EPSC Abstracts
Vol. 18, EPSC-DPS2025-1303, 2025, updated on 09 Jul 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1303
EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Lateral variations in lithospheric thickness linked to the spatial density of volcanoes on the volcanic plains of Venus
Ignacio Romeo1, Alberto Jiménez-Díaz2, Marina Mendiburu-Eliçabe3, Isabel Egea-González4, Rebecca Hahn5, Paul Byrne5, Julia Álvarez-Lozano1, and Javier Ruiz1
Ignacio Romeo et al.
  • 1Dpt. Geodinámica Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Univ. Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (iromeobr@ucm.es)
  • 2Dpt. Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Univ. Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
  • 3Dpt. Estadística e Investigación Operativa. Univ. Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  • 4Dpt.Física Aplicada, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
  • 5Dpt. Earth, Enviromental and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA

Venus, a planet that is 95% the size of Earth with a probably similar composition and internal energy, still has a debated mechanism of cooling along its geodynamical history1-6 . The volcanic plains, covering 77% of the planet’s surface, probably hold the clues to understand the current geodynamical regime. Proposed evolutions include: (1) mantle convection with episodic lithospheric overturns5,6,7, (2) global volcanic resurfacing driven by a transition from mobile to stagnant lid2, (3) a “plutonic squishy lid” regime8 allowing the observed lateral movement of lithospheric blocks9, or (4) a “deformable episodic lid” regime producing lithospheric overturns with a mobile lithosphere between them6, among others.

We have performed a statistical analysis of the effective elastic lithospheric thickness (Te), the internal load factor (F) and the crustal thickness (Tc)10 using data from the volcanic plains. We found that the lithosphere of the volcanic plains is not spatially homogeneous, containing three provinces with statistically different properties. One province (the so-called BAT region), shaped by active plumes and rifts systems, has a relatively thick crust, and exhibits a wide range of effective elastic lithospheric thickness (Te). The lithosphere of the remaining volcanic plains (61% of the surface) displays a dichotomous nature, with the northern plains showing a thinner lithosphere than the southern plains. There is a strong correlation between volcano spatial density11 and the units obtained from the geophysical data. The northern plains, characterized by a thin lithosphere, feature twice the number of volcanoes per unit area compared to the southern plains.

These global-scale differences in the Venus lithosphere imply a complex geodynamical regime, with significant lateral variations in the mechanical properties and the involved geodynamical processes. The geodynamical models of mantle convection and planetary evolution, has to take into account that the lithosphere of Venus is heterogeneous and presents strong lateral variations.

 

References

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8. Lourenço, D. L., Rozel, A. B., Ballmer, M. D., & Tackley, P. J. Plutonic‐squishy lid: A new global tectonic regime generated by intrusive magmatism on Earth‐like planets. G3 21(4), e2019GC008756 (2020).

9. Byrne, P. K., Ghail, R. C., Şengör, A. C., James, P. B., Klimczak, C., & Solomon, S. C. A globally fragmented and mobile lithosphere on Venus. PNAS, 118(26), e2025919118 (2021).

10. Jiménez-Díaz, A., Ruiz, J., Kirby, J. F., Romeo, I., Tejero, R., & Capote, R. Lithospheric structure of Venus from gravity and topography. Icarus 260, 215-231 (2015).

11. Hahn, R. M., & Byrne, P. K. A morphological and spatial analysis of volcanoes on Venus. J. Geophys. Res. 128(4), e2023JE007753 (2023).

 

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación through the research project PID2022-140686NB-I00 (MARVEN) and grant PR3/23-30839 (GEOMAVE), funded by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

How to cite: Romeo, I., Jiménez-Díaz, A., Mendiburu-Eliçabe, M., Egea-González, I., Hahn, R., Byrne, P., Álvarez-Lozano, J., and Ruiz, J.: Lateral variations in lithospheric thickness linked to the spatial density of volcanoes on the volcanic plains of Venus, EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025, Helsinki, Finland, 7–12 Sep 2025, EPSC-DPS2025-1303, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1303, 2025.