Michael Bland, Ph.D.
Mike Bland is a research space scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center. His interests primarily lie in combining numerical models with planetary datasets to understand the thermal and tectonic evolution of ice-rich bodies.
Past and current research areas include:
- The mechanics of rifting in ice lithospheres (e.g., Ganymede and Enceladus)
- The formation of contractional features on icy bodies (e.g., Europa, Enceladus, Titan)
- Crater modification due to viscous relaxation (Enceladus and Ceres)
- Mountain formation on Io
- Differentiation of large icy satellites (Ganymede and Titan)
- Production of Ganymede's magnetic field
Professional Experience
Dawn at Ceres Guest Investigator
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Planetary Science, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ (2008)
BA Physics/Geology, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter MN (2002)
Honors and Awards
First Decade Award, Gustavus Adolphus College (2012)
NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (2007)
Gerard P. Kuiper Award, University of Arizona (2007)
Science and Products
Mars Sample Return HiRISE Mosaics for Terrain Relative Navigation
In order to support the landing and operations of NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) previously generated Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and orthoimage mosaics of the floor of Jezero crater. Over four years of operations, Perseverance has collected numerous samples while climbing the western rim of Jezero and has travelled beyond the extent of the...
Photogrammetrically Controlled, Equirectangular Galileo Image Mosaics of Europa
The Solid State Imager (SSI) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired more than 500 images of Jupiter's moon, Europa, providing the only moderate- to high-resolution images of the moon's surface. Images were acquired as observation sequences during each orbit that targeted the moon. Each of these observation sequences consists of between 1 and 19 images acquired close in time, that...
Filter Total Items: 34
No magmatic driving force for Europan sea-floor volcanism
The internal ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa is thought to be a prime candidate for hosting extraterrestrial life. Europa’s silicate interior may contribute to habitability via the generation of reactants through hydrothermal activity, serpentinization, or other geological processes occurring on or just below Europa’s seafloor. However, silicate melting is thought to occur at >100 km...
Authors
A.P. Green, Catherine Elder, Michael Thomas Bland, Paul Tackley, Paul K. Byrne
The Europa Imaging System (EIS) investigation
The Europa Imaging System (EIS) consists of a Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) and a Wide-Angle Camera (WAC) that are designed to work together to address high-priority science objectives regarding Europa’s geology, composition, and the nature of its ice shell. EIS accommodates variable geometry and illumination during rapid, low-altitude flybys with both framing and pushbroom imaging...
Authors
E.P. Turtle, A.S. McEwen, G.W. Patterson, C.M. Ernst, C.M. Elder, K.A. Slack, S.E. Hawkins, J. McDermott, H.M. Meyer, R. DeMajistre, R. Espiritu, H. Seifert, J. Niewola, Michael T. Bland, M.K. Becker, J. Centurelli, G.C. Collins, P. Corlies, H. Darlington, I.J. Daubar, C. Derr, C. Detelich, E. Donald, W. Edens, L. Fletcher, C. Gardner, F. Graham, C.J. Hansen, C. Haslebacher, A.G. Hayes, D. Humm, T.A. Hurford, Randolph L. Kirk, N.W. Kutsop, W.J. Lees, D.T. Lewis, S. London, A. Magner, M.A. Mills, A.C. Barr Mlinar, F. Morgan, F. Nimmo, A. Ocasio Milanes, S. Osterman, C.B. Phillips, A. Pommerol, L. Prockter, L.C. Quick, G. Robbins, J.M. Soderblom, B.A. Stewart, A. Stickle, S.S. Sutton, N. Thomas, I. Torres, O.J. Tucker, R.B. Van Auken, K.A. Wilk
The evolution of a young ocean within Mimas
The fractured, young surfaces on confirmed ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus suggest that ocean-bearing moons with relatively thin overlying ice shells should be easy to identify. Hence, the discovery that Mimas’ rotation state is best explained by an internal ocean seems challenging to reconcile with its heavily cratered surface. Previous studies have shown that an internal...
Authors
A. R. Rhoden, M. E. Walker, M. L. Rudolph, Michael T. Bland, Michael Manga
The inevitability of large shallow craters on Callisto and Ganymede: Implications for crater depth-diameter trends
Complex craters with diameters (D) ≥ 40 km on Callisto and Ganymede are shallower than would be expected from simply extrapolating the depth-diameter trend from smaller (D ≤ 40 km) craters. This unusual depth-diameter (d-D) trend, and associated changes in crater morphology, have been hypothesized to result from rheological transitions, including the existence of an ocean, within the...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Veronica Bray
Exploring the interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper
The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including...
Authors
James Roberts, William B. McKinnon, Catherine Elder, Gabriel Tobie, John Biersteker, Duncan Young, Ryan S. Park, Gregor Steinbrügge, Francis Nimmo, Samuel Howell, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Morgan Cable, Jacob Abrahams, Michael T. Bland, Chase Chivers, Corey Cochrane, Andrew Dombard, Carolyn M. Ernst, Antonio Genova, Christopher Gerekos, Christopher R. Glein, Camilla Harris, Hamish Hay, Paul O. Hayne, Matthew Hedman, Hauke Hussmann, Xianzhe Jia, Krishan Khurana, Walter Kiefer, Randolph L. Kirk, Margaret Kivelson, Justin D. Lawrence, Erin J. Leonard, Jonathan Lunine, Erwan Mazarico, Thomas B. McCord, Alfred S. McEwen, Carol Paty, Lynnae Quick, Carol A. Raymond, Kurt Retherford, Lorenz Roth, Abigail Rymer, Joachim Saur, Kirk Scanlan, Dustin Schroeder, David Senske, Wencheng Shao, Krista Soderlund, Elizabeth Spiers, Marshall Styczinski, Paolo Tortora, Steven Vance, Michaela Villarreal, Benjamin Weiss, Joseph Westlake, Paul Withers, Natalie Wolfenbarger, Bonnie J. Buratti, Haje Korth, Robert Pappalardo, Interior Thematic Working Group
Viscous relaxation of Oort and Edgeworth craters on Pluto: Possible indicators of an epoch of early high heat flow
Impact craters, with their well-defined initial shapes, have proven useful as heat flow probes of a number of icy bodies, provided characteristics of viscous relaxation can be identified. For Pluto's numerous craters, such identifications are hampered/complicated by infilling and erosion by mobile volatile ices, but not in every case. Large craters offer relatively deep probes of...
Authors
W. B. McKinnon, Michael T. Bland, K. Singer, P. M. Schenk, S. Robbins
Constraints on the composition and thermal structure of Ariel’s icy crust as inferred from its largest observed impact crater
The large graben-like troughs and smooth plains visible on the surface of Ariel are indicative of a period of high heat flow in the Uranian moon's past. High heat flows on icy moons like Ariel can also enable viscous flow that removes impact crater topography, a process called viscous relaxation. Here we use numerical modeling to investigate the conditions necessary to viscously relax...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Chloe B. Beddingfield, Tom A. Nordheim, Donald A. Patthoff, Steven D. Vance
Silicate volcanism on Europa’s seafloor and implications for habitability
Habitable ocean environments on Europa require an influx of reactants to maintain chemical disequilibrium. One possible source of reactants is seafloor volcanism. Modeling has shown that dissipation of tidal energy in Europa's asthenosphere can generate melt, but melt formation cannot be equated with volcanism. Melt must also be transported through Europa's cold lithosphere to erupt at...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Catherine Elder
How well do we know Europa’s topography? An evaluation of the variability in digital terrain models of Europa.
Jupiter’s moon Europa harbors one of the most likely environments for extant extraterrestrial life. Determining whether Europa is truly habitable requires understanding the structure and thickness of its ice shell, including the existence of perched water or brines. Stereo-derived topography from images acquired by NASA Galileo’s Solid State Imager (SSI) of Europa are often used as a...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Randolph L. Kirk, Donna M. Galuszka, David Mayer, R. A. Beyer, Robin L. Fergason
Improving the usability of Galileo and Voyager images of Jupiter’s moon, Europa
NASA's Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Galileo spacecraft acquired hundreds of images of Jupiter's moon Europa. These images provide the only moderate- to high-resolution views of the moon's surface and are therefore a critical resource for scientific analysis and future mission planning. Unfortunately, uncertain knowledge of the spacecraft's position and pointing during image acquisition...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Lynn A. Weller, Brent A. Archinal, Ethan Smith, Benjamin H. Wheeler
A global shape model for Saturn's moon Enceladus from a dense photogrammetric control network
A planetary bodys global shape provides both insight into its geologic evolution, and a key element of any Planetary Spatial Data Infrastructure (PSDI). NASAs Cassini mission to Saturn acquired more than 600 moderate- to high-resolution images ( 500 m/pixel) of the small, geologically active moon Enceladus. The moons internal global ocean and intriguing geology mark it as a candidate for...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Lynn A. Weller, David Mayer, Brent A. Archinal
Planetary science decadal survey planetary mission concept study report: Ceres: Exploration of Ceres’ habitability
Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target as an evolved ocean world with, at least, regional brine reservoirs and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system (in relative abundance), it is a representative of the population of planetesimals that brought volatiles and organics to the inner solar system. Situated in the Main Belt of...
Authors
J. C. Castillo-Rogez, John Brody, Michael T. Bland, Debra Buczkowski, Robert Grimm, A. Hendrix, Kelly Miller, Thomas Prettyman, Lynnae Quick, Carol Raymond, Jennifer Scully, Michael M. Sori, Yasuhito Sekine, David Williams, Michael Zolensky
Non-USGS Publications**
Bland, M. T. 2013. Predicted crater morphologies on Ceres: Probing internal structure and evolution. Icarus, 226, 510-521.
Bland, M. T. and McKinnon, W. B., 2013. Does folding accommodate Europa’s contractional strain? The effect of surface temperature on fold formation in ice lithospheres. Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 2534-2538, doi:10.1002/grl.50506.
Bland, M. T., and McKinnon, W. B., 2012. Forming Europa’s folds: Strain requirements for the production of large-amplitude deformation. Icarus,221, 694-709.
Bland, M. T., Singer, K. S., McKinnon, W. B., and Schenk, P. M. 2012. Enceladus’ extreme heat flux as revealed by its relaxed craters. Geo. Res. Lett., 39, L17204, doi:10.1029/2012GL052736.
Bland, M. T., McKinnon, W. B., and Showman, A. P., 2010. The effects of strain localization on the formation of Ganymede’s grooved terrain. Icarus, 210, 396-410.
Bland, M. T., Showman, A. P., and Tobie, G., 2009. The orbital-thermal evolution and global expansion of Ganymede. Icarus, 200, 207-221.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Mars Sample Return HiRISE Mosaics for Terrain Relative Navigation
In order to support the landing and operations of NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) previously generated Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and orthoimage mosaics of the floor of Jezero crater. Over four years of operations, Perseverance has collected numerous samples while climbing the western rim of Jezero and has travelled beyond the extent of the...
Photogrammetrically Controlled, Equirectangular Galileo Image Mosaics of Europa
The Solid State Imager (SSI) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired more than 500 images of Jupiter's moon, Europa, providing the only moderate- to high-resolution images of the moon's surface. Images were acquired as observation sequences during each orbit that targeted the moon. Each of these observation sequences consists of between 1 and 19 images acquired close in time, that...
Filter Total Items: 34
No magmatic driving force for Europan sea-floor volcanism
The internal ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa is thought to be a prime candidate for hosting extraterrestrial life. Europa’s silicate interior may contribute to habitability via the generation of reactants through hydrothermal activity, serpentinization, or other geological processes occurring on or just below Europa’s seafloor. However, silicate melting is thought to occur at >100 km...
Authors
A.P. Green, Catherine Elder, Michael Thomas Bland, Paul Tackley, Paul K. Byrne
The Europa Imaging System (EIS) investigation
The Europa Imaging System (EIS) consists of a Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) and a Wide-Angle Camera (WAC) that are designed to work together to address high-priority science objectives regarding Europa’s geology, composition, and the nature of its ice shell. EIS accommodates variable geometry and illumination during rapid, low-altitude flybys with both framing and pushbroom imaging...
Authors
E.P. Turtle, A.S. McEwen, G.W. Patterson, C.M. Ernst, C.M. Elder, K.A. Slack, S.E. Hawkins, J. McDermott, H.M. Meyer, R. DeMajistre, R. Espiritu, H. Seifert, J. Niewola, Michael T. Bland, M.K. Becker, J. Centurelli, G.C. Collins, P. Corlies, H. Darlington, I.J. Daubar, C. Derr, C. Detelich, E. Donald, W. Edens, L. Fletcher, C. Gardner, F. Graham, C.J. Hansen, C. Haslebacher, A.G. Hayes, D. Humm, T.A. Hurford, Randolph L. Kirk, N.W. Kutsop, W.J. Lees, D.T. Lewis, S. London, A. Magner, M.A. Mills, A.C. Barr Mlinar, F. Morgan, F. Nimmo, A. Ocasio Milanes, S. Osterman, C.B. Phillips, A. Pommerol, L. Prockter, L.C. Quick, G. Robbins, J.M. Soderblom, B.A. Stewart, A. Stickle, S.S. Sutton, N. Thomas, I. Torres, O.J. Tucker, R.B. Van Auken, K.A. Wilk
The evolution of a young ocean within Mimas
The fractured, young surfaces on confirmed ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus suggest that ocean-bearing moons with relatively thin overlying ice shells should be easy to identify. Hence, the discovery that Mimas’ rotation state is best explained by an internal ocean seems challenging to reconcile with its heavily cratered surface. Previous studies have shown that an internal...
Authors
A. R. Rhoden, M. E. Walker, M. L. Rudolph, Michael T. Bland, Michael Manga
The inevitability of large shallow craters on Callisto and Ganymede: Implications for crater depth-diameter trends
Complex craters with diameters (D) ≥ 40 km on Callisto and Ganymede are shallower than would be expected from simply extrapolating the depth-diameter trend from smaller (D ≤ 40 km) craters. This unusual depth-diameter (d-D) trend, and associated changes in crater morphology, have been hypothesized to result from rheological transitions, including the existence of an ocean, within the...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Veronica Bray
Exploring the interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper
The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including...
Authors
James Roberts, William B. McKinnon, Catherine Elder, Gabriel Tobie, John Biersteker, Duncan Young, Ryan S. Park, Gregor Steinbrügge, Francis Nimmo, Samuel Howell, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Morgan Cable, Jacob Abrahams, Michael T. Bland, Chase Chivers, Corey Cochrane, Andrew Dombard, Carolyn M. Ernst, Antonio Genova, Christopher Gerekos, Christopher R. Glein, Camilla Harris, Hamish Hay, Paul O. Hayne, Matthew Hedman, Hauke Hussmann, Xianzhe Jia, Krishan Khurana, Walter Kiefer, Randolph L. Kirk, Margaret Kivelson, Justin D. Lawrence, Erin J. Leonard, Jonathan Lunine, Erwan Mazarico, Thomas B. McCord, Alfred S. McEwen, Carol Paty, Lynnae Quick, Carol A. Raymond, Kurt Retherford, Lorenz Roth, Abigail Rymer, Joachim Saur, Kirk Scanlan, Dustin Schroeder, David Senske, Wencheng Shao, Krista Soderlund, Elizabeth Spiers, Marshall Styczinski, Paolo Tortora, Steven Vance, Michaela Villarreal, Benjamin Weiss, Joseph Westlake, Paul Withers, Natalie Wolfenbarger, Bonnie J. Buratti, Haje Korth, Robert Pappalardo, Interior Thematic Working Group
Viscous relaxation of Oort and Edgeworth craters on Pluto: Possible indicators of an epoch of early high heat flow
Impact craters, with their well-defined initial shapes, have proven useful as heat flow probes of a number of icy bodies, provided characteristics of viscous relaxation can be identified. For Pluto's numerous craters, such identifications are hampered/complicated by infilling and erosion by mobile volatile ices, but not in every case. Large craters offer relatively deep probes of...
Authors
W. B. McKinnon, Michael T. Bland, K. Singer, P. M. Schenk, S. Robbins
Constraints on the composition and thermal structure of Ariel’s icy crust as inferred from its largest observed impact crater
The large graben-like troughs and smooth plains visible on the surface of Ariel are indicative of a period of high heat flow in the Uranian moon's past. High heat flows on icy moons like Ariel can also enable viscous flow that removes impact crater topography, a process called viscous relaxation. Here we use numerical modeling to investigate the conditions necessary to viscously relax...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Chloe B. Beddingfield, Tom A. Nordheim, Donald A. Patthoff, Steven D. Vance
Silicate volcanism on Europa’s seafloor and implications for habitability
Habitable ocean environments on Europa require an influx of reactants to maintain chemical disequilibrium. One possible source of reactants is seafloor volcanism. Modeling has shown that dissipation of tidal energy in Europa's asthenosphere can generate melt, but melt formation cannot be equated with volcanism. Melt must also be transported through Europa's cold lithosphere to erupt at...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Catherine Elder
How well do we know Europa’s topography? An evaluation of the variability in digital terrain models of Europa.
Jupiter’s moon Europa harbors one of the most likely environments for extant extraterrestrial life. Determining whether Europa is truly habitable requires understanding the structure and thickness of its ice shell, including the existence of perched water or brines. Stereo-derived topography from images acquired by NASA Galileo’s Solid State Imager (SSI) of Europa are often used as a...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Randolph L. Kirk, Donna M. Galuszka, David Mayer, R. A. Beyer, Robin L. Fergason
Improving the usability of Galileo and Voyager images of Jupiter’s moon, Europa
NASA's Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Galileo spacecraft acquired hundreds of images of Jupiter's moon Europa. These images provide the only moderate- to high-resolution views of the moon's surface and are therefore a critical resource for scientific analysis and future mission planning. Unfortunately, uncertain knowledge of the spacecraft's position and pointing during image acquisition...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Lynn A. Weller, Brent A. Archinal, Ethan Smith, Benjamin H. Wheeler
A global shape model for Saturn's moon Enceladus from a dense photogrammetric control network
A planetary bodys global shape provides both insight into its geologic evolution, and a key element of any Planetary Spatial Data Infrastructure (PSDI). NASAs Cassini mission to Saturn acquired more than 600 moderate- to high-resolution images ( 500 m/pixel) of the small, geologically active moon Enceladus. The moons internal global ocean and intriguing geology mark it as a candidate for...
Authors
Michael T. Bland, Lynn A. Weller, David Mayer, Brent A. Archinal
Planetary science decadal survey planetary mission concept study report: Ceres: Exploration of Ceres’ habitability
Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target as an evolved ocean world with, at least, regional brine reservoirs and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system (in relative abundance), it is a representative of the population of planetesimals that brought volatiles and organics to the inner solar system. Situated in the Main Belt of...
Authors
J. C. Castillo-Rogez, John Brody, Michael T. Bland, Debra Buczkowski, Robert Grimm, A. Hendrix, Kelly Miller, Thomas Prettyman, Lynnae Quick, Carol Raymond, Jennifer Scully, Michael M. Sori, Yasuhito Sekine, David Williams, Michael Zolensky
Non-USGS Publications**
Bland, M. T. 2013. Predicted crater morphologies on Ceres: Probing internal structure and evolution. Icarus, 226, 510-521.
Bland, M. T. and McKinnon, W. B., 2013. Does folding accommodate Europa’s contractional strain? The effect of surface temperature on fold formation in ice lithospheres. Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 2534-2538, doi:10.1002/grl.50506.
Bland, M. T., and McKinnon, W. B., 2012. Forming Europa’s folds: Strain requirements for the production of large-amplitude deformation. Icarus,221, 694-709.
Bland, M. T., Singer, K. S., McKinnon, W. B., and Schenk, P. M. 2012. Enceladus’ extreme heat flux as revealed by its relaxed craters. Geo. Res. Lett., 39, L17204, doi:10.1029/2012GL052736.
Bland, M. T., McKinnon, W. B., and Showman, A. P., 2010. The effects of strain localization on the formation of Ganymede’s grooved terrain. Icarus, 210, 396-410.
Bland, M. T., Showman, A. P., and Tobie, G., 2009. The orbital-thermal evolution and global expansion of Ganymede. Icarus, 200, 207-221.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.