Volcanism and resurfacing on venus at the full resolution of Magellan SAR data

Abstract

We examine the importance of localized volcanism in resurfacing on Venus by analyzing the results of geologic mapping of a 12° × 12° area at the full resolution of Magellan SAR data. Resurfacing due to corona-, ridge-, and small volcano-related volcanism accounts for 27%, 6%, and 10% respectively of the mapped area. Mapping at the resolution of Magellan data, rather than a regional scale, gives corona-related flow unit areas that can differ individually by almost an order of magnitude, with a total increase of 28%, and more than three times as many identifiable units. A total of 2919 small volcanoes or vents less than 10 km in diameter were identified in the F-Map, with a mean diameter of 1.59 (s.d. = 1.08) km and densities of up to 36 small volcanoes per 50 km 2. Taken together, coronae, ridge eruptions, and small volcanoes probably make a significant contribution to resurfacing on Venus. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.