Master Project Example - The relation between thermal springs and tectonics in mountain belts

Deep groundwater flow in fault zones is important for the deformation, heat flow and geochemistry of mountain belts. Studying hot springs is one of the few ways we can learn something about groundwater circulation in faults. We have recently compiled a global dataset of hot springs from the Alps, Pyrenees, Rocky Mountains and Andes and other global mountain belts. We can use this to answer interesting questions like, how much deep groundwater circulation is there in mountain belts, what depths does it reach, and which types of faults are open or closed to deep groundwater circulation? This MSc project aims to answer these questions by using statistics and GIS tools to compare hot spring data to publicly available geological datasets on faults, geological structures, seismic activity and stress. We will start with the Alps and North American orogens where we have the best geological data and will expand to other mountain belts, and compile additional data if required. The project will work with structural geology data and GIS software, and data analysis will be performed using Python.