Tiia Luostarinen

Tiia Luostarinen is a Visiting Scholar at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) and the Environmental Change Research Unit (ECRU) within the Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme. Her research centers on Arctic environmental change, specializing in sea-ice proxies and their ecological impacts across Greenlandic coastal regions and Hudson Bay.

Her academic qualifications include:

• PhD in Environmental Sciences (2023), University of Helsinki
• MSc in Environmental Geology and Hydrogeology (2017), University of Helsinki
• BSc in Geology (2014), University of Helsinki

Luostarinen's research investigates Arctic sea-ice decline through biogenic proxies including diatoms, dinoflagellate cysts, and lipid biomarkers. She integrates field data from sea-ice, water columns, sediment traps, and surface sediments to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions and assess contemporary ecosystem impacts. Her work bridges paleoclimatology with modern climate change analysis, emphasizing methodological rigor in proxy development.

Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal a concentrated focus on taxonomic harmonization of Arctic diatoms, molecular techniques for microfossil identification, and multi-proxy approaches to sea-ice reconstruction. Key trends include advancing diatom-based transfer functions, exploring DNA preservation in marine sediments, and establishing standardized frameworks for paleoenvironmental interpretation across the Arctic.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Best student talk award (2018)
• Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences Outstanding Thesis Award (2024)

Luostarinen serves as Principal Investigator for the Marine Arctic Diatoms project (2022-2025) and participates in the Arctic lake biodiversity project (2023-2025), demonstrating sustained grant acquisition capability. She actively contributes to academic service through workshop organization, peer review for Marine Ecology Progress Series, and leadership in international research networks.

She co-founded the Marine Arctic Diatoms working group and organizes the MARDI workshop series, fostering global collaboration on diatom taxonomy and Arctic climate reconstruction methodologies.