Background and aim of the research:
The Mossesund is an almost 10 km long and up to 1.5 km wide sound between the mainland and the island Jeløya in the northern Moss area, outer Oslofjord, Norway. Due to its enclosed nature, the vicinity of the city of Moss and the river Moss, the sound has been exposed to a number of human-induced pollution sources for decades (e.g., urban sewage, agricultural and industrial emissions, ship-wreck leakages). Several industrial outlets are reduced over the last 20 years, with the final closedown of Peterson Cellulose in 2012.
The master thesis will focus on micropaleontological and geochemical analyses of marine sediment cores along a transect from the outer to the inner Mossesund. Based on sediment organic carbon- and trace metal concentrations and accumulation rates in dated cores, the local pollution history covering the last century of the area will be determined.
Additionally, analyses of fossil benthic foraminifera in the cores will 1) illustrate changes in the degree of impact on the benthic ecosystem over time and 2) allow comparison between data on previously analysed surface assemblages from Hovind (1983) with present-day fossil 1983-assemblages from modern dated cores. The latter will provide a unique possibility to improve our understanding of taphonomic processes in recently deposited sediments.
By contributing to the assessment of the changes in the environmental status of the bottom sediments in the Mossesund during the past century, the proposed master thesis will be of interest to the local municipality.
Research methodologies and database:
The study will be based on the analyses of sediment cores along a transect from the outer to the inner Mossesund. The project will focus on the student’s analyses of pollutants, organic carbon content, and fossil benthic foraminiferal assemblages of dated sediment cores.
Learning outcomes:
The master student will be involved in field- and laboratory work. The student is asked to produce her/his own data and to describe and summarize the results in a scientific way. The student should be able to determine local ecological status changes over time in the Mossesund, outer Oslofjord (SE Norway), define its reference conditions, and link and compare the results with existing studies.