Using archival data from a mission launched in 1989, researchers found new evidence that tectonic activity may be deforming the Earth's surface.

According to data collected by NASA's Magellan missionaries over 30 years ago, the vast quasi-circular features on Venus' surface may indicate that the structures on Earth constitute a continuous structure. On Earth, the surface of the Earth is constantly changing and recycled by the constant change and recovery of a large number of crusts (called tectonic plates) floating on the viscous interior. Venus has no tectonic plate, but its surface is still deformed by the molten material below.

To better understand the basic processes driving these deformations, the researchers studied a function called Corona. From dozens to hundreds of miles in size, corona is often considered the place where the hot floating material rises on Earth's mantle and pushes towards the lithosphere above. (The lithosphere includes the outer shell of the planet and the uppermost part of the mantle.) These structures are usually elliptical, surrounded by concentric fracture systems. Hundreds of coronary arteries are known to exist on Venus.

The new study, published in the journal Science Advances, details the new findings on the surface or under the ground of the Coronae, which shapes many Venus stars, features that may also provide unique windows to the Earth's past. The researchers found evidence of this tectonic activity in NASA's Magellan Mission data, which spins Venus in the 1990s and collects the most detailed gravity and topographic data on the currently available Earth.

"There are no coronary arteries found on Earth today, but before our planet was young, it existed before the establishment of plate tectonics. "By combining gravity and topographic data, this study provides new and important insights into the current underground processes that shape the surface of Venus." ”

As a member of NASA's upcoming Veritas (Venus Emissance, Radio Science, Insar, Terrain and Spectroscopy) mission, Cascioli and his team are particularly interested in the high-resolution gravity data that the spacecraft will provide. Study co-author Erwan Mazarico, also in Goddard, will co-lead the Veritas Gravity experiment no earlier than 2031.

Managed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Magellan uses its radar system to penetrate the thick atmosphere of Venus and map the terrain of its mountains and plains. Among the geological features, the spacecraft-mapped coronations are perhaps the most mysterious: it is unclear how they formed. In the years since, scientists have discovered many coronary arteries in locations where the Earth's lithosphere is thin and has high heat flow.

"Venus is abundant on Venus. They are very important characteristics and people have proposed different theories about how they are formed," said Anna Gülcher, an Earth and planetary scientist at the University of Bern in Switzerland. "What is most exciting for our research is that we can now say that there are most likely a variety of positive processes that drive their formation. We think these same processes may have happened early in the history of the earth."

The researchers developed complex 3D geodynamic models that demonstrate various formation scenarios of the feather-induced coronary artery and compare them with Magellan's gravity and topographic data. Gravity data proved to be crucial to help researchers find less, heat and buoyancy plumes under the surface, information that cannot be discerned from the topographic data. Of the 75 coronary arteries studied, 52 mantle material that appears to have buoyancy beneath them, which may drive the tectonic process.

A key process is subduction: on Earth, which occurs when the edge of a structural plate is driven under adjacent plates. Friction between the plates creates an earthquake, and when old rock material penetrates the hot mantle, the rock melts and recovers back to the surface through the volcanic vents.

On Venus, it is believed that some kind of bending occurs around certain coronary arteries. In this case, as the buoyancy plume of the hot rock in the mantle pushes upward into the lithosphere, the surface material rises and diffuses outward, collides with the surrounding surface material and pushes the material downward into the mantle.

Another tectonic process called lithosphere drip may also exist, in which relatively cool material sinks accumulate from dense accumulation in the lithosphere into the hot mantle. The researchers also identified several places where a third process could occur: a molten rock below the thicker part of the lithosphere potentially drives the volcano above the volcano.

The work marks the latest example of scientists returning to Magellan's data, finding that Venus exhibits a more Earth-like geological process than originally thought. Recently, researchers were able to spot erupting volcanoes, including huge lava flows discharged from Maat Mons, Sif Mons and Eistla Region from radar images from orbital radars.

Although these images provide direct evidence of volcanic action, the authors of the new study will need clearer resolution to draw a complete picture of the tectonic process driving corona composition. "Venus' Veritas gravity map will be increased at least two to four times depending on location, which is a detail that could revolutionize our understanding of Venus' geology and its impact on the early Earth," said Suthor Suzanne Smrekar, a research co-investor at JPL.

Managed by JPL, Veritas will use synthetic aperture radar to create 3D global maps and near-infrared spectrometers to find out what the surface of Venus is. Using its radio tracking system, the spacecraft will also measure the planet's gravity field to determine the structure inside Venus. All of these instruments will help determine the area of ​​activity of the surface.

For more information on NASA's Veritas mission, visit:

Ian J. O'Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
818-354-2649
ian.j.onel@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

2025-068