Active Lava Flows on Venus Boost Urgency for Exploration
Recent lava flows observed on Venus indicate that the planet may be significantly more geologically active than previously believed, potentially rivaling Earth’s activity.
These geological processes, initially identified by the Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s, are likely still ongoing and will be crucial observation points for upcoming Venus missions.
Venus was once considered a “dead” planet with no recent geological activity. However, recent reanalysis of Magellan data has revealed strong evidence of ongoing activity, such as a volcanic vent that changed shape over eight months. Despite this, the extent of such activity remained uncertain due to limited direct evidence.
Reexamination of Magellan Radar Data
Davide Sulcanese from D’Annunzio University in Chieti, Italy, and his colleagues have now reexamined Magellan radar data, focusing on two areas: the northern volcano Sif Mons and the eastern plain known as Niobe Planitia.
They detected changes in brightness in the reflected radar signals over time, indicating areas where material likely expanded due to moving lava flows.
To confirm their findings, Sulcanese and his team had to eliminate other possible explanations, such as atmospheric interference or unintended changes in the spacecraft’s observation angle, since Magellan captured the same area only once every eight months.
After verifying the volcanic nature of the flows, the researchers calculated their properties, including the rate of lava production. Their lower estimates, 3.78 and 5.67 cubic kilometers per year for Sif Mons and Niobe Planitia respectively, are comparable to the average volcanic output on Earth.
Sulcanese and his team used these figures to estimate the total volcanic activity on Venus.
“According to this estimate, Venus could be far more volcanically active than expected,” says Sulcanese, suggesting its activity level is similar to Earth’s.
Key Targets for Future Venus Missions
These areas will be key targets for upcoming missions to Venus, such as NASA’s VERITAS and the European Space Agency’s EnVision, both set to launch in the early 2030s. “It’s likely these areas will still be active in the early 2030s,” says Sulcanese. “Geologically speaking, 30 years is like a few seconds for volcanic fissures.”
“This paper does strengthen the case for current volcanic activity,” says Philippa Mason at Imperial College London, a member of the EnVision team.
She notes that known sites of geological activity, like those identified by Sulcanese and his team, could be imaged at least three times during EnVision’s observation cycle, offering a much more detailed view of Venus’s interior and surface geological processes than Magellan provided.
“We still don’t know how these processes work,” says Sulcanese. “Do we have a single tectonic plate, microplates, or something entirely different from Earth’s plates? Studying this volcanic activity can help us better understand these mechanisms.”
Read the original article on: NewScientist
