Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Venus and Earth are rocky planets of roughly the same size and bulk density, yet their surface volcanic and tectonic features appear substantially different. On Venus, the coexistence of large volcanic highlands-interpreted as the surface expression of long-lived mantle plumes-alongside coronae, smaller features thought to be caused by transient thermal diapirs, remains enigmatic. Using two-dimensional numerical models of mantle convection with sharp and broad mineral phase transitions for pyrolite, we show that both scales of upwellings can be generated in a stagnant lid planet with an interior temperature 250 to 400 K warmer than Earth's. The smaller plumes originate from a ~600 km deep internal layer that exists as a consequence of the different sequence of mineral phase transitions that occur in warmer mantles less processed and differentiated by partial melting and volcanism. Future models that include melting will provide further tests of our hypothesis.
Language: English
Topic: Astro and Planetary Science
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Office of Science, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center
Awards: G1554045874, 2021 BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE DOE COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP (CSGF) GRANT, Geoinformatics: Facility Support: Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics, G2676722403, G3196107605, G3648211085, G3806988978, 2021 BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE DOE COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP (CSGF) GRANT, XSEDE: eXtreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics, G830101876
OpenAlex ID: W4414228950