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Active volcanism on Venus in the Ganiki Chasma rift zone
Author(s) -
Shalygin E. V.,
Markiewicz W. J.,
Basilevsky A. T.,
Titov D. V.,
Ignatiev N. I.,
Head J. W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064088
Subject(s) - venus , volcanism , volcano , geology , rift , lava , rift zone , impact crater , shield volcano , earth science , volcanology , radiometric dating , astrobiology , tectonics , geophysics , paleontology , physics
Venus is known to have been volcanically resurfaced in the last third of solar system history and to have undergone a significant decrease in volcanic activity a few hundred million years ago. However, fundamental questions remain: Is Venus still volcanically active today, and if so, where and in what geological and geodynamic environment? Here we show evidence from the Venus Express Venus Monitoring Camera for transient bright spots that are consistent with the extrusion of lava flows that locally cause significantly elevated surface temperatures. The very strong spatial correlation of the transient bright spots with the extremely young Ganiki Chasma, their similarity to locations of rift‐associated volcanism on Earth, provide strong evidence for their volcanic origin and suggests that Venus is currently geodynamically active.