The Dust Bowl disaster of the 1930s was one of the greatest ecological and agricultural disasters in American history, resulting in thousands of deaths and a historic mass migration

The causes of the Dust Bowl, however, were both natural and man-made. Discuss the causes of the Dust Bowl and rate their severity. In your opinion, which do you think were the most powerful and did the most damage to the soil?
What will be an ideal response?


Answer: Answers will vary. Established causes include severe drought; turning under prairie grasses; poor agricultural practices (like extensive plowing, no cover crops, and no crop rotation) that are better suited to more humid climates; windstorms; and few trees planted as windbreaks.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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List the important features of the 1982 Draft Convention on the Law of the Sea. What will be an ideal response?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Potential issues with direct injection of CO2 into the deep ocean include all of the following except ________.

A. potential impacts to the deep-ocean ecosystem B. uncertainly in how long the CO2 would stay at depth C. the legal basis for injecting carbon D. potential acidification E. All of these choices are correct. F. None of these choices is correct.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Which of the following variables would be used to estimate potential evapotranspiration?

A. precipitation and humidity B. temperature and precipitation C. wind speed and latitude D. precipitation and evaporation E. temperature and latitude

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

With reference to the Great Lakes, which of the following mechanisms are favorable for precipitation in that area?

A) initial mechanism for uplift B) unstable air C) sufficient moisture D) all of the above

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences