MSc by Research in Earth Sciences

This MSc programme offers the opportunity to do one year of research in Earth Sciences across all sub-disciplines including geology, palaeontology, geophysics, structural geology, environmental geoscience and applied geosciences. The programme is flexible to suit applicants aspirations, background and experience. The department houses an impressive range of facilities and services and is involved with a number of collaborative centres of research excellence that can be used to help support innovative and exciting research.

Applications are welcome at any time - there is no specific deadline.
We offer MSc by research projects across a range of sub-programmes.
The list of project in Earth Sciences is below

• Lifecycles of volatile landscapes: islands in the Brahmaputra River
  (Mark Allen, Chris Saville & Ken McCaffrey)
• What difference does climate make to structure and landscapes in active mountain belts?
  (Mark Allen, Chris Saville)
• Using a numerical model to evaluate volcanic forcing of millennial scale climate change.
  (Prof. James Baldini and Prof. Jeroen van Hunen)
• Reconstructing the geographical distribution of spreading centres throughout geological time to evaluate a possible role in triggering snowball Earth.
  (Prof. James Baldini and Prof. Jeroen van Hunen)

• Reconstructing monthly rainfall and temperature using stalagmites combined with a MatLab based statistical model.
  (Prof. James Baldini and Prof. Jeroen van Hunen)

• Rainfall simulation for green infrastructure hydrological performance assessment.
  (Dan Green)
• Hydrological functioning of plot-scale rain garden planters.
  (Dan Green)

• Stable isotope analysis of kelp ecosystems.
  (Darren Gröcke, Pip Moore (Newcastle))

• Nutrient mapping of agricultural soils in Cumbria.
  (Darren Gröcke)
• Assessing pathogen content and types in north-east coastal peracarid crustaceans.
  (Darren Gröcke, Jamie Bojko (Teeside))
• Characterising beer barley ecosystems in Scottish crofter farms.
  (Darren Gröcke, Mike Church, Tim George (Hutton))
• Hunting for a geochemical signature of permaforst in UK soils.
  (Cat Hirst, Jotis Baronas)
• Link between suspended matter composition and organic matter stability in high latitude rivers.
  (Cat Hirst, Jotis Baronas)
• Searching for ultra low velocity zones on the core-mantle boundary beneath the Aleutian subduction Zone
  (Dr Jenny Jenkins, Dr. Andrew Valentine)
• Seismic imaging of changing fault zone properties on the North Anatolian Fault near Istanbul
  (Dr. Jenny Jenkins, Dr. Patricia Martinez-Garzon, Dr. Marco Bohnoff)
• Microplastic distribution in Holocene sediments of the Alnmouth estuary, Northumberland.
  (Stuart Jones, Julia Knapp)
• The stratigraphy of an estuary: detailed sedimentological appraisal of the Alnmouth estuary, Northumberland.
  (Stuart Jones, Matthieu Cartigny)
• Subsurface voids and their sedimentology: implications for drilling into mines for heat!
  (Stuart Jones, Jeroen van Hunen, Leigh Sharpe)
• Warm, wet, and weathered: Using novel isotopes to quantify chemical weathering rates in a tropical volcanic island.
  (Jotis Baronas)
  
• Shifting sands and muddy waters: Tracing the source and provenance of river sediments in Southeast Asia.
  (Jotis Baronas, Geoff Nowell)
  
• Is the water getting younger? The role of climate and hydrology on river chemistry in Wales.
  (Jotis Baronas, Julia Knapp)
  
• Is climate change causing northern soils to rust? The impact of sulfur redox on soil chemistry in north Sweden.
  (Jotis Baronas, Catherine Hirst)
  
• Contact Jotis Baronas directly if you are curious about any of the topics above. Other projects based on student interest are also available - involving some combination of isotopes, river, soil, and rock geochemistry, weathering, and environmental tracers. Depending on the project and student interest, there may be opportunity for fieldwork to collect additional samples.
• Volcano Distribution in the Chaîne des Puys.
  (Profs. Colin Macpherson, Ken McCaffrey)
• Volcano Distribution in the West Eifel Monogenetic Field
  (Profs. Colin Macpherson, Ken McCaffrey)
• Reactivation and mineralisation associated with the Lake District Boundary Fault
  (Profs Ken McCaffrey, David Selby, Bob Holdsworth)
• Controls on faulted geothermal systems.
  (Prof. Ken McCaffrey, Dr Charlotte Adams, Prof. Jon Gluyas)
• Earthquake Detection and Forecasting with Machine Learning
  (Stefan Nielsen)
• Geophysical imaging of archaeological sites and deposit modelling
  (Stefan Nielsen)
• Preceding earthquake rupture. Where to expect it and how large is it?
  (Stefan Nielsen)
• Prof Christine Peirce - contact directly for projects on marine geophysical topics, including a student's own suggestion.
• Meteorite impact influence recorded within the Bay of Stoer Formation
  (Profs David Selby, Richard Brown and Bob Holdsworth)
• Tracking marine excursion of Baffin Bay during the Cretaceous.
  (Profs David Selby (Earth Sciences) and Dr Paul Knutz (GEUS))
• The dynamics of granite-greenstone belts
  (Jeroen van Hunen, Ken McCaffrey & Armelle Kloppenburg)
• The heat beneath our feet: modelling geothermal energy from abandoned mines.
  (Prof Jeroen van Hunen, Julien Mouli-Castillo)
• Finding hotspots and coldspots - mitigating climate change through land use
  (Fred Worrall)
• Capturing transitional changes in GHG fluxes following peat restoration.
  (Fred Worrall)
• After the sheep have gone - the impact of declining sheep numbers on the UK uplands.
  (Fred Worrall)

Entry: via application form here and following successful interview. For subject specific enquiries please contact the project supervisor, and for general postgraduate enquiries contact: earthsci.pgadmissons@durham.ac.uk.

Duration: 12 months [or 24 months part-time].

Entry requirements: 2.1 Bachelor's degree or above (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.

Assessment: research dissertation.