Bachelor's Programme in Marine Geoscience
The Bachelor's program in marine geoscience is for you who have a passion for the sea. The earth is called the "blue planet" because more than 70% of the earth's surface is covered by the sea.
Are you passionate about the sea? Then the Marine Geoscience program is something for you. The Earth is called ”the blue planet” because about 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans. The marine sector has expanded enormously in Sweden and internationally, driven by the ”blue economy” which sees the oceans as a resource. The sustainable use of ocean resources requires knowledge about the oceans and sea floors. This has led to an increased demand for competence in global-regional-local questions regarding marine environments. Private companies as well as government agencies (such as the Geological Survey of Sweden and the Swedish Maritime Administration) show increased demand for competence in sea floor mapping and assessment of conditions for underwater installations and other activities, and their environmental impact in our seas and along our coasts. This program was developed to meet these needs.
In the program you study the oceans and sea floors, how they are structured and what they consists of, as well as the processes forming them and their development over time. You will learn how marine sediments are formed and where they occur, and how their chemical, physical and biological properties can be used to reconstruct the Earth’s climate and environmental development. Practical skills in marine geophysical mapping are taught together with geological sampling and processing of collected data to develop digital maps describing different aspects of the sea floors. Quantitative skills and knowledge in physics and chemistry are important for marine geoscience. Therefore, the first year gives a solid foundation by including basic mathematics, chemistry and physics in the education. The first year also prepares for the possibility of postgraduate studies in marine geoscience, as this also requires understanding of basic natural sciences.
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Programme overview
Year 1
Compulsory courses:
Geological Sciences, (15 credits) Autumn term*
Mathematical Methods for Natural Scientists, (15 credits) Autumn term
Basic Chemistry, (15 credits) Spring term
Physics for geosciences, (15 credits) Spring term* The course is included in the main area of the education
Year 2
Compulsory courses:
Sedimentary Systems, (7.5 credits) Autumn term*
Oceanography for geosciences, (7.5 credits)*
Paleoceanography and marine geology, (15 credits)*
Submarine geomorphology, (7.5 credits)*
Marine mapping and geodesy , (7.5 credits)*
Marine Geophysics, (7.5 credits)*
Marine Geophysical Mapping Methods, (7.5 credits)** The course is included in the main area of the education
Year 3
Independent project
Marine Geosciences, degree project, 30 credits
Elective courses 30 credit* The course is included in the main area of the education
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Meet us
In the picture Helen is documenting marine sediment layers in Sicily. Photo: PrivateHelen Coxall teaches courses on Palaeoceanography and Marine Geology, Sedimentology, Palaeontology, and leads several field excursions. She is Associate professor of Cenozoic Marine Micropalaeontology, a member of the IGV marine group and Deputy Head of Department.
The amazing layering of the sediments was caused by regular changes in the shape of Earth's orbit around the sun, which subtly changed climate, weather patterns and therefore the types of sediment that built-up.
Helen's research explores how Earth's ocean-climate system developed over the past 60 million years using the geological record of marine sediments and microscopic ocean fossils. This work provides important lessons on what we can expect in the future with ongoing global warming. Her fieldwork involves ship-time on ocean expeditions to take sediment cores from the seafloor, or coring and sampling of uplifted marine sediments now on land.
Christophe Dupraz teaches Geological Sciences, Biogeochemistry and Introduction to geomicrobiology. He is Associate Professor in geomicrobiology and the student counsellor for distance learning.
Our investigative journey will include the creation of a habitable planet, the understanding of plate tectonics and some of its consequences (Earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis), the making of rocks through the rock cycling, the functioning of World oceans, the notion of deep time and its translation in the rock record through stratigraphy.
The course Geological Sciences is an introduction to 'Earth System Science'. Through lectures, laboratories, practicum, and a one-week field trip, we aim to illustrate and explain processes that shaped our planet from deep time to our modern world. We will also show how geochemical energy fuels ecosystems on Earth through element cycling and how those cycles control our economic resources. It will also help to understand how human activity influences climate change. The course illustrates the interaction and synergy between the various research fields in the earth science departments.
Malin Kylander is Associate professor of Sediment Geochemistry. She is also the Director of PhD Studies as well as course director for the BSc course Sedimentary Systems and the Masters courses Climate Change Throughout Earth’s History and Paleoclimatology.
In Sedimentary Systems we explore what happens to sediments as they move from their source to their eventual sink and how this is preserved in the sedimentary rock record.
In the field component of this course we travel to Västergötland, one of the few places in Sweden with sedimentary rocks. We will take a look at, among other things, the fascinating sequence of rocks laid down over 130 million years between the Cambrian and the Silurian.
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Contact
If you have questions don't hesitate to contact:
Student counsellor
Elisabeth Däcker, elisabeth.dacker@geo.su.seDirector of BSc program on-site
Richard Gyllencreutz, richard.gyllencreutz@geo.su.se
