Master's projects GEO

Examples of Master's projects at GEO

Here you will find examples master’s projects for those starting the master’s program in earth science at UiB. You can also visit the website of each of our research groups to see past and ongoing projects (links below). Many of the previous projects still have highly relevant research topics and supervisors might be able to create a similar project for you.

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The Master's programme in Earth Sciences has been divided into five research topics: climate, environment, resources, energy og geohazards. All our master’s projects fall under one or more of these themes, and many of our research groups collaborate across these themes. Therefore, you will experience a large, interdisciplinary community as a student at GEO.Depending on which project and supervisor you end up working with you will become part of one of our research groups: Geodynamics and basin studies, Geochemistry and geobiology, Geophysics and Qauternary geology and paleoclimate.

The Master’s program consists of two components: a course part totaling 60 credits and the master’s project and thesis of 60 credits. The total workload for the master’s program is 120 credits, equivalent to two years of study. You start by finding your project and supervisor, have a look below on how to get started!

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. Also consult the listed courses for each project - do 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 which supervisor to contact, please reach our to the programme coordinator (Vilde Dimmen).

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. 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).

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, do not hesitate to reach out!

Master's Projects in Geodynamics and Basin studies

Check out previous projects from this group here!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Quaternary stratigraphy, sedimentary processes and depositional environments on the Mid-Norwegian margin, based on interpretation of 2D/3D seismic data and Sr-datings	Berit O. Hjelstuen	Benjamin Bellwald (NGI)
Last glaciation and post-glacial depositional environments and processes in the NE North Sea: An integrated study based on seismic data, bathymetry and shallow sediment cores	Berit O. Hjelstuen	Benjamin Bellwald (NGI)
Direct fluid indicator (DFI) analyses in the greater Fram area of the Northern North Sea	Christian Hermanrud	Tor Naustdal Helgheim (Equinor), Øyvind Skjæveland (Equinor), Isabelle Lecomte
Seismic identification of ductile clay strata in the Northern North Sea	Christian Hermanrud	Ravi Prakash Srivastava (Equinor), Isabelle Lecomte
Sedimentological analyses, reservoir characterization and 3D reservoir modelling in the Oseberg area	Christian Hermanrud	Benoit Massart (Equinor), Tim Cullen (Equinor), Martin Muravchik
Fault network compartmentalisation and controls on fluid contacts at the Valemon Field	Christian Hermanrud	Casey Nixon (Equinor), Tore Odinsen (Equinor), Haakon Fossen
Fault network compartmentalisation and controls on fluid contacts at the Kvitebjørn Field	Christian Hermanrud	Tore Odinsen (Equinor), Casey Nixon (Equinor), Haakon Fossen
Sediment routing & detrital zircon age dating in the Middle Jurassic Garn & Pelion Formations on the Mid-Norwegian shelf & East Greenland	Christian H. Eide	Tor O. Sømme (Equinor), Leif Erik R. Pedersen
Staithes, Yorkshire: Reservoir geometries and seal/cap rock understanding	Tor O. Sømme	Ian Sharp (Equinor), Kevin Keogh (Equinor), Christian H. Eide
Explaining the sensitivity of groundwater recharge to climate change using a numerical model	Elco Luijendijk	Christian Moeck (Eawag)
Models of the formation of quick clays	Elco Luijendijk	Jean-Sébastien L'Heureux (NGI), Hans Ola Fredin (NTNU)
Hydrological Impacts of Woody Plant Uptake of Water from Bedrock	Elco Luijendijk	Josse van den Berg
Sedimentological & Stratigraphic Evolution of the Tilje, Tofte and Ile Formations - Linnorm Area Development	Tor O. Sømme	Simon Barker (Equinor), Christian H. Eide
Controls on rift margin sediment routing systems in the transition from rift initiation to rift climax: Middle to Upper Jurassic of the Eastern Greater Oseberg Area, Northern North Sea	Tor O. Sømme	Tim Cullen (Equinor), Rob Gawthorpe
Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Early Paleocene Bore/Våle Formation on the eastern rift shoulder of Central Graben	Tor O. Sømme	Sylvia Nordfjord (Equinor), Christian H. Eide
The relation between thermal springs and tectonics in mountain belts	Elco Luijendijk	Grant Ferguson (University of Saskatchewan), Josse van den Berg
Salt Tectonics in the Southern North Sea: the interplay between basement-involved rifting, intra-salt heterogeneity and salt flow	Leonardo Pichel	Rob Gawthorpe, Mar Morgas (GEO3BCN-CSIC)
Watertable dynamics and hydrological hazards at the STRANET test site at Bolstadøyri	Elco Luijendijk	Isabelle Lecomte
The influence on compositional variability on the style of deformation: a case study from the Hekkelstrand Marble (Ballangen, Nordland)	Matteo Demurtas	Martin Kjenes (Franzefoss Minerals), Christian H. Eide, Joachim Jacobs
Emplacement mechanisms, timing and deformation of magmatic intrusions in the Hekkelstrand Marble	Matteo Demurtas	Martin Kjenes (Franzefoss Minerals), Sara Callegaro (University of Bologna), Christian H. Eide
Characterization of fluid flow along the Brae Field (North Sea)	Matteo Demurtas	Atle Rotevatn, Ian Sharp (Equinor)
Fault zone architecture and damage distribution in the Hekkelstrand Marble mine (Ballangen, Nordland)	Matteo Demurtas	Martin Kjenes (Franzefoss Minerals), Christian H. Eide
Monitoring shallow underground with geophysics and distributedacoustic sensing	Isabelle Lecomte	Peter Thomas (NORCE), Lkhagvadorj Dalaijargal, Bent O. Ruud

Master's Projects in Geochemistry and geobiology

Check out previous projects from this group here!

This research group also runs the Centre for Deep Sea Research - check out their pages as well (internal link) for previous/ongoing projects!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Geological factors that control preservation of extinct seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits: A case study of the newly discovered Grøntua eSMS deposit, the Arctic Mid Ocean Ridges	Sabina Palinkas	Rolf Birger Pedersen, Håvard Stubseid

Master's Projects in Geophysics

Check out previous projects from this group here!

Prosjekttittel	Hovedveileder	Medveileder(e)
Analysis of Volcano Deformation Data with a Focus on Magma Chamber Dynamics and Cyclic Behaviour	Henk Keers	Alette Kleven (UiO)
Joint inversion of seismic and gravity data	Henk Keers	Felix Halpaap (Reach Subsea)
Rock physics analysis of geophysical data from Mars	Morten Jakobsen	Per Avseth (Dig Science)
Finite difference based wave simulation in porous media	Morten Jakobsen	Adrian Florin Radu
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)
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)
Electromagnetic methods in borehole geophysics	Morten Jakobsen	Dr. Sergey Alayev, NORCE
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!

Project title	Main supervisor	Co-supervisor(s)
Modeling Fjord Circulation and Iceberg Melt in a Greenland fjord	Kerim Nisancioglu	Daniel Gunning
Refining stalagmite microthermometry: Testing for spatial heterogeneity across growth layers	Nele Meckler	Camille Afonso, Leonardo Pasqualetto
The evolution of sea ice and warm water inflow in the Arctic during warm climates of the Quaternary	Stijn de Schepper	Sina Longman (UiT), Ulysses Ninnemann
Reconstructing South African climate history from stalagmites: insights into past rainfall	Jenny Maccali	Nele Meckler, Ulysses Ninnemann
Monitoring Snowline Dynamics on Norwegian Glaciers Using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Data	Ben Robson	Liss Andreassen (NVE)
Changes in Surface Characteristics of Glaciers in Jotunheimen	Ben Robson	Liss Andreassen (NVE)
Reconstructing Glacier Change at Gråsubreen and Gråsusnippen, Jotunheimen	Ben Robson	Liss Andreassen (NVE)
Reconstructing deep ocean temperatures from past greenhouse climate states	Victoria Taylor	Nele Meckler
Sensitivity of carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to dissolution	Victoria Taylor	Nele Meckler
Traces of common era Atlantic storms, eruptions, and floods captured by Azorean lake sediments	Willem van der Bilt	Pedro Raposeiro (Universidade dos Açores)
Mapping winter melt events at Folgefonna glacier with radar remote sensing	Ben Robson	Andreas Born
Novel approaches to assessing calcite microstructure and preservation of foraminifera and the implications for paleoclimate reconstructions	Nele Meckler	Leonardo Pasqualetto, Victoria Taylor
Climate reconstructions from glacier length records	Andreas Born	Jostein Bakke, Jarle B. Sleire
Assessment and understanding of the simulated Last Glacial Maximum climate	Kerim H. Nisancioglu	Chuncheng Guo (NORCE Climate)
The future of the Greenland ice sheet	Andreas Born	Tobias Zolles
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
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
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
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.

Master's student at GEO: an overview

This webpage is a resource page for Master's students at the Department of Earth Sciences, UiB. Here you will find important information regarding your master's agreement, guide lines for how to write your theses, how you master thesis is assessed, and so on.

Master's student at the NT faculty

Information about the start of studies for students in 2-year master's programs. Best of luck with your studies!

08.08.2025