The group of international scientists from the United States and the Great Britain revealed the unexpected features of the Venus’s cortex – it turned out to be thinner than scientists than expected and exposed to processes similar to worldly metamorphism, although the plates were not tectons. The study was published scientifically magazine Nature Communication (Natcoms).
The team found that the average thickness of Venus’s shell was 40 km and maximum 65 km (for comparison: the world’s crust reached 70 km under the mountains). The lower layers of the shell under high temperature and pressure effect are exfoliated or melted, and the material returns to the mantle. This explains the planet’s active volcanism. The process is like sinking in the world, but without the movement of the plates – the shell is vertically “processed”.
Discovery changes his mind of venus geology. Slim shell contradicts the expectations – believed that the plates should be thickened without tectonics. Metamorphism may be the key to understanding volcanic activity and the composition of the atmosphere.
“We are reviewing the rules of the game for Venus,” he said.
The question continues: How often do their volcanoes explode? The future tasks planned for the 2030s will be answered.
Previously, scientists proven The possibility of life in Venus.
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Source: Gazeta
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