MSc thesis project advertisement
Names of the supervisors: Alexander Eiler (UiO), Christine Riis-Pedersen (UiO), Dag O. Hessen (UiO)
Preferred project period: September 2025 – June 2027
Background
Lakes are hot-spots for processing terrestrially fixed carbon to carbon dioxide and methane, and by this they contribute substantially to the global release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. This GHG release constitutes very important feedbacks to climate warming, implying that a substantial fraction of CO2 fixed by terrestrial photosynthesis is shunted back to the atmosphere primarily by microbial activity in lakes.
Lakes with anoxic deep-waters, and in particular permanently stratified (meromictic) lakes, are expected to become more prevalent due to various anthropogenic drivers. This so called meromixis is suggested to increase the production of GHGs due to constant anaerobic deep-waters, however, due to gaps in our knowledge about methane cycling in these meromictic lakes their contribution and future trajectories for GHG emissions to the atmosphere are not well defined.
Project description
In this project, the student(s) will quantify the production and consumption of GHG methane based on field-work and incubation experiments. The student will collect and analyze dissolved gases, use stable isotope tracer experiments and spectroscopic methods to disentangle the methane cycle in lakes around Oslo. This project offers a very interesting opportunity to link metabolic insights to fundamental ecosystem properties with high relevance for climate.
Learning outcomes
In addition to critical thinking and report writing, the student will develop skills in experimental design and laboratory work, particularly stable isotope and multivariate analysis. The project includes laboratory work at UiO and NMBU. Sampling and field work will be performed in selected lakes in the vicinity of Oslo, accompanied by supervisors.
What we offer
We offer an inclusive and stimulating research environment where the student is encouraged to join the research group activities and engage with other students and researchers in the group. This work will be part of the BioGov project “Biogeochemical processes governing boreal carbon cycling” https://www.mn.uio.no/cba/english/research/
If you are interested
Please send us a brief description of yourself and of your motivation for this project (max 500 words).
alexander.eiler@ibv.uio.no, christine.riis-pedersen@ibv.uio.no or d.o.hessen@mn.uio.no