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Venus: Comparison of gravity and topography in the vicinity of Beta Regio
Author(s) -
Reasenberg R. D.,
Goldberg Z. M.,
Shapiro I. I.
Publication year - 1982
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 - 10.1029/gl009i006p00637
Subject(s) - venus , geology , gravity anomaly , geodesy , free air gravity anomaly , impact crater , anomaly (physics) , surface gravity , bouguer anomaly , orbiter , geophysics , physics , spectral line , astronomy , astrobiology , paleontology , condensed matter physics , oil field
The Doppler tracking data obtained from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter when it passed near Beta Regio yielded a peak vertical anomaly of 150 mGal when analyzed by our two stage procedure. A comparison of maps of the gravity and topography at comparable resolution shows a striking correlation. A scatter plot shows that the observed gravity anomaly is approximately 0.4 of that expected from uncompensated topography of half the mean density of Venus. However, the spectral admittance shows that the gravity anomalies can not be explained either by Airy compensation at fixed depth or by a model comprising an elastic plate atop an inviscid fluid. The gravity and topography variations may signify deep compensation or dynamic support for Beta Regio and more shallow compensation for other features.