Venus and Earth are both rocky planets with similar sizes and rock compositions. That means both planets should be losing their internal heat to space at the same rate, a process by which scientists have greatly studied Earth. However, not much is known about Venus' heat flow mechanism.
According to SciTech Daily, the new research uses three decades' worth of data from NASA's Magellan spacecraft that has looked into how the hottest planet cools and discovered that tiny portions of Venus might hold the answer.
Losing Heat Due to Geologic Activities in Coronae
The study showed that Venus might be losing heat from geologic activity in its coronae, similar to early tectonic activity on Earth.
In Earth's case, its hot core heats the surrounding mantle, which heats up the outer layer of Earth, also known as the lithosphere. Then that heat is lost to space, cooling the upper region of the mantle that causes tectonic processes. However, Venus does not have similar tectonic plates, so it loses heat in a process that shapes its surface.
In the study, titled "Earth-like Lithospheric Thickness and Heat Flow on Venus Consistent With Active Rifting," published in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers look at the observations from the Magellan spacecraft. Researchers found that coronae tend to be located where Venus' lithosphere is at its thinnest and most active.
Suzanne Smrekar, a senior research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who also led the study, said that the scientists had been locked in the notion that the lithosphere of Venus is stagnant and thick, but their recent study reveals otherwise.
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What the Thin Lithosphere Tells Scientists
Like a thin bedsheet, a thin lithosphere permits more heat to escape from the planet's interior via buoyant plumes of molten rock rising to the outer layer, much as a thin bedsheet releases more body heat than a heavy comforter.
Phys.org reports that the study's findings and the geologic history of Venus support a squishy-lid convective regime that relies on plumes, magmatism, and delamination that increases heat flow.
If there is higher heat movement, there is usually more volcanic activity under the surface. The study identifies likely active areas where active geology sculpts Venus' surface.
The team found 65 unstudied coronae that are a few hundred miles across. They measured the depth of the trenches and ridges around each corona to determine the thickness of the lithosphere. They found that ridges are spaced closely in areas with more elastic lithosphere.
Using a computer model, they found that the lithosphere of each corona is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) thick. These sites are estimated to have more heat flow than Earth's average heat flow, which suggests that coronae are geologically active.
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Check out more news and information on Venus in Science Times.
