A map of Venus reveals details about the planet’s volcanoes

A team of scientists has created a map of the morphology of Venus, which details the 85,000 volcanoes discovered on the planet’s surface. The study was Published in the journal JGR Planets On March 24th.

The researchers identified several types of volcanic terrain that appear to be unique to the surface of Venus, such as large circular formations, structures with radial fractures along their circumference, and concentrated radial fracture clusters.

“This document provides the most complete map of all volcanic structures ever assembled on Venus,” explained Professor Paul Byrne, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

How was the map of Venus volcanoes created?

To create the cartographic representation of Venus, scientists used images collected by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft in the early 1990s. Using the information, experts identified and classified volcanic features and structures on Venus, which have different sizes.

The new research reveals the location and grouping of these structures on the planet, as well as compares their spatial distributions with the geophysical properties of Venus, such as the thickness of its crust.

Scientists have found that even with volcanoes on almost the entire surface of the planet, about 20 to 100 kilometers in diameter, this is likely due to the availability of magma and the rate of eruption.

Future missions to Venus will provide new high-resolution images that can help find these hidden mini-volcanoes.