Master's projects GEO

Examples of Master's projects at GEO

At this webpage you will find several examples of project descriptions that can be outlines for Master's theses at GEO.

Main content

The Master's programme in Earth Sciences has been divided into four different research topics, all derived from our four main research groups. Our projects are listed according to these reserach themes: Geodynamics and basin studies, Geochemistry and geobiology, Geophysics and Qauternary geology and paleoclimate.

How do I find a project to work on?

Use the menu below. Consult the projects description, and decide on which research theme you are interested in, and to some extent, which project you prefer. Do also consult the listed courses for each project - does the courses match you background?

Contact the listed supervisor to learn more. In some cases, supervisors get contacted by several students. We will try our best to facilitate that all students get to write their thesis on a preferred topic, but we need you to keep in mind that each supervisor has a limited capasity of undertaking master's students. All students that are granted admission to our program will be allocated a project and a supervisor within the first couple of weeks after semester start.

In rare cases with more interested students on a project than the capasity allows, we will have to range the interested students by grades. This is only applicable in rare situations, and we strive to find solutions together with our students.

If none of the listed projects seem to suit you, it is also possible to design your own Master's project together with one of our supervisors from our academic staff. In this case, we ask you to contact interesting superviros to pitch your idea. For more information about this process, or guidance to wich supervisor to contact, please reach our to the programme coordinator (Emilie Randeberg).

We also reccomend you to visit the webpage for each of our research groups (link in menu below), to consult which projects has been given earlier to master's students. Many of our research themes are still highly relevant and can be reformed to new projects.

Which courses should I choose?

At The Deptartment of Earth Sciences, all courses has an early deadline for sign up (Wednesday week 33 / Wednesday week 2). In 2023, this is set to August 16th.

All students must by the first copuple of days, within the deadline, consult which courses to sign up for in StudentWeb. External students from outside of UiB may find trouble adding courses in StudentWeb. Consult the Programme Coordinator to open your preferred courses.

Courses relevant for your Master's project can be found in the project description, or by consulting your supervisor, or your preferred research group.

NB!! This process is our top priority during the semester start week, and we strive to help all students through this process!

Master's Projects in Geodynamics and Basin studies

Check out prevous projevts from this group here!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Landscape evolution modelling of late Mesozoic topography and sediment output from Southern Norway	Ritske Huismans	Førsteamenuensis II Tor O. Sømme Sebastian Wolf
Subice geology of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, revealed by U-Pb zircon study of metasedimentary rocks from Kirwanveggen and the Shackleton Range	Joachim Jacobs	MSc. Cheng-Cheng Wang, UiB, Dr. Andreas Laeufer, BGR, Hannover
A geomorphological, mineralogical, and sedimentological investigation across a modern beach system at Jæren, SW Norway	William Helland-Hansen	Reidar Müller, UiO, Snorre Olaussen, UNIS
Marine geological surveys for offshore wind	Christian H. Eide	Professor Haflidi Haflidason, Dr. Jo Brendryen, MSc. Hannah Petrie
Fault sealing: what controls fluid contact offsets across faults?	Prof.II Christian Hermanrud, GEO / Equinor	Prof. Haakon Fossen
Can intertidal areas along rocky coasts keep up with sea level rise?	William Helland-Hansen	Gerard Dam, Asplan Viak
Diapirs and minibasins in the Norwegian Central North Sea	Rob Gawthorpe	Dr. Mar Moragas, UiB, Dr. Oliver Duffy, Uni Texas
The origin, kinematics, and geometry of salt diapirs and minibasins in the UK Central North Sea	Rob Gawthorpe	Dr. Mar Moragas, UiB, Dr. Oliver Duffy, Uni Texas
Structural and geochemical investigation of subsurface basalts; implication for safe CO2 storage	Edos Osagiede, GEO	Casey Nixon, Atle Rotevatn
Distribution of the deep marine Middle Triassic organic shales in the Barents Sea and surrounding Arctic	Albina Gilmullina	Christian Haug Eide, Sten-Andreas Grundvåg, UiT
Triassic rivers of the Barents Sea Basin	Albina Gilmullina	Christian Haug Eide
Sedimentary characterization and interpretation of tidal regressive units in outcrop and the subsurface	Christian Haug Eide	Agustin Argüello Scotti
Reservoir modeling of tidal regressive units in outcrop and the subsurface	Christian Haug Eide	Agustin Argüello Scotti
Landscape evolution modelling of late Mesozoic topography and sediment output from Southern Norway	Ritske Huismans	Tor Sømme, UiB//Equinor, Sebastian Wolf
A geomorphological, mineralogical, and sedimentological investigation across a modern beach system at Jæren, SW Norway	William Helland-Hansen	Reidar Müller (UiO), Prof. Em. Snorre Olaussen (UNIS)
Can intertidal areas along rocky coasts keep up with sea level rise?	William Helland-Hansen	Gerard Dam, Asplan Viak

Master's Projects in Geochemistry and geobiology

Check out prevous projects from this group here!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Vulkansk utvikling av den ultrasakte Knipovichryggen - Vulcanic development of den ultraslow Knipovich ridge	Rolf Birger Pedersen	Håvard Hallås Stubseid, Haflidi Haflidason, Jarle Andre Vikebø (DeepOcean)

Master's Projects in Geophysics

Check out previous projects from this group here!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Possible seismic monitoring of thawing of terrestrial sediments in the Arctic: Rock physics modelling of sediments in Adventdalen, Svalbard.	Tor Arne Johansen	Dr. Bent Ole Ruud
Possible seismic monitoring of thawing of terrestrial sediments in the Arctic: Seismic modelling of surface waves in Adventdalen, Svalbard.	Tor Arne Johansen	Professor Einar Iversen
Synergies between seismic and medical ultrasound	Morten Jakobsen	Professor Einar Iversen
Inversion of seismic velocities using drill-bit seismic waves	Einar Iversen	Dr. Alexander Goertz (OCTIO AS), Endre Vange Bergfjord (OCTIO AS)
Recent and future changes in the current system and water exchange between sea and brackish water as a result of human interventions in an active tidal system, outer Vestvågøy, Lofoten	Tor Arne Johansen	Vigdis Tverberg (Universitetet i Nordland)
Seismic signatures of geothermal reservoirs	Tor Arne Johansen	Dr. Erling Jensen (RPT), Dr. Åsmund Drottning (RPT)
Modeling and Inversion of Multiply Scattered Waves	Henk Keers	Professor Einar Iversen
Development of a ground motion prediction equation for Norway	Mathilde B. Sørensen	Professor Lars Ottemöller
Modelling of controlled-source electromagnetic data using fast integral equation methods	Morten Jakobsen	Dr. Malte Sommer
Local earthquake tomography between Bergen Arcs and Hardangerfjord shear zone	Lars Ottemöller	Dr. Felix Halpaap, Professor Stéphane Rondenay (GE
Fast Ray Tracing and Imaging Using GPUs	Henk Keers	Professor Einar Iversen, Martin Sarajærvi (Schlumberger, Stavanger)
Earthquakes in Southern Norway	Lars Ottemöller	Dr. Felix Halpaap
Seismic Monitoring of CO2 Storage	Henk Keers	Dr. Martin Sarajærvi, Schlumberger Stavanger (medveileder)
Processing and interpretation of SVALEX seismic	Rolf Mjelde	Dr. Bent Ole Ruud
Electromagnetic methods in borehole geophysics	Morten Jakobsen	Dr. Sergey Alayev, NORCE
Automatic detection and classification of seismic events from glacier calving	Tor Arne Johansen	Helene Stemland
Geothermal: Correlations of geothermal, electric and acoustic properties of subsurface rocks	Tor Arne Johansen	Helene Stemland, Erling Jensen (Dig Science)
CO2 sequestration: Seismic characterization of potential CO2 leakage through compacting shales	Tor Arne Johansen	Åsmund Drottnig (Dig Science)
Structure and Dynamics of the Inner and Outer Core	Henk Keers	Thomas Meier (Uni. Kiel, Germany), Johannes Stampa (Uni. Kiel, Germany), Sergei Lebedev (Uni. Cambridge)
Machine Learning and Modeling Techniques for Regional Seismology – An Application to Southern Europe	Henk Keers	Thomas Meier (Uni. Kiel, Germany), Johannes Stampa (Uni. Kiel, Germany), Sergei Lebedev (Uni. Cambridge)
Marine Geophysics - Modeling and Full Waveform Inversion of Marine Seismic Data	Henk Keers	Tora Myklebust, AkerBP
Modeling and Inversion of Ocean Acoustic Data for Climate Change	Henk Keers	TBD

Master's Projects in Quaternary geology and Paleoclimate

Check out previous projects from this group here!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Assessment and understanding of the simulated Last Glacial Maximum climate	Kerim H. Nisancioglu	Dr. Chuncheng Guo (NORCE Climate)
Etablering av askestratigrafi i innsjøarkiver fra deglasiasjonsperioden i Utsira-Karmøy området	Haflidi Haflidason,	John-Inge Svendsen
The future of the Greenland ice sheet	Andreas Born	Tobias Zolles
Decadal scale volume changes of Folgefonna ice cap	Ben Robson	Andreas Born
Investigation of lake sediments in Høgvardtjenn and dating of the ice melt on Norefjell in the lower part of Hallingdal, Krødsherad municipality, Viken county	Atle Nesje	Knut Sørgaard, Bane NOR (external)
Strength, direction and frequency of Holocene storms by Ogna, Rogaland	Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen	Knut Sørgaard, BaneNOR
Climate changes and flood frequencies in Western Norway - reconstruction of Holocene flooding frequence on Jæren based on studies of lake sediments from Ogna	Jostein Bakke	Johannes Hardeng, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen, Jan Magne Cederstrøm
Deglaciation in the mid-Scandinavian mountains - Ice dammed lakes and a catastrophic event	Jostein Bakke	Carl Regnell (Uni Stockholm), Johannes Hardeng
Geological and glacial processes along the inner Mid-North Norwegian continental shelf	Jo Brendryen	Christian H. Eide, Haflidi Haflidason
Reconstruction of Storskavlen, Aurland, based on mapping and examination of lake sediments	Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen	Jostein Bakke
Using machine learning to characterise modern hydrological extreme events	Ben Robson	Jostein Bakke
Studying the human influence on glacier mass balance of Folgefonna ski centre	Ben Robson	Jostein Bakke, Jan Magne Cederstrøm, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen
Decadal changes in mass at Folgefonna glacier	Ben Robson	Jostein Bakke, Jan Magne Cederstrøm, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen
Aeolian activity through the late Holocene at Skardasanden, Rogaland	Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen	Ben Robson, Jan Magne Cederstrøm
Reconstruction of landslide frequency and palaeoclimate at Kerguelen, southern Indian Ocean	Jostein Bakke	Jarle Sleire, Jan Magne Cederstrøm
A tropical view on major global climate change (...)	Nele Meckler	Yves Krüger
Land temperature changes in South Africa during the last glacial cycle as backdrop for human cognitive evolution	Nele Meckler	Jenny Maccali
Climate and mass extinction: Deep-sea temperature change at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary	Nele Meckler	Vicky Taylor
The evolution of debris-covered glaciers formed by gold mining in Kyrgyzstan	Ann Rowan	Andreas Born, Stewart Jamieson (Durham University, UK)
Mapping of Jøkullaup (GLOF) and landslide deposits in Sandvikedalen	Ben Robson	Kenneth Mangersnes, Jostein Bakke, Jacob Blende (NGU)
Analyzing basin-scale sedimentary processes in Lake Midsommer to reconstruct Holocene glacial dynamics in northern Greenland	Jostein Bakke	Nicolas Balascio (Queen Mary Collegage, USA), Jan Magne Cederstrøm
Evaluating the deglacial history of the Wandel Dal valley, northern Greenland	Jostein Bakke	Nicolas Balascio (Queen Mary Collegage, USA), Ben Robson
Improving constraints on the hydroclimate variability of northern Greenland	Jostein Bakke	Nicolas Balascio (Queen Mary Collegage, USA)

Do you wish to conduct a Master's thesis in Earth Sciences?

The projects listed on this webpage are project proposals made by supervisors at the Department of Earth Sciences, UiB. Contact the listed supervisors if you are interested in one of these projects, or if you have ideas for what you want to write a master's thesis about.

By the registration deadline for courses, Wednesday in week 33 for the autumn semester and Wednesday in week 2 for the spring semester, all students should have found a supervisor, and which courses they should take in the first semester.

09.08.2023