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5h ago

New 3D Models Show Venus Likely Still Undergoing Tectonic Rifting

A Nature Geoscience paper argues that rift shapes and simulated widening rates point to recent or ongoing interior movement and that targeted observations can confirm it.

Image
Image
This hemispheric view of Venus was created using radar observations, including images from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft. Magellan imaged more than 98% of Venus. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar. The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Magellan launched on May 4, 1989, and was deployed from the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 5, 1989. The spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until October 13, 1994 when the spacecraft was commanded to plunge into the atmosphere of Venus. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / USGS.

Overview

  • An ETH Zurich study published July 24 in Nature Geoscience used a high-resolution three-dimensional model to argue that many Venusian rifts are young or still active.
  • The models show that broad, elevated rift flanks form when rifts are recently active and that those flanks relax and flatten quickly once movement stops.
  • Simulations indicate rifts can widen at roughly 3 to 10 centimetres per year and that individual rift systems can span thousands of kilometres, up to about 10,000 km.
  • The study’s predicted flank shapes match radar images from NASA’s 1990s Magellan mission, giving observational support but not yet direct proof of current motion.
  • Confirming active rifting will require new radar, altimetry, thermal, or in‑situ data from planned orbital and lander missions such as ESA’s EnVision and future NASA efforts, and the result would change how scientists read rocky-planet evolution.