Overview
- Researchers at ETH Zürich published a peer-reviewed study in Nature Geoscience in late July 2026 that used 3D thermomechanical simulations to reproduce large rift systems on Venus.
- The models match Magellan radar and topography at Ganis, Dali and Devana Chasma and produce wide, high rift flanks that imply those faults opened recently or are still opening.
- Simulated extension rates of roughly 3 to 10 centimetres per year are faster than earlier estimates and are key to forming the observed wide flank shapes.
- The best-fitting models assume a strong, dry mafic crust and show that rift flanks would flatten within tens of millions of years if extension stopped, which supports the idea of geologically young activity.
- The study does not demonstrate active eruptions and calls for EnVision and future NASA measurements of heat, volcanic gases, and fresh lava to test the models and search for direct signs of ongoing volcanism.