Research Program: Global Change
Bruce Forbes
Rupert Gladstone
Jukka Jokimäki
Marja-Liisa Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki
Inkeri Markkula
Ilona Mettiäinen
Päivi Soppela
Minna Turunen
Sirkka-Liisa Aakkonen
Visiting Researchers
Anna Autio’s main expertise lies in applying fully integrated groundwater-surface water models. This state-of-the-art hydro(geo)logical modelling approach enables the holistic simulation of hydrological processes and the study of groundwater-surface water interactions in a physically sound manner. Anna’s modelling work ranges from water supply locations to natural watersheds in the north. She obtained her PhD in fully integrated modelling of groundwater-surface water interactions in boreal landscapes from the University of Oulu.
Roza Laptander is a sociolinguist and linguistic anthropologist. Her research interests are based on documentation of the Nenets language and spoken history of the Western Siberian nomadic Nenets. In her works she explains why the elders’ memories about the past are important for the young generation of the Nenets people and describes different roles of silence and silencing in the Nenets culture, offering a new approach to understanding how small indigenous societies keep memories and stories about their past and present life in the Arctic. Additionally, she describes how tundra people talk about contemporary changes in the Yamal tundra, impacts of recent changes in climate and weather on the Nenets’ traditional way of life in the tundra and their work with reindeer. Laptander holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Lapland. Currently, she has worked in Charter and AROSS projects.
Leena Leppänen has strong experience on in-situ snow measurements in Finland and Antarctica. Her research interests are snow physics, snow microstructure, and optical and microwave remote sensing. She obtained her PhD with a thesis about measurements and modelling of seasonal snow characteristics for interpretation of passive microwave observations.
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tel. +358 406598056
Eero is investigating long-term plant community changes and post-disturbance recovery in sub-arctic ecosystems. His interests lie mainly in plant community ecology of high latitude and altitude regions: how these communities evolve, thrive and affect the various processes of the cold ecosystems. Currently he is working in the Arctic Centre research project HISTECO and also completing his PhD studies at the University of Helsinki. Previously he has done long periods of fieldwork in many different locations around Fennoscandia and also in Greenland.
Dr. Ocobock is an assistant professor of anthropology and the Director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at Notre Dame. Her research program integrates human biology and anthropology, with a focus on the interaction between anatomy, physiology, evolution, and the environment. She explores the physiological and behavioral mechanisms necessary to cope with and adapt to extreme climate and physical activity. Ocobock works in northern Finland, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Lapland and University of Oulu.
Sirke Piirainen is investigating which factors related to climate change and land use are affecting breeding populations of bird species and the risk of becoming endangered. She will also try to predict which currently common species might become endangered in the future and figure out with what measures the protection of these species could be enhanced.
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Tel. +358 40 484 4357
Shelby Pirtle is a PhD student at the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York City, USA. She is a part of the CLIMHUM research project investigating the physiological adaptations employed by people living in the arctic. Her research explores the effect of extreme climate on the human body and how high variability of sunlight during polar night/day might affect human adaptation to cold temperatures.
Dele Raheem’s background is in the field of Food Chemistry and Technology. He is an Associate Professor (Docent) in Food Microbiology at the University of Helsinki. He has gained extensive research and industrial experience in the last three decades. His research interests encompasses food bio-processing, food preservation, climate and food security in the Arctic with global consequences. He works on food related projects to promote health and wellbeing from an intradisciplinary perspective. He had pedagogy trainings and certificates from the UK and Finland.
Taru Rikkonen holds a master degree in geography from the University of Oulu, where she especially focused on the northern environment and environmental sciences. Taru continues within the topic of her studies: the reconciliation of different land use practices in changing environment. With the use of participatory GIS, the main focus is the viewpoints of the local and indigenous people on land use practices.
Ville Stenbäck studies the metabolic health, physical activity and energy expenditure of people living in the Arctic region in different seasons. He is part of the CLIMHUM research project investigating the physiological and behavioral adaptations of people in cold and changing environments. He defended his PhD in 2024 with the topic of objective measurement of human physical activity and metabolic health.
Maria Väisänen is a terrestrial ecologist with a specific interest in herbivore-plant-soil interactions and their impacts on biogeochemical processes as well as on plant and soil faunal/microbial communities. She is interested in how climate change and local environmental conditions shape and control these interactions. As study systems, she uses arctic-alpine and/or permafrost-affected tundra ecosystems as well as boreal forests and peatlands. As methods she uses ecosystem trace gas flux measurements, soil and plant chemistry analysis and measurements of soil microbial activities, such as respiration and extracellular enzyme activities.
maria.vaisanen () oulu.fi
ResearchGate / ORCID: 0000-0001-9055-8443
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