NASA discovers that Venus has a surprisingly thin crust – and something even stranger

Venus may not have tectonic plates like Earth, but it is far from geologically quiet.

According to the, a new model shows that its crust is surprisingly thin and undergoes dramatic transformations, breaking or melted in the cloak and potentially causing volcanic eruptions.

Venusoften called the Earth’s hottest twiceit may have a much more dynamic crust than scientists thought.

One, financed by NASA, reveals a Activity surprisingly Under the surface of this scorching planet, shedding light on how Venus may be remodeling from the inside out.

For a long time, scientists believed that Venus’s outer crust simply became thicker over time, since the planet does not have the type of tectonic plates we see on Earth, there seemed to be the way the coast will return inside.

But the new study suggests that something Different is happening. Instead of simply accumulating, parts of the Venus crust may be break or melt due to changes in pressure and density at the depths of the surface.

This process is known as metamorphism And it can be Key to understand how Venus remains geologically active.

On Earth, the crust is divided into large mobile plates that interact in its borders. These slow but powerful movements form mountains, pits and earthquakes in a process called the tectonic plates.

When two plates collide, more of this can be pushed down, to the cloak, in a process called subduction. As this plate sinks, increased heat and pressure alters rocks in a transformation known as metamorphism, which does not alter the crust, but also plays an important role in volcanic activity.

In turn, Venus has a crust that is a whole piece, without evidence of subduction caused by the tectonic signs as on Earth, explained Justin Filibertodeputy chief of NASA’s Research and Exploration Science Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston and co-author of the article.

The article used modeling to determine that the crust has an average of 40 km thick and, at most, 65 km.

“That’s it surprisingly thinGiven the conditions of the planet, ”said Filiberto.” It turns out that, according to our models, as the crust becomes thicker, the lower part, it becomes so dense that either breaks and becomes part of the cloak or gets hot enough to melt. “

Therefore, although Venus has no moving plates, his crust is metamorphism. This Discovery is an important step for understanding the geological processes and evolution of the planet.

“This break or melt can return water and elements inside the planet and help boost volcanic activity,” added Filiberto. “This gives us a new model of how the material returns to the interior of the planet and another way to form the washing and provoke volcanic eruptions. This redefines the field of acting of how geology, the crust and the atmosphere of venus work together“.

The next step, he added, is gather direct data on the Venus crust To test and refine these models. Several future missions, including Davinci and NASA Veritas and, in partnership with ESA, Envision, have the goal Study the surface and atmosphere of the planet in more detail.

These efforts can help confirm whether processes such as metamorphism and recycling are actively shaping Venusian crust today – and reveal how this activity may be linked to volcanic and atmospheric evolution.

“In truth, We don’t know how much volcanic activity exists in Venus“Filiberto said.” We assume it is a lot, and research indicates it should be, but we need more data to be sure. “