Subjects for MSc Theses

On this site, we publish available topics for MSc theses in Glaciology, Geomorphodynamics & Geochronology. If you do not find your preferred topic here, please contact one of our staff members (on H, J, K and L floor) or Prof. Dr. Wilfried Haeberli.

Currently running MSc/Diploma theses

Available topics

Please note: The following list of suggested topics is in English and German, therefore the MSc thesis can be written either in English or in German.

• Geomorphology of Val Tasna/Val Urschai as backdrop for recent archeological findings (contact: Prof. Dr. Max Maisch & Dr. Susan Ivy-Ochs)
• natural hazards in mountains (contact: Dr. Christian Huggel)
• climate change impacts and adaptation (contact: Dr. Christian Huggel)
• Gletscher Massenbilanzmessungen - Vergleich direkt glaziologischer mit geodätischer Methode. (Kontakt: Dr. Michael Zemp)
• Analyse regionaler Gletscheränderungen basierend auf verfügbaren Monitoringdaten. (Kontakt: Dr. Michael Zemp)
• Untersuchung der Gletscheränderungen im Langtang, Nepal, basierend auf DTM-Analysen. (Kontakt: Dr. Michael Zemp)
• Blockgletscher - von der Kinematik zur Dynamik (Kontakt: Dr. Isabelle Gärtner-Roer)
• Alpine Solifluktionprozesse (Kontakt: Dr. Isabelle Gärtner-Roer)
• Temperature dependent dilatation of rock fractures; the role of freeze thaw processes in fractured rock (contact: Andi Hasler)
• GIS segmentation of mountain landscapes for cryosphere modeling (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Sub-grid cryosphere computation schemes for steep mountains (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Comparing spatial energy balance model results with thermal infrared remote sensing images (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Thermal re-analysis of rock fall originating from permafrost zones (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• The thermal effect of thin and intermittent snow cover in large rock walls (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Investigating near-surface thermal phenomena using a handheld thermal infrared camera (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Delineating temperate and cold firn in hanging glaciers using GPR and temperature measurements (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Spatially-distributed measurements of near-surface temperatures using a large number of very small data loggers (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Studying rock fall and/or snow cover in large rock walls using remotely controlled high-resolution cameras (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Factors governing the distribution of mountain permafrost – literature review and homogenization of evidence (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Ablation of debris-covered glaciers – model simulations and measurements (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Diverse topics on sensitivity analyses and numerical experiments using cryosphere models (contact: Dr. Stephan Gruber)
• Reconstruction of the geomorphic surface and erosion rates during the last 1 Ma in the Wind River Range (Rocky Mountains) using GIS (contact: Prof. Dr. Markus Egli; strong collaboration with the Northern University of Iowa, USA, is foreseen) (further info (PDF, 4.1 Mb))
• Moorbildung als Spiegelbild von Erosions- und Bodenbildungsphasen (contact: Prof. Dr. Markus Egli; enge Zusammenarbeit mit der Dienststelle Umwelt und Energie des Kt. Luzerns) (further info (PDF, 1.7 Mb))
• Birkensterben am Ätna: Beziehung zwischen dem Vorkommen an Betula aetnensis und Bodeneigenschaften (Prof. Dr. Markus Egli in Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. Raimondi, Universität Palermo) (further info (PDF, 4.8 Mb))
• Landschaftsentwicklung der oberen Leventina: Datierung einer “mysteriösen” Rutschung (contact: Prof. Dr. Markus Egli) (further infos (PDF, 228 Kb))
• Charakterisierung (Identifikation) und Datierung von Holzkohlen in Böden des Val di Peio (Trentino, Italien) (contact: Prof. Dr. Markus Egli)
• Dating of moraine depositions in the proglacial area of Morteratsch using relative and numerical dating methods (contact: Prof. Dr. Markus Egli)
• Anwendungen der Dendrochronologie: verschiedene Tehmenangebote auf der Homepage von Prof. Dr. Klaus Felix Kaiser --> link "Masterarbeiten" auf der linken Seite (Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Felix Kaiser)
• Dendrochronologie: Weiterentwicklung der spätglazialen Föhrenchronologien westlich der Alpen (pdf (PDF, 77 Kb) Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Felix Kaiser)
• Dendrochronologie: Weiterentwicklung der spätglazialen Föhrenchronologien nördlich der Alpen (pdf (PDF, 77 Kb) Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Felix Kaiser)
• The impact of increasing frequency and intensity of drought on tree-ring growth in the Mediterranean. (contact: Dr. Paolo Cherubini)
• Reconstructing glaciers mass balances using high-elevation tree rings in the Central Alps. (contact: Dr. Paolo Cherubini)
• Tree-ring physiology: exploring the black box between genomics and wood cells. (contact: Dr. Paolo Cherubini)
• Tree rings and water: How and where can dendroecology help hydrological research? (contact: Dr. Paolo Cherubini)