One of the characteristics of the surface of Venus, which is “younger” than that of planets like Mars or Mercury, is that it is dominated by volcanic structures. However, scientists cannot say whether part of this geological configuration is the product of remote or current volcanic activities.
The dense atmosphere of Venus, loaded with sulfur dioxide, the gas responsible for a greenhouse effect that translates into a higher temperature than that of the planet closest to the Sun, is a problem when exploring the surface from a distance and checking from Earth if volcanoes are still active.
Nonetheless, the scientific community has compiled a good deal of evidence to believe that Venus is volcanically active. Now a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal affirms this hypothesis. He himself argues that the Idunn Mons volcano has been active for the last thousands of years.
Eyes on the Idunn Mons volcano from Venus
The crater, about 2,400 meters wide and 201,168 (201 kilometers) long, was scanned by the Magellan probe’s instruments in the early 1990s. These observations were the driving force behind the recent study directed by Piero D’Incecco, from the D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, in Italy.
The researchers combined the images captured by the space probe with measurements from ESA’s VIRTIS spectrometer and laboratory studies. Surprisingly, they found three key pieces of evidence that support the theory of a volcanically active Venus.
First, surface observations reveal that the region around Idunn Mons features signs of overlapping lava flows. A part of it, it is believed, could have an unusually high temperature.
Laboratory studies, meanwhile, recreated the environment on the surface of Venus to understand how material on the surface is altered. The results help to believe that the volcanic structures surrounding Idunn Mons it wouldn’t be so old.
Finally, macroscopic atmospheric observations revealed that the winds of Venus slowed down more than expected in the volcano region. This would be the product of the heat radiated by recent lava flows.
With all of this new evidence available, the researchers conclude that Idunn Mons has been active recently. It is difficult to predict exact time ranges, but this could be from the last 10,000 years to “recently”.
The truth is that future missions will allow the volcanic activity of Venus to be studied in depth. On the one hand are DAVINCI + and VERITAS from NASA. On the other, the EnVision orbiter of the European Space Agency. They plan to map the planet’s surface at high resolution to detect changes in its surface. However, they are scheduled for 2030.