Problem

The Eastside of Cleveland is decidedly known for its health disparities. The Eastside Greenway project is trying to connect the extensive system of parks, open spaces and natural areas in this area. Linking theses systems could improve health, transportation, economics and ultimately health equity. However, concern about personal safety in outdoor public spaces is prevalent across the study area because of frequent crime and drug activity, high pedestrian accidents and degradation of the built environment.

Method

A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was conducted during the on-going Eastside Greenway project in order to better understand these health disparities and potential ways to improve health equity through urban trail development. During the assessment, sketch maps were distributed as part of the survey and participants were asked to mark where they felt safe and not safe in outdoor spaces. They also provided brief explanations of why they marked a location so policy makers can understand the reasoning for these concerns.

Results

After surveys were conducted, participants’ maps were brought into a Geographic Information System (GIS). This geospatial technology enabled analysis of the maps to identify hotspots of concern. In addition, content analysis was performed on their open-ended survey responses, along with a map of high frequency words that emerged from the analysis. This new insight supports the HIA in showing policy-makers and planners where the Eastside Greenway should be implemented to improve health equity in that area.

To the residents of Trumbull County, Mosquito Lake, one of the largest lakes in Ohio, is a premier location for family camping and various water recreation activities. However, many are unaware of the geologic and glacial activities that shaped the area into what it is today. The objective of this project was to conduct a detailed investigation to better understand the geologic history of Mosquito Lake State Park.

Detailed investigation of the park was conducted through field work and published geologic data. From this data, bedrock and glacial geologic maps were derived using ArcGIS and MicroDEM mapping programs. Water well data was also used to determine the thickness of glacial material as well as subsurface bedrock formations. An east-west cross section was constructed to show the park’s geology in the subsurface.

The geology of the park shows a history of glacial advances during the Pleistocene that deposited drift material over older bedrock. Bedrock geology consists of Mississippian shales and sandstones that were deposited along ancient shorelines in delta and offshore marine environments. The area was later covered by several ice advances of the Wisconsinan Glacier during the late Pleistocene. The park contains three distinct glacial features: portion of the Defiance End Moraine, 40 to 70 feet thick, located in the southeastern sections of the park; ground moraine, 10 to 20 feet thick, forming the relatively flat surface of the western section of the park; and lacustrine deposits of former Rock Creek Lake located in the northern part of the park.

The Portage County Parks District in Ohio, manages 12 public parks consisting of 1,300 acres and 14 miles of hike and bike trails, connecting communities across Portage County. This park system offers people great opportunities to experience and understand nature. Education has been a primary goal of Portage Parks, however, the parks lack geologic information that would be readily available for the public. Therefore, there is a greater need for a deeper understanding of how geology has shaped the topography of this county as found in the individual parks.

To accomplish this goal, detailed field mapping of the parks was conducted and included a brief description of rock formations and glacial deposits. A geologic map of Portage County was constructed in ArcGIS consisting of multiple layers, including a digital elevation map produced using the microDEM program. Cross sections showing the subsurface geology were also constructed with the aid of ground water well data from the ODNR.

This study shows that the rugged topography of the bedrock surface of the county is mostly concealed by a mantle of glacial deposits. Deep valleys cut by pre-Pleistocene and Pleistocene streams form a complex pattern buried beneath the glacial debris. Sediments filling the buried valleys are coarse sand and gravel while in other areas, the glacial deposits are tills of principally fine sand, silt, and clay. The bedrock units in Portage County range from Devonian to Pennsylvanian age and consist of mostly shales and sandstones deposited in ancient marine and delta environments.

West Branch State Park is located on the west branch of the Mahoning River in Portage County. In 1965, the Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir was completed on the river for flood control, water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife management. However, detailed geologic information of the park is lacking for the public to understand its ancient history. A detailed investigation was conducted to better constrain the geologic history of West Branch State Park.

Detailed information of the park was gathered through extensive fieldwork and published data. Bedrock and glacial geologic maps were constructed using ArcGIS and MicroDEM mapping programs. Thickness of glacial material and bedrock formations were determined using ground water well data. A north-south cross section through the park was produced, showing the geology in the third dimension.

West Branch State Park is situated on the glaciated plateau of northeastern Ohio where Pleistocene glaciers were able to override the gentle hills and stream valleys of the land formerly uplifted as part of the Appalachian Mountain building process. The subsurface bedrock units in the park consist of Devonian to Pennsylvanian shales and sandstones. The bedrock was covered by several ice advances of the Wisconsinan Glacier that left behind three distinct glacial features: a buried stream valley filled with ~350 feet of drift material, now occupied by the present stream and reservoir; ground moraine, ~15 feet thick, covering the hills on the southern section of the park; and the Kent End Moraine on the northern part of the park.

Because Sr²⁺ can substitute for Ba²⁺, Sr can readily incorporate into Barite. Two formations can result: Sr-bearing Barite or SrSO_4, also know as Celestine. I propose to answer which formation will result and if both form: what the abundance ratio of Sr bearing phases are and the distribution whether heterogeneous or homogeneous.

I have examined samples collected from modern barite from continental hot water springs and compared them to samples synthesized in the lab. Barite that has precipitated in these environments is examined to understand the processes that control the fractionation of Sr in barite. Strontium is an isotope that occurs in natural samples and is a dating indicator. This project aims to understand the controls on variations in Sr distribution from natural and synthetic samples. Possible controls on Sr distribution could include temperature and secondary mineral precipitation. As the strontium replaces barium in barite it can form the mineral Celestine. The impact is that it is important to understand the fractionation of Sr as this could establish a biological presence in ancient or extraterrestrial rocks, and give an understanding of the paleo environment.

Problem: The Lobos CO2 pipeline has been proposed to traverse land owned primarily by Native Americans and land grant heirs. The health and cultural well-being of this population is at risk and their voices are largely underrepresented. This project tests an innovative geospatial approach to visualize concerns expressed by these residents.

Methods: Through collaboration with Human Impact Partners, a four-step geospatial approach was created: 1) Focus group participants placed stickers on maps as areas of health concern and culturally significant locations in the vicinity of the proposed route, 2) data was digitized into a Geographic Information System (GIS), 3) hot spots were calculated and mapped, 4) reasons for concern were analyzed in GIS based off of content analysis performed on focus group transcripts.

Results: Health concerns associated with the proposal overlap greatly with areas of cultural significance. This study will allow residents to authoritatively represent their beliefs to policy-makers.

Keywords: Health, Culture, Environmental Justice, Geographic Information Systems, GIS