Geohazards and geo-engineering constraints related to upcoming offshore wind developments in the Norwegian North Sea
This Master's project was assigned to Jonathan Weberg who started the Master's program in Earth sciences, UiB, fall 2025. The Master's project is given by the research group Geodynamics and Basin Group.
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Project description
The glaciated European continental margins are home to a thriving offshore energy sector and densely inhabited coastal areas. These regions face numerous marine geohazards and geo-engineering challenges due to complex subsurface conditions shaped by large-scale geological and climate processes. The geological complexity of this area is among the highest globally, featuring dynamic processes such as distinct ice-sheet oscillations and sea-level changes, which have led to rapidly evolving paleo-geographic and depositional environments. Consequently, the soil conditions are highly variable and heterogeneous, both vertically and laterally, requiring meticulous evaluation for engineering projects, such as offshore wind developments.
This project will investigate the geo-engineering constraints and geohazards in development areas for future offshore windfarms in the Norwegian North Sea, focusing on the areas around Utsira Nord and the Peon gas discovery. For the thesis, P-Cable high-resolution 3D seismic data (available on Diskos), conventional 3D seismic data (available at UiB, agreement with CGG), TOPAS sub-bottom profiles collected by UiB, bathymetric of the region, as well as analysed shallow sediment cores and geotechnical boreholes will be analysed and integrated. Datasets and literature available from Sørlige Nordsjøen II, located in the Central North Sea, might be used for comparison. The goals are to (i) establish an updated, high-resolution seismic stratigraphy of the Northern North Sea, (ii) analyse the geo-engineering constraints and geohazards of the area, and (iii) reconstruct the paleogeography. The outcome of the project is (i) a register of geohazards and geo-engineering constraints of the offshore wind development areas, (ii) a paleo-geographic reconstruction with implications for the Norwegian Channel system and its glaciations, and (iii) a establishment of onshore analogues, including outcrops and modern glaciated landscapes.
Proposed course plan during the master's degree (60 ECTS):
1. semester: GEOV272 (10 stp), GEOV274 (10 stp), GEOV336 (10 stp)
2. semester: GEOV231 (10 stp), GEOV261 (10 stp), GEOV339 (10 stp)
3. semester: GEOV300 (5 stp), GEOV354 (5 stp), GEOV399 (20 stp)
4. semester: GEOV399 (30 stp
External data
All seismic data and well information are available for the project (see
project description)
Field- lab- and analysis
Interpretation of seismic data in the software Petrel and Paleoscan. In addition ArcGIS will be used to present