Faculty & Staff Profiles

Heather Hill

Adjunct Professor
Email

Education
Area(s) of Research
  1. To understand modern and historical climate variability in the context of human interest
  2. To document climate change in the recent geologic past and determine its relative impact on earth processes
  3. To assess the role that earth scientists may have in shaping the learning of K-12 students and teachers.

My primary research interests include seeking innovative ways to study past climate change and determine the mechanism(s) responsible for abrupt climate change.  These mechanisms remain largely undetermined, but have been linked to the ocean through changes in thermohaline circulation, and to the atmosphere through variations in the tropical ocean-atmosphere system and greenhouse gas concentrations.  Open lines of investigation include understanding climate change as it relates to high-low latitude linkages, ocean-continent interactions, source-water variability, nutrient cycling, biological productivity response, continental vegetation shifts, and human well-being.  I take advantage of a number of different tools to investigate key climate questions: inorganic isotopic and elemental ratio measurements, organic bulk and compound specific isotopic analyses, sedimentological parameters, and climate modeling.

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Simply put, I love to teach.  I look forward to providing instruction that excites and stimulates students, yet is challenging and enriching to their education.  Through diverse teaching experiences I strive to be an innovative and effective instructor who is able to reach students with different backgrounds, abilities, learning styles and cultures.  My classes are based on the effective implementation of three primary themes that I believe enhance student achievement:  1) a positive environment, 2) inquiry-based learning, and 3) multiple forms of teaching/assessment.   In the online environment, I make my classes dynamic by coupling instruction with discussion forums and assignments that provide students with a more hands-on approach to learning. Students are encouraged to make real-world connections and incorporate life experiences in the learning environment.

Capstone/Graduate Students
Publications

Hill, Heather W., Benjamin P. Flower, Terrence M. Quinn, David J. Hollander, and Thomas P. Guilderson. 2006, "Laurentide Ice Sheet meltwater and abrupt climate change during the last glaciation". Paleoceanography, 21 (1), PA1006, doi:10.1029/2005PA001186.

Flower, Benjamin P., H.W. Hill, J.N. Richey, J.M. LoDico, D.W. Hastings, M. Gilbert, and T.M. Quinn. 2005. "Freshwater input to the Gulf of Mexico during the last glaciation to Holocene". Eos Trans. AGU, 86 (52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP32A-05

Hill, Heather W., D.J. Hollander, B.P. Flower, and T.M. Quinn. 2005. "Elevated Mississippi River discharge during glacial times: a 7,000 year wet event on the North American continent", Eos Trans. AGU, 86 (52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP21A-1539

Hill, H.W., B.P. Flower, D.J. Hollander, and T.M. Quinn. 2004. "Evidence for Oceanic/Continental Climate Linkages During Freshwater Inputs to the Gulf of Mexico". Eos Trans. AGU, 85 (47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP44A-07

Hill, H.W., H.L. Judkins, T. Greely, S. Ivey, A. Pyrtle, and Lodge, A. 2004. "Diving into the Ocean Sciences: Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers". Eos Trans. AGU, 85 (47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED34A-07

Flower, B.P., H.W. Hill, J.M. LoDico, T.M. Quinn, and D.W. Hastings. 2004. "Episodic meltwater input to the Gulf of Mexico throughout the last glacial cycle, Eighth International Conference on Paleoceanography." An Ocean View of Global Change, Program and Abstracts, Biarritz, France, September 6-10, 2004.

Flower, B.P., H. W. Hill, J.M. LoDico, T.M. Quinn, D.J. Hollander, and D.W. Hastings, 2004. "Late Pleistocene and Holocene glacial meltwater input to the Gulf of Mexico." Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 5, p. 193.

Hill, H.W., B. Miller, and T. Greely. 2003. "Integrating Marine Science Into Elementary School Education." Eos Trans. AGU, 84 (46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED22B-1236

Hill, H.W., B.P. Flower, and T.M. Quinn. 2003. "Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles in the Gulf of Mexico: A Clue to Abrupt Climate Change?" Eos Trans. AGU, 84 (46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP42A-0855

Flower, B.P., D.W. Hastings, H.W. Hill, and T.M. Quinn. 2003. "Abrupt Climate Change During the Last Glacial Cycle Based on Gulf of Mexico Sediments." Eos Trans. AGU, 84 (46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP41A-08

Hill, H.W. 2002. "Gulf of Mexico sea-surface temperatures and Laurentide meltwater input during MIS 3: Implications for high/low latitude linkages." Eos Trans. AGU, 83 (47), Fall Meet Suppl., Abstract PP62A-0333

Flower, B.P., D.W. Hastings, H.W. Hill, D.J. Hollander, J.M. LoDico, and T.M. Quinn. 2002. "Deglacial warming in the Gulf of Mexico preceded Laurentide Ice Sheet meltwater input: Implications for tropical climate forcing." Eos Trans. AGU, 83 (47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP71A-0372.

Heinze, H., S.M. Dickson, D.F. Belknap, and J.T. Kelley. 2001. "The effects of storm-generated currents on the sand beaches in southern Maine." Eos Trans. AGU, 82 (20), Spring Meet. Suppl., Abstract.

Heinze, H., J.T. Kelley, D.F. Belknap, and S.M. Dickson. 2001."How sand beaches in southern Maine are responding to anthropogenic influences and meteorological effects." Geological Society of Maine Newsletter, v. 27, n. 2, p. 5.

Heinze, H. 2001. "Change in the active volume of sediment on developed and undeveloped beaches, southern Maine." GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 33, n.1.