Master Thesis Award – GEOLOGICA BELGICA LUXEMBURGA Scientia & Professionis

Dear Young Geologists, welcome to Geologica Belgica association !

We hope that you will accepted to present your master research thesis to our community. You will become a young member of Geologica Belgica for one year and the abstract of your presentation will be published in one of the next issue of Geologica Belgica journal.

For the presentation, you will have 20 minutes (15 minutes of talk and 5 minutes for questions and discussion).

Each participant can submit to Geologica Belgica an abstract related to his/her master thesis for being published in one of the following issues of Geologica Belgica.

The price for the best presentation of the Master Day is 250 EUR.

All the other participants will also receive a free membership for one year !

2024 Master Day in Gent (October 18th, 2024)

The 2024 Master Day meeting foreseen at the University of Gent on the 18th October 2024 was held physically and started at 1:30 pm..

Program:

13:30 Welcome word GBLsp and Department Geology UGent

Best poster and the best presentation given at the 8th International Geologica Belgica meeting 2024 (15 minutes talk + questions and discussion)

13:40-13:55 -> Best Poster Jolan Acke (KULeuven & UGent) – Petrography, microtextures and lithium distribution in deformed LCT-type pegmatites and their host rocks from the Musha-Ntunga area (Rwanda).

13:55-14:10: Best Oral Presentation Lore Vanhooren (ULB & UGent) – Phase one of the ERupT project: geo-electric monitoring of the Reykjanes geothermal field during the recent volcanic unrest in Iceland.

GBLsp Masterday 2024 (15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions and discussion)

14:15–14:35 -> Fien Jonckheere (UGent) - Refining chitinozoan biostratigraphy through the early and late Aeronian biogeochemical events on Anticosti Island.

14:35–14:55 -> Toon Van Assche (KULeuven) - Syn-to late orogenic fluid evolution in the High Ardenne slate belt (Belgium).

14:55–15:15 -> Daniel Kwizera (UGent) - Mineralogical, petrographic and geochemistry study of the Musha-Ntunga pegmatite mineralisation in Eastern Rwanda.

15:15- 15:30 Break

15:30–15:50: Jef Heyndrickx (UGent) - Overview of delphinoid (dolphins, porpoises and relatives) diversity in the southern North Sea during the late Neogene based on a morphometric analysis of ear bones.

15:50–16:10: Remi Stanus (ULB) - Contribution à la caractérisation de la minéralisation supergène du gisement Cu-Ag(-Pb-Zn) de Bou Skour (Anti-Atlas, Maroc).

16:10-16:30: Wolle Van Poucke (UGent) - Linking sedimentary earthquake imprints to ground motions in south central Alaskan lakes.

16:30-16:50: Soetkin Willemyn (KULeuven) - Melting behaviour in low-Mg planets.

16:50-17:10: Robin Cardinal (UMons) - Contribution of the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) at the exploration of phosphate sedimentary rocks. Case study of Hyon borehole 2, Mons Basin, Belgium.

The awarded 2024 Master student is Fien Jonckheere but the jury has agreed that all the candidates were extremely good in this event defending their topic. Second place Soetkin Willemyn (KULeuven) and third place Jef Heyndrickx (UGent)

2023 Master Day in UMons (October 13th, 2023)

The 2023 Master Day meeting foreseen at the University of Mons on the 13th October 2023 was held physically and started at 1:30 pm.

Program:

13:30 Welcome word GBLsp and Department Geology UMons

GBLsp Masterday 2024 (15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions and discussion)

The awarded 2023 Master student is Hanne De Lathauwer (UGent). Shared second place goes to Julien Govoorts (ULB) and Kimberly Demeestere (UGent). Third Place was for Lander Cuypers (KULeuven), but we decided only to mention three people at the venue.

2022 Master Day in KULeuven (October 21st, 2022)

The 2022 Master Day meeting foreseen at the University of Leuven on the 21st October 2022 was held physically and started at 1:00 pm..

Program:

12:50 Welcome word GBLsp and Department Geology KULeuven

GBLsp Masterday 2022 (15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions and discussion)

13:00 Inge Cools - KULeuven - Mineralogical and geochemical study of the Au mineralization at Imonga, Maniema (DRC).
13:30 Thomas De Baerdemaeker - UGent - The seismic architecture of a buried Pleistocene landscape in the Brown Bank region (southern North Sea).
14:00 Cédric De Meyer – KULeuven - Focal mechanism determination for earthquakes in and around Belgium based on P-wave first motions.
Break 30 minutes
14:30 Tobias Hendrickx – KULeuven - Determining diffusion timescales in olivine and preeruptive processes from a recent Flores (Azores) lava flow.
15:00 Justine Forestier – ULB - On the use of the machine learning algorithms for the automatically classifying cross-correlation functions.
15:30 Tégawendé Nikiema - UMons - Simulation of the development of a quarry in Tournaisis using the SURPAC software : case of the merging between Lemay and Antoing quarries.
16:00 Bastien Paternostre de la Mairieu - ULB - Correlation test between lithostratigraphy and karstic concretions (speleothemes) at the Grottes de Han-sur-Lesse (Rochefort, Belgique).

The awarded 2022 Master student is Tobias Hendrickx (KULeuven).

2021 Master Day in Namur (October 15th, 2021)

The 2021 Master Day meeting foreseen at the University of Namur on the 15th October 2021 was held physically with the applications of the covid rules.

Program:

13:30-13:50 -> Sharon Ellman (UGent) - Evaluating contact angle hysteresis in porous rocks based on micro-CT imaging data

13:50-14:10 -> Jacques Klassen (ULiège) - Variation in the long bones of true seals (Mammalia, Phocidae)

14:10-14:30 -> Basile Caterina (ULiège) - Sedimentary processes in straits based on outcrop analogue and oceanographic data in the rift of Corinth (Greece)

14:30 - 14:45 Break

14:45-15:05 -> Sharmaine Verhaert (UGent) - Evolution of the Andaman Basin: Geochronological constraints from its eastern (Myanmar) and western (Andaman Islands) margin

15:05-15:25 -> Jolan Acke (KUL) - W-Sn and Au vein-type mineralisation at Góis-Escádia Grande. A microstructural and geochemical analysis

15:25-15:45 -> Elise Dujardin (ULiège) - Mapping and modelling riverine sand mining at sub continental scale: a case study of India

14:45 - 15:00 Break

16:00 - 16:20 -> Iris Vancoppenolle (KUL) - The benthic foraminiferal response to the mid-Maastrichtian event in the type-Maastrichtian area (Maastricht-Liège region)

16:20 - 16:40 -> Gaëlle Wanlin (ULiège) - Mineralogical and geochemical study of sedimentation in Central Mexican crater lakes

16:40 - 17:00 -> Quentin Campeol (UMons) - Well logging signatures of the geothermal reservoir in Carboniferous carbonate of Hainaut and its cover based on Saint-Ghislain borehole data

The awarded 2021 Master student is Basile Caterina but the jury has agreed that all the candidates were extremely good in this event defending their topic.

Legends: [Photo 1] VP of GB Tim Debacker opening the MD thesis day, [Photo 2] Sharon Ellman (UGent) during her talk, [Photo 3] Jacques Klassen (ULiège) during his presentation, [Photo 4] Basile Caterina (ULiège) his Ma thesis, [Photo 5] Sharmaine Verhaert (UGent) during her talk, [Photo 6] Jolan Acke (KUL) during his presentation, [Photo 7] Elise Dujardin (ULiège) during her talk, [Photo 8] break session and refreshments, [Photo 9] Iris Vancoppenolle (KUL) presenting her Ma thesis, [Photo 10] Gaëlle Wanlin (ULiège) presenting her Ma thesis, [Photo 11] Quentin Campeol (UMons) presenting his Ma results, [Photo 12] all the Ma students that have participated this year, [Photo 13] the awarded Ma student Basile Caterina with the VP GB, [Photo 14] the Master students ranked at the three first places with the awarded student Basile Caterina of the 2021 Master Day.

2020 Master Day in Namur (October 9th, 2020)

The 2020 Master Day meeting foreseen at the University of Namur on the 9th October 2020 was held virtually due to the Covid19 sanitary restrictions.

Program:

13:30-13:50 -> Lore Vanhooren (UGent) - Monitoring salinity changes during tidal cycles using electrical resistivity tomography: a feasibility study

13:50-14:10 -> Laura Lemineur (UMons) - Application of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to gold-bearing quartz veins from Abitibi greenstone belt (Val d’Or, Canada)

14:10-14:30 -> Robin Glaude (Università di Bologna - ULiège) - Applicability of Uncertainty analysis to groundwater environmental risks through Fault Tree Analysis and Monte Carlo simulations

14:30-14:50 -> Martin Depret (ULiège) - Hydrogeological and mineralogical study of "pouhons" in the Stavelot-Venn Massif

14:50-15:10 -> Joren Celis (KU Leuven) - Volatile content in ocean basalts: Constraints from melt inclusions of the Pico volcano, Azores

The awarded 2020 Master student is Martin Depret but the jury has agreed that all the candidates were extremely good in this virtual event defending their topic.

The abstracts of the Master thesis of Martin Depret (ULiège), Joren Celis (KU Leuven), Robin Glaude (Università di Bologna - ULiège), Laura Lemineur (UMons) have been published in the following open access document: Jongerendag - Journée des Jeunes - 09|10|2020

Legends: [Photo 1] Lore Vanhooren (UGent) presenting her Ma thesis, [Photo 2] Laura Lemineur (UMons) during her talk, [Photo 3] Robin Glaude (Università di Bologna - ULiège) during his presentation, [Photo 4] Martin Depret (ULiège) presenting his Ma thesis, [Photo 5] Joren Celis (KU Leuven) during his talk, [Photo 6] and [Photo 7] the GB jury during the discussion and most of the virtual participants at this 2020 Master Day session and [Photo 8] all the Master students that have participated to this Master Day with the 2020 awarded Master Day Martin Dupret.

2019 awarded laureate

The 2019 edition of the Master Day held on 19.10.2018 at the Geology Department (UGent) was again a good edition. Seven students from the universities of Gent, Leuven, Liège and Mons presented there master thesis (see list below). The jury, composed of promotors and Geologica Belgica council members, concluded that the quality of research and the presentation skills were very good.

The laureate of the 2019 Geologica Belgica Master Day is Femke Augustijns – KUL for her Master thesis presentation on "Holocene Vegetation Reconstruction of the Zwarte Beek Catchment, Campine Area (Belgium). A Pollen-based and Multivariate Statistical Approach.”

List of the master thesis presentations:

Valentin Jamart (ULiege) - Characterisation of the Kačák event (upper Eifelian) and it’s effects on paleobiodiversity.
Femke Augustijns (KUL) - Holocene Vegetation Reconstruction of the Zwarte Beek Catchment, Campine Area (Belgium). A Pollen-based and Multivariate Statistical Approach.
Jérôme Roland (ULB) - Understanding the geological history of Mars by dating martian meteorites.
Antoine Scohier (UMons) - Improving a flow meter device for long term cave dripping monitoring.
Lotte Verweirder (UGent) - Tsunamigenic potential of submarine landslides on passive margins: Case study for the Irish margin.
Sarah Robinet (ULiege) - Hypoxia during the Holocene on the NW Black Sea shelf: geochemical proxies.
Samir Mohammad (ULB) - Fractures Roughness Analysis in Luxembourg Sandstone.
Stijn Albers (UGent) - Lake sediment records of late Holocene proglacial floods from the San Lorenzo Icefield (Patagonia).
Narimane Chatar (ULiege) - Disparity of the mandible of primitive sabre-toothed felids from the Late Miocene of Batallones (Spain).

Published abstracts in the Geologica Belgica journal associated to the communications presented at the 2019 ‘Master Day’ meeting in Gent

Historical listing of the past laureates

Note: no awarded laureate mentioned in the Miscellanea of 1990, 1991, 1992. A laureate is elected from 1993 onwards.

- 2018, 19.10.2018, ULiège
The laureate of the Geologica Belgica Master Day for 2018 is Valentine Piroton – ULiège for her thesis presentation on “Recent Landslides Evolution of the Maily-Say Valley in Kyrgyzstan by Differential Radar Interferometry and Optical Images Analysis.” List of master presentations:
- Benjamin Blykers – UGent : “Characterization of groundwater remediation using nanoparticles of zero-valent iron.”
- Daphne Guilbert – UGent: “Evaluation of the effect of the urban heat island in Ghent on natural building stones”.
- Lise Martens – KU Leuven : "Geochemistry of Nummulites as a proxy for Eocene paleotemperature evolution in the Southern North Sea Basin".
- Aurélie Martin – UMons : “Natural and Artificial Tracers in Unsaturated Zone. Application to Larzac karst”.
- Valentine Piroton – ULiege : "Recent Landslides Evolution of the Maily-Say Valley in Kyrgyzstan by Differential Radar Interferometry and Optical Images Analysis".
- Hadrien Pirotte - ULiège: "Experiments on metal-sulphur-silicate melts equilibria under the reducing conditions of Mercury".
- Flore Van Maldeghem – UGent : “The characterisation of unmelted Antarctic micrometeorites”.

- - 2017, 20.10.2017, KULeuven
  9 participants: Tim De Backer, Laurent Debout, Jef Decuypere, Catherine Demoulin, Michiel Giels, Marieke Paepen, Laurenz Schröer, Matthias Troch, Elise Kazmierczak. Laureate: Michiel Giels, KULeuven, Inorganic Polymers: Do metals in Fe-rich slag precursors jeopardize slag valorization?
- - 2016, 21 oktober, RBINS
  11 participants: Nachtergaele, Simon; Van Daele, Johanna; Wils, Katleen; Mreyen, Anne-Sophie; Bruneel, Yaana; Verbiest, Michaël; Beersaerts, Glenn; Jentgen, Benjamin; Barbier, Maxime; De Clercq, Shana; Wouters, Sébastien. Laureate: Yanaa Bruneel, KULeuven. Quantification of complex mineral phases using the PONKCS assisted Rietveld refinement.
- - 2015, 3 november, RBINS
  6 participants: Bram Paredis, Nick Janssens, Michèle Verhaert, Julie De Weirdt, Bastien Soens, Gerben Van Ranst. Laureate: Bastien Soens, (UGent), Petrology and geochemistry of the Crommyonia volcanic rocks north of the Saronic Gulf, Greece.
- - 2014, 17 october, RBINS
  7 participants: Elise François, Gert Ghysels, Jonas Boons, Marie Heeren, Yohan Cornet, Leonard Dewaele, Thomas Steeman. Laureate (ex aequo): Leonard Dewaele, (UGent), The first perinatal specimen of a saurolophine (Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. Laureate (ex aequo): Thomas Steeman, (UGent), Chitinozoan and δ13Ccarb biochemostratigraphy of the Silurian “Big Crisis” record in the Long Mountain, Welsh Borderland.
- - 2013, 4 november 2013, RBINS
  11 participants: Augustin Dekoninck, Nicole Dilissen, Amaël Poulain, Steven Tesseur, Helene Jadot, Jeroen Van Stappen, Nore Praet, Tim Collart, Pauline Lamberty, Aude Cincotta, Alizée Roobaert. Laureate: Nore Praet, (UGent). Study of the Late Paleocene mammal fauna of Cernay (Paris Basin, France).
- - 2012, 5 october, RBINS
  2 participants: Niels Hulsbosch, Pieter Gurdebeke. Laureate (ex aequo): Niels Hulsbosch, KULeuven. Chemical fractionation of the Nb-Ta-Sn mineralised pegmatites of the Gatumba area (Rwanda). Laureate (ex aequo): Pieter Gurdebeke, UGent. Conchological differentiation in an ongoing radiation of Lanistes gastropods from ancient Lake Malawi: how adaptive is shell morphology?
- - 2011, 11 october, RBINS
  6 participants: Annelore Blomme, Wesley De Boever, Elien Depelsmaeker, Salvatrice Montalbano, Max Collinet, Thomas Salpeteur. Laureate: Annelore Blomme, KULeuven. Geological study of the Wommersom quartzite.
- - 2010, 1 october, RBINS.
  5 participants: David De Vleeschouwer, Tom Haerinck, Jorik Van Wielderode, Nicolas Seynaeve, Willem Vandoorne. Laureate: Willem Vandoorne, A study of the tectonic evolution of the Chuya-Kurai zone (Siberian Altai) by means of multi-method chronology.
- - 2009, 2 october, RBINS.
  11 participants: Laurent Fontaine, Rieko Adriaens, Marijn Boone, Stijn Bos, Geoffrey Cambier, Tim De Kock, Valentin Fisher, Tom Jottier, Bart Rogiers, Koen Vos, Leslie Descamps. Laureate: Stijn Bos, KULeuven, Petrel modeling of a 3D seismic survey for mapping and analysing sandstones in an Upper Carboniferous seal (gas storage site, western Campine, Belgium).
- - 2008,
  no junior Master day, due to the change from Licence (4 years) to Master (5 years).
- - 2007, 19 october, Palais des Académies, Brussels.
  6 participants: Dieter Brems, Friso De Clercq, Maite Van Rampelbergh, Stijn Glorie, Julie Dewit, Thomas Verleye. Laureate: Thomas Verleye, UGent, Holocene paleo-environment from the southwest Black Sea: a reconstruction based on dinoflagellate cysts and other palynomorphs.
- - 2006, 6 october, RBINS.
  6 participants: Ruben Snellings, Kenneth De Baets, Lies De Mol, Jan Hennissen, Robin Campion, Steven Goderis. Laureate: Steven Goderis, Ugent-VUB, Geochemistry and distribution of platinum group elements in the impact structures of Bosumtwi (Ghana, Pleistocene) and Gardnos (Norway, boundary Proterozoic-Paleozoic).
- - 2005, 7 october, Univ Liège.
  11 participants: Leen Coen, Lieven Machiels, Jasper Moernaut, Caroline de Meyer, Bert Van Bocxlaer, Maarten Haest, Guillaume Orban, Clotilde De Wilde, Hervé Van Baelen, Olivier Namur, Cassian Pirard. Laureate: Maarten Haest, KULeuven: Structural and mineralogical study of a Cu-Ag-mineralisation in the Kundelungu foreland of the Katanga orogen, Dikulushi, Katanga.
- - 2004, 5 october, VUB.
  7 participants: Florence Deroche, Aline Leblon, Kenneth Mertens, Nicolas Pirotte, Kristof Vlaeminck, Cedric Mabille, Michal Besse. Laureate (ex aequo): Florence Deroche, Ulg, A detailed paleoecological study around the time of the Boreal-Atlantic transition in lithalsa of the « fagne des Deux-Séries » (Hautes-Fagnes, Belgium). Laureate (ex aequo): Kenneth Mertens, UGent, Calcareous nannoplankton and dinoflagellates as environmental proxies in late Quaternary sediments of the Cariaco Basin (ODP site 1002, Venezuela).
- - 2003, 30 september, ULB.
  8 participants: Ben Dewever, Cécile Havron, Gille Mertens, Davy Depreier, Liesbeth Mariën, Elin Vanlierde, Ruth Beckers, Rozelien De Taeye. Laureate: Ruth Beckers, RUG, Comparison of folds in the Abbaye de Villers and Chevlipont formations (Ordovician), near the Abbey of Villers, Thyle Valley, Brabant Massif.
- - 2002, 13 december, RBINS.
  5 participants: E. De Man, F. De Vleeschouwer, L. Horckmans, F. Pacquay, A. Foubert. Laureate: Anneleen Foubert, RUG, A high-resolution palaeomagnetic study on Calypso-cores in Porcupine Seabight, SW of Ireland.
- - 2001, 27 september, VUB
  9 participants (Dominique Similox, Veerle Cnudde, Jan Vanmeirhaeghe, Griet Verhaert, Veerle Vandeginste, Bashar Baharak, Bernard Charlier, Sébastien Bertrand, Siska Valcke). Laureate: Griet Verhaert, KULeuven, Kwartsaders en dubbelzijdige mullions in de Lochkoviaanmetasedimenten in de Hoge-Ardennenleisteengordel (Bertrix).
- - 2000, 13 december, RBINS
  10 participants (Kudret Sahin, Joëlle Binon, Matsen Broothaers, Valérie Cappuyns, Hervé Van Achter, Thijs Vandenbroucke, Jimmy Van Itterbeeck, Bernard Mottequin, Stijn De Schepper, Marc Humblet). Laureate: Valérie Cappuyns, KULeuven, De speciatie van zware metalen en arseen in gecontamineerde bodems.
- - 1999, 15 december, RBINS
  3 participants (Anne-Christine Da Silva, An Smeesters, Gilles Van Rompaey). Laureate: Gilles Van Rompaey, ULB, Minéralogie et géochimie de l’altération du cratère de la Fossa, Vulcano, Italie.
- - 1998, 16 december, RBINS
  10 participants (Alistair Fronhoffs, Michèle Castiaux, Samuel Van Herreweghe, Nicolas Coussaert, Johan De Grave, Michel Bogaerts, Peter Van Roy, Peter De Geest, Wouter Heijlen, Ilse Kenis). Laureate: Ilse Kenis, KULeuven, Structurele en diagenetische studie van de calcietaders in de Givetiaangesteenten te Bettrechies, N-Frankrijk.
- - 1997, 10 december, RBINS
  7 participants (Julien Harou, Maarten Van Geet, Arnaud Pirson, Nathalie Van Meir, François-Xavier Devuyst, Patrick Degryse, Virginie Renson). Laureate: Patrick Degryse, KULeuven, Facies analysis and geochemistry of the travertine deposits of Başköy, southern Turkey, and implications for climatic changes during the Holocene.
- - 1996, 11 december, RBINS
  14 participants (Bénédicte Eggermont, Frédéric Hatert, Hans-Balder Havenith, Céline Rentier, David Bellino, Françoise Larangé, Bastien Wauthoz, Tim Debacker, Dimitri Damasceno, Kris Piessens, Cedric Corteel, Boris Dehandschutter, Kristof Callebaut, Kristof Schroyen). Laureate: Hans-Balder Havenith, Univ Liège, Structural analysis on the Egersund-Ogna anorthosite massif, southern Norway: strain associated with diapiric emplacement.
- - 1995, 13 december, RBINS
  11 participants (Blockmans, Janssen, Van den Driessche, Yans, Rijpens, Eeckhout, Leroi, Terryn, Vanhoof, Courte, Vanbrabant). Laureate: Ines Terryn, RUG, Etude minéralogique et chimique de poterie gallo-romaine et médiévale, provenant de la Belgique, du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg et de l’Allemagne.
- - 1994, 7 december, RBINS
  15 participants (Baele, Verheyden, Stas, Gobert, Poort, Matton C., Marchand, Verhaeren, Olivier, Claes, Timmerman, Derouane, Hemroulle, Moreau, Misonne). Laureate: An Marchand, KULeuven, Genesis of zebra-dolomites from the Verviers Synclinorium.
- - 1993, 15 december, RBINS
  10 participants (Van Lancker, Van Bavinckhove, Jardon, Kervyn, Hardy, Mannaerts, Matthijs, Caers, Matton P., Deville). Laureate: Herlinde Mannaerts, KULeuven, Geochemie van hydrothermale ertsafzettingen in het Guaymas bekken.
- - 1992, 3 december, RBINS
  9 participants (Karine Bolland, H. Dupont, Said El Fadili, David Lagrou, A. Pauquet, S. Philippo, J.M. Savino, J. Subires, S. Warny)
- - 1991, 5 december, RBINS
  7 participants (Geerkens, Catot, Van Overbeke, Laenen, Van Keer, Jaspar, De Kerckhove)
- - 1990, 27 november, RBINS
  10 participants (Bertrand, Helsen, Dumoulin, Lombardo, Javaux, Lips, De Craen, Ernst, Nzali, Mergeai)