Venus has at least 37 recently-active volcanoes

It was previously thought that the planet had cooled down too much to show volcanic activity.

By Jason Goodyer
25th July, 2020 at 12:00

Venus is home to at least 37 recently-active volcanic structures, a study by researchers at the University of Maryland and the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich has found. It is the first evidence that the interior of the planet is still geologically active.

Previous studies have found evidence of a warm interior and ring-like structures known as coronae, which form when plumes of hot material deep inside the planet rise through the mantle layer and crust in a manner similar to the way mantle plumes formed the volcanic Hawaiian Islands.

However, it was thought that they were signs of ancient activity, and that the planet had cooled enough to slow down geological activity in the planet’s interior and harden the crust so much that any warm material from deep inside would not be able to puncture through.

In the new study, the researchers created models of the thermal activity beneath the surface of Venus to create high-resolution, 3D simulations of coronae formation. They then used these to identify features that are present only in recently-active coronae and looked for similar structures on the surface of Venus.

More:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/venus-has-at-least-37-recently-active-volcanoes/