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Evidence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus revealed by Magellan radar

Nature Astronomy volume 8, pages 973–982 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

The surface of Venus has undergone substantial alterations due to volcanic activity throughout its geological history, and some volcanic features suggest that this activity persisted until as recently as 2.5 million years ago. Recent evidence of changes in the surface morphology of a volcanic vent has been interpreted as a potential indication of ongoing volcanic activity. To investigate more widespread alterations that have occurred over time in the planet’s surface morphology, we compared radar images of the same regions observed from 1990 to 1992 with the Magellan spacecraft. We found variations in the radar backscatter from different volcanic-related flow features on the western flank of Sif Mons and in western Niobe Planitia. We suggest that these changes are most reasonably explained as evidence of new lava flows related to volcanic activities that took place during the Magellan spacecraft’s mapping mission with its synthetic-aperture radar. This study provides further evidence in support of a currently geologically active Venus.

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Fig. 1: Changes in the backscatter in the western flank of Sif Mons.
Fig. 2: Changes in the backscatter in western Niobe Planitia.
Fig. 3: Topography from altimetric and stereo data.
Fig. 4: Panoramic three-dimensional view.

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Data availability

The Venus Magellan SAR F-BIDRs used in this work are available from the PDS geosciences node (https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/magellan/fbidr/index.htm). Magellan altimetry data were extrapolated using the Altimeter and Radiometry Composite Data Record, which is also available from the PDS geosciences node (https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/Magellan/arcdr/index.htm). Magellan Stereo-Derived Topography used in this work is also available from the PDS geosciences node (https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/magellan/stereo_topography.htm). The source data images used for this paper can be found at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10875314 (ref. 47).

Code availability

The data have been processed using Matlab. Codes are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We want to thank our collaborator G. Alberti for helping in processing Magellan radar products. G.M., D.S. and M.M. acknowledge support from the Italian Space Agency (Grant No. 2022-15-HH.0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università d’Annunzio, Pescara, Italy

    Davide Sulcanese & Giuseppe Mitri

  2. Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Geologia, Università d’Annunzio, Pescara, Italy

    Davide Sulcanese & Giuseppe Mitri

  3. Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

    Marco Mastrogiuseppe

  4. Link Campus University, Rome, Italy

    Marco Mastrogiuseppe

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  1. Davide Sulcanese
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Contributions

D.S. led the writing of the paper, conducted all the analyses and interpreted the geological and geomorphological results presented in this article. G.M. was responsible for the conceptualization of the project and the manuscript, provided support in manuscript writing and assisted in the geological interpretation of the data. M.M. provided support in the analysis of the data, particularly in the radar and altimeter data analysis, and the interpretation of the results pertaining to the radar part. He also contributed to manuscript writing, specifically in the sections related to the electromagnetic models and alternative hypotheses regarding the radar section.

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Correspondence to Davide Sulcanese.

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Nature Astronomy thanks Paul Byrne and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary Figs. 1–13 and Tables 1–4.

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Sulcanese, D., Mitri, G. & Mastrogiuseppe, M. Evidence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus revealed by Magellan radar. Nat Astron 8, 973–982 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02272-1

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