Mr Alistair Blance

2021 - Present: PhD Student, The Open University 

2015 - 2020: Integrated Master's in Geology with Planetary Science, The University of Manchester

I am a second year postgraduate student in the Planetary Environments Research Group at the Open University. I am currently working on a geological map of the H11 Discovery quadrangle of Mercury, part of a series of maps aiming to cover Mercury globally at 1:3,000,000 scale, in preparation for the BepiColombo mission. I am particularly interested in the Chaotic terrain within this quadrangle. Additionally, my research concerns impact cratering. I am currently investigating flows around craters, including both landslides and impact ejecta flows.

Conference Apperances

• LPSC 2023 – “Far Greater Population of Flow Deposits Around Mercurian Impact Craters than Previously Known” Talk. Abstract #2322. https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2023/pdf/2322.pdf
• MExAG 2023 – “Mercury's Chaos Terrain Revisited” Poster.
• EPSC 2022 – “A Global Survey of Mercury for Ejecta Flows: Investigating their Origins, Prevalence, and Significance” Blance, A.J. et al. (2022) Europlanet Science Congress 2022, Granada, Spain, EPSC2022-728, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2022-728 
• BPSC 2022 – “Mapping Mercury's Discovery Quadrangle” Poster.
• BPSC 2022 – “Ejecta Flows on Mercury: Prevalence, Significance, and Timing of Emplacement” Talk.
• Mercury 2022, Orléans – “Prevalence and Significance of Ejecta Flows on Mercury: A Global Survey” Talk.
• MExAG 2022 – “Newly Recognised Ejecta Flows at Flaiano, a Crater with Numerous Volatile-Related Features” Online talk.
• LPSC 2020 – “Searching for Impact Melt in the Ejecta of Occator Crater, Ceres” Blance A.J. et al. (2020) LPSC 51st, Abstract #2963.