Masters Projects

The following iC3 projects are now open exclusively to UiT masters students.

Please directly contact the relevant project supervisor for details.

Antarctic ice surface morphology and nunatak glacial geomorphology

Past and present ice sheet change in Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica) remains relatively poorly studied, and represents a data gap in constraining ice thickness changes. The landforms and deposits preserved on the numerous nunataks in the region represent record of past ice sheet extents. When combined with mapping of ice surface features, they can yield insights into patterns and processes of landscape evolution and their interactions with ice sheet change.

This project will focus on satellite imagery and digital elevation model-based mapping of glacial landforms and deposits on nunataks, and ice surface morphology in eastern Dronning Maud Land. The candidate should be familiar with the use of GIS (QGIS/ArcGIS) for the manipulation, visualization and interpretation of remote sensing imagery and digital elevation models, and be interested in glacial geomorphology/glaciology.

For more information about this opportunity please contact Henry Patton with a short email outlining your relevant interests, skills and experience. Co-supervisors: Monica Winsborrow (UiT) and Geir Moholdt (NPI).

Antarctic ice surface morphology and nunatak glacial geomorphology

Past and present ice sheet change in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctic remains relatively poorly studied, and represents a data gap in constraining ice thickness changes. The landforms and deposits preserved on the numerous nunataks in the region represent record of past ice sheet extents. When combined with mapping of ice surface features, they can yield insights into patterns and processes of landscape evolution and their interactions with ice sheet change.

This project will focus on satellite imagery and digital elevation model-based mapping of glacial landforms and deposits on nunataks, and ice surface morphology in eastern Dronning Maud Land. The candidate should be familiar with the use of GIS (QGIS/ArcGIS) for the manipulation, visualization and interpretation of remote sensing imagery and digital elevation models, and be interested in glacial geomorphology/glaciology.

For more information about this opportunity please contact Henry Patton with a short email outlining your relevant interests, skills and experience. Co-supervisors: Monica Winsborrow and Geir Moholdt (NPI).

How do terrestrial inputs affect Arctic coastal ecosystems? (several projects)

We need to build a batter understanding about climate change impacts from the mountains down to the coast to support of the development of more holistic integrated ecosystem-based management plans in Norway. There are several ongoing iC3 and Catchment to Coast research programme activities focusing on quantifying land-sea inputs and exploring the effects of these inputs on Northern Norwegian and Svalbard coastal ecosystems.

Potential topics for MSc projects include: Understanding transformation and fate of riverine inputs in the coastal zone; The role of riverine inputs as a driver for acidification of coastal waters; Effects of riverine inputs of nutrients on coastal primary production; Carbon storage and cycling in Arctic coastal and estuarine ecosystems.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in Arctic field work, and gain valuable experience in lab and experimental methods, data analysis, and scientific writing as part of a dynamic, interdisciplinary international project team.

For more information about this opportunity please contact Amanda Poste and Elizabeth Jones with a short email outlining your relevant interests, skills and experience.

Nutrient release from virgin land surfaces exposed by glacier retreat

As glaciers retreat in the 21^st century, vast expanses of new land will be exposed to sub-aerial physical and chemical weathering. This has the potential to transform nutrient cycling, altering the release of nutrients in rivers to fjords. Phosphorous (P) and silica (Si) are essential nutrients for life and are largely sourced from the weathering of crustal sediments. The input of these elements to fjords and marine ecosystems can influence the growth of phytoplankton and micro-algae, such as diatoms, which are the basis for the marine food web. Furthermore, reactive Si supplied from glacier flour contributes to drawdown of CO₂ from the atmosphere, and the quantification of silicate mineral weathering contributes to the understanding and prediction of annual greenhouse gas budgets of glacial landscapes.

This MSc project will be based in the Lyngen Alps. It will investigate the liberation of Si and P by physical and chemical weathering from sediments exposed by glacier retreat and their supply to rivers and fjords, employing the Polar MAGIC lab and Geo Labs in the Department of Geosciences. The project could take different directions depending on the interests and expertise of the candidate. 

For more information about this opportunity please contact Jemma Wadham with a short email outlining your relevant interests, skills and experience.

From plume to bloom: how do changing glaciers impact the productivity of downstream lakes and fjords? (several projects)

The export of suspended particles in glacial meltwater, “glacial flour”, fundamentally shapes the productivity of lucrative lake and fjord ecosystems by two opposing effects: while glacial particles are often rich in bioavailable nutrients (e.g. P, K, Si and micronutrients), their abundance in lake and nearshore fjord waters may inhibit primary productivity via particle shading effects. Rising glacial melt rates, ice retreat and proglacial lake formation will dramatically alter these upstream – downstream relationships, with implications for ecosystem services (e.g. fisheries). 

One or more MSc projects could be supported on this topic, drawing on lab/field-based and satellite remote sensing methods to track the evolution of glacial runoff, sediment plumes and productivity blooms in lakes and fjords on the Norwegian mainland, including local field sites in the Lyngen Alps. 

For more information about this opportunity please contact Monica Winsborrow with a short email outlining your relevant interests, skills and experience.

Glacier-front nutrient fluxes in Arctic fjords

When glaciers melt, they release large plumes of freshwater and sediments into fjords. Where the meltwater plume enters the fjord is crucial to understand its impacts: Melting from land terminating glaciers enters the fjord at the surface and sits like a dark stagnant lid on top of the fjord water, but when buoyant plumes emerge from underneath a tidewater glacier front, they vigorously mix with fjord waters and bring nutrient-rich deeper fjord waters to the surface. With tidewater glaciers on the retreat with global warming, this difference will become crucial to understand future coastal ecosystems response.

This project is at the intersection of physical and biochemical oceanography (ocean turbulence and inorganic nutrient cycles). Some familiarity with both is an advantage, but the scope, workload, and coursework will be adjusted to fit the student’s profile.

We offer an exciting data set (Svalbard 2016 & 2017, Greenland 2015) and opportunities to participate in a field campaign. The primary task will be to analyse observations including nitrate concentrations and turbulent mixing coefficients. The project is co-supervised at UiT, Akvaplan-niva, and NPI.

For more information about this opportunity please contact Philipp Assmy and Achim Randelhoff with a short email outlining your relevant interests, skills and experience.