Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Description of research and teaching
My research aims to find Quaternary timescale solutions for the Earth and its people. I am particularly interested in the long-term interplay of northern climate and nature. My current research focuses on land-water and atmosphere-land interactions, sea ice and hydroclimate changes, aquatic carbon cycling, and deep time functional biodiversity. I use empirical data from natural archives (lake and marine sediments) and ecosystem surveys (sediment traps, monitoring infrastructures, field campaigns) combined with numerical analyses and modelling.
Curriculum vitae
Studies in University Pedagogy: 35 ECTS
Research history:
2022- University Researcher
2017-2022 Academy of Finland Research Fellow
2016 Postdoctoral Researcher, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
2012-2015 Postdoctoral Researcher (Academy of Finland), Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki
2010-2012 Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Manitoba, Canada
2010 PhD, Geology, University of Helsinki
2007-2010, Visiting Scholar, University of Waterloo, Canada
External positions
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
1 Jan 2016 → 31 Dec 2016
Univ Manitoba, University of Manitoba
1 Aug 2010 → 31 May 2012
Visiting Scholar, University of Waterloo
Jan 2007 → Dec 2009
Fields of Science
- 1171 Geosciences
- Paleoecology
- Paleoceanography
- Quaternary Science
- Paleoclimatology
- 1172 Environmental sciences
- Environmental Change
- Arctic
- High-latitude lakes and seas
- Climate impacts
International and National Collaboration
Publications and projects within past five years.
-
Drivers of spatio-temporal variations in summer surface water temperatures of Arctic Fennoscandian lakes (2000–21)
Zhang, M., Leppäranta, M., Korhola, A., Kirchner, N., Granebeck, A., Schenk, F., Weckström, K., Heikkilä, M. & Weckström, J., 2024, In: Polar Research. 43Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Millennial-scale variations in Arctic sea ice are recorded in sedimentary ancient DNA of the microalga Polarella glacialis
Harðardóttir, S., Haile, J. S., Ray, J. L., Limoges, A., Van Nieuwenhove, N., Lalande, C., Grondin, P. L., Jackson, R., Skaar, K. S., Heikkilä, M., Berge, J., Lundholm, N., Massé, G., Rysgaard, S., Seidenkrantz, M-S., De Schepper, S., Lorenzen, E. D., Lovejoy, C. & Ribeiro, S., Dec 2024, In: Communications earth & environment. 5, 1, 13 p., 25.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Reconstructing warm-season temperatures using brGDGTs and assessing biases in Holocene temperature records in northern Fennoscandia
Otiniano, G. A., Porter, T. J., Phillips, M. A., Juutinen, S., Weckström, J. & Heikkilä, M., 2024, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 329, 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Sea-ice variations and trends during the Common Era in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic Ocean
Lindroth Dauner, A. L., Schenk, F., Power, K. E. & Heikkilä, M., 2024, In: Cryosphere. 18, 3, p. 1399-2024 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Single-cell DNA from West Greenland marine sediments suggests presence of Protoperidinium tricingulatum in the Arctic
Luostarinen, T., Ribeiro, S., Zimmermann, H. H., Kvorning, A. B. & Heikkilä, M., 2024, In: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 71, 1, 15 p., e13005.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile
-
Browning lakes in the greening Arctic
Weckström, J., Heikkilä, M., Keva, O., Käkelä, R., McGowan, S., Meyer-Jacob, C., Smol, J., Virtanen, T. & Weckström, K.
01/09/2023 → 31/08/2027
Project: Research Council of Finland: Academy Project
-
Arctic lake biodiversity, productivity and ecosystem resource capacity over the Holocene
Heikkilä, M., Eronen, J. T., Luostarinen, T., Manninen, M. A., McGowan, S., Orozco, L., Ribeiro, S., Saarni, S., Salonen, J. S., Tallavaara, M., Valtonen, T. A. I., Weckström, J. & Zimmermann, H.
01/03/2023 → 30/06/2025
Project: Foundations (Private Foundations, Non-Profit Foundations, Charitable Trusts)
-
Plankton Resting Stages - Geological, Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives
Heikkilä, M., Kremp, A., Suikkanen, S. & Vehmaa, A.
Project: Research project
-
Sea ice influence on Arctic lakes over the last 2000 years
Heikkilä, M., Schenk, F. & Lindroth Dauner, A. L.
01/02/2022 → 31/12/2022
Project: Research project
-
Activities
-
Kilpisjärven ilmasto menneestä tulevaan
Maija Heikkilä (Speaker)
25 May 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting
Maija Heikkilä (Speaker: Presenter)
11 Dec 2023 → 15 Dec 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
-
Molecular analysis of lake-sediment organic matter: long-term dynamics and environmental implications in boreal lakes
Maija Heikkilä (Pre-examiner)
22 Sept 2023Activity: Examination types › Pre-examiner of doctoral thesis
-
Ilmasto tiede ja tulevaisuus -webinaarisarja
Maija Heikkilä (Speaker: Opponent/discussant)
24 Oct 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Public Talks
-
Arctic Avenue Workshop
Maija Heikkilä (Attendee)
21 Aug 2022 → 25 Aug 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
Press/Media
-
Tammenlastuja: Menneisyys opettaa
Maija Heikkilä, Mikael A. Manninen, Taarna Aura Inari Valtonen, Jan Weckström, Markku Oinonen, Miikka Tallavaara, Jussi T. Eronen, Kimmo Kahilainen, Alexander Piro, Tommi Malinen, Seppo Hellsten, Heikki Mykrä, Kimmo Tolonen, Laura Sofia Harkonen, Pirkko Hannele Pokka, Petri Auvinen, Minna Väliranta, Laura Arppe, Petri Ekholm, J. Sakari Salonen, Heike Zimmermann, Sofia Ribeiro, Saija Saarni, Mika Vinni & Sanna Mari Atti
10/10/2023
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
-
Glacial meltwaters cooled the Atlantic but caused warm European summers at the end of the last glacial
07/05/2018
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media