281-1 Assessing the Evidence for Active Volcanism on Venus: Current Limitations and Prospects for Future Investigations

Session: Petrology, Volcanology, and Mantle Plumes across the Solar System, Part II

Presenting Author:

Justin Filiberto

Authors:

Filiberto, Justin¹, Zolotov, Mikhail Yu.², Kohler, Erika³, D’Incecco, Piero⁴, Gorinov, Dmitry A.⁵, Bhiravarasu, Sriram S.⁶, Weller, Matthew B.⁷, Brossier, Jeremy F.⁸, Lopez Ruiz-Labranderas, Ivan⁹, Mason, Philippa J.¹⁰, Edmond, Jemila¹¹, Mari, Nicola¹², Komatsu, Goro¹³, Di Achille, Gaetano¹⁴, Garvin, James B.¹⁵

(1) NASA JSC, Houston, TX, USA, (2) School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA, (3) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, USA, (4) National Institute of for Astrophysics, Teramo, Italy, (5) Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, (6) Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad, India, (7) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, USA, (8) INAF/IAPS, Rome, Italy, (9) Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, ESCET-Departamental II-Desp 268, Mostoles, Spain, (10) Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom, (11) NASA Postdoc Program Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division (XI), NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, USA, (12) Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, Ponte P. Bucci, Rende, Italy, (13) International Research School of Planetary Sciences (IRSPS), Università d'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy, (14) INAF - Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo, Teramo, Italy, (15) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, USA,

Abstract:

One of the biggest unknowns about Venus is how volcanically active it is today. There have been recent tantalizing hints of current or very recent volcanism, but exploration of Venus has not had the sustained presence or focus needed to confirm the level of activity. Part of the issue is that unlike the Earth, Venus has a thick, omnipresent optically opaque cloud deck, which hampers observations of the surface. Further, surface pressure and temperature conditions, as well as exposure to a corrosive atmosphere, make even short-lived landed missions challenging. Venus is about to get a renewed exploration focus with multiple mission architectures launching over the next decade. Therefore, here we review what is know about active volcanism on Venus and highlight techniques and approaches that need to be developed before these missions arrive.

Our integration of research from different missions, laboratory experiments, and terrestrial analogs strongly suggests that Venus is volcanically active today. The best evidence for active volcanoes is at Idunn Mons, Maat Mons, and Aramaiti Corona where we have multiple overlapping datasets to compare. However, the rate of active volcanism is not constrained without more detailed and globally integrated data sets. Future missions must collect high-resolution imaging, repeat observations, radar polarimetry, evidence of outgassing, and high-resolution topographical data. Integration across different missions will be key to constrain the location of active volcanism, as well as the current volcanism rate.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-6511

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