows of the use the hydro-electrical power generators this allowed for a new Kingsley Dam & Lake McConaughy which served as a new irrigation technique. Farming in the 1930’s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_17.html 6. With all the technology in place can we avoid another Dust Bowl like what happened during the 1930’s? Yes we have plenty of new techniques to avoid a repeat of the Dust Bowl, such as Surface Water Irrigation, Groundwater Irrigation and Irrigation Techniques (build ditches running across the fields and pump water) these new techniques would help to avoid the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. Source Farming in the 1930’s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_16.html Martin 7. What could we have done to prevent the Dust Bowl? Something that we could have done to prevent the Dust Bowl is plant more trees around fields. These trees will capture the dust the blows from the fields thus preventing wind erosion. Source Did dust storms make the Dust Bowl drought worse? Retrieved from  http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/dust_storms.shtml 8. What signs do we look for to prevent another Dust Bowl? The lack of rain is always a sign that will help us prepare for an event such as the Dust Bowl. Source Did dust storms make the Dust Bowl drought worse? Retrieved from  http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/dust_storms.shtml

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PBL Step 6: Develop a TEAM problem statement. During the 1930’s the Dust Bowl created a devastating environment for people, animals and the Plains, New England and Washington areas. Due to the ever changing climate conditions and quantify changes in the water resources it is necessary to research, analyze, identify, and have a strategic plan in place in the event of a dust storm reoccurring. It is necessary to develop a policy concerning this most precious resource. PBL Step 7: Gather information. As a team we used reliable Internet resources to research and analyze our team questions. The following are some resources we used: Did dust storms make the Dust Bowl drought worse? Retrieved from http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/dust_storms.shtml From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel. Retrieved from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/DustBowl/ Groundwater Drawdown. Retrieved from     http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/WORMKA/ Dust Bowl. Retrieved from   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl Biological effects on outcomes on Dust Storm. Retrieved from http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/valley-fever/Valley-Fever- blowin2019-on-a-hotter-wind With  the  Drought  more  Dust.    Retrieved  from    http://www.texastribune.org/texas- environmental-news/environmental-problems-and-policies/drought- could-cause-rise-dust-storms/ Farming in the 1930’s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_16.html PBL Step 8: Present findings and TEAM Question Answers. As a research team we researched and analyzed all the information to answer our team questions and build knowledge from one another. As more information is gathered my research team and I will present our findings. Note: The steps in this model may have to be completed several times. Steps 3 through 7 may be conducted concurrently as new information becomes available.