Saija Saarni
Ph.D.
saija.saarni@utu.fi +358 29 450 2973 +358 50 567 7568 |
Areas of expertise
paleoclimatology; paleolimnology; environmental change; lacustrine sediments; sedimentary processes of microplastic litter
paleoclimatology; paleolimnology; environmental change; lacustrine sediments; sedimentary processes of microplastic litter
Research
My research interests are to study 1) climatic and anthropogenic forcing on sedimentation in lacustrine and coastal systems, and 2) sedimentary processes of micro plastic litter in aquatic environments. My current focus is to understand climate-catchment dynamics as well as sediment transportation and accumulation in various geological environments in detail.
Publications 
1 of 2
- Geochemical shifts, ecological consequences, and onset of meromixis in a mine water impacted boreal lake (2025)
- Hydrobiologia
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Microplastics as a marker for the beginning of the Anthropocene (2025) Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences Stivrins, N.; Saarni, S.; Dimante-Deimantovica, I.
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Downward migrating microplastics in lake sediments are a tricky indicator for the onset of the Anthropocene (2024)
- Science AdvancesMine Water and the Environment
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Microplastic accumulation in one-year freshwater ice: A four-year monitoring study reveals winter dynamics of microplastics (2024)
- Science of the Total Environment
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Urbanization-driven Cladocera community shifts in the lake - a case study from Baltic region, Europe (2024)
- Anthropocene
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - What to monitor? Microplastics in a freshwater lake – From seasonal surface water to bottom sediments (2024)
- Environmental Advances
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Properties and Stability of Mining-Induced Meromixis in Two Small Boreal Lakes in Eastern Finland2023
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Seasonal variation observed in microplastic deposition rates in boreal lake sedimentsWhat we talk about when we talk about seasonality – A transdisciplinary review (2023)
- Journal of Soils and SedimentsEarth-Science Reviews
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Sensitivity of varve biogenic component to climate in eastern and central Finland (2023)
- Journal of Paleolimnology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Comparison of cold season sedimentation dynamics in the non-tidal estuary of the Northern Baltic Sea (2022)
- Marine Geology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Launching a study of nanoplastics in the Baltic Sea, SW Finland - Picking up small debris (2022) Hiltunen Arto, Hänninen Jari, Saarni Saija
(Other publication) - (2022)
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Cyanobacterial Akinete Distribution, Viability, and Cyanotoxin Records in Sediment Archives from the Northern Baltic Sea (2021)
- Frontiers in microbiology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Human actions were responsible for both initiation and termination of varve preservation in Lake Vesijärvi, southern Finland (2021)
- Journal of PaleolimnologyWater
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Sediment trapping – An attempt to monitor temporal variation of microplastic flux rates in aquatic systemsUltra-High-Resolution Monitoring of the Catchment Response to Changing Weather Conditions Using Online Sediment Trapping (2021)
- Environmental PollutionQuaternary
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Impacts of a deep reactive layer on sedimentary phosphorus dynamics in a boreal lake recovering from eutrophicationVarve Distribution Reveals Spatiotemporal Hypolimnetic Hypoxia Oscillations During the Past 200 Years in Lake Lehmilampi, Eastern Finland (2020)
- HydrobiologiaQuaternary
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Long-Term Consequences of Water Pumping on the Ecosystem Functioning of Lake Seksu, LatviaArctic hydroclimate variability during the last 2000 years: current understanding and research challenges (2020)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2019)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2019)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2018)
- Climate of the Past
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal )
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