Insights into the dynamics of planetary interiors obtained through the study of global distribution of volcanoes II: Tectonic implications from Venus

Abstract

The distribution of volcanic features is ultimately controlled by processes taking place beneath the surface of a planet. For this reason, characterization of volcano distribution at a global scale can be used to obtain insights concerning dynamic aspects of planetary interiors. Until present, studies of this type commonly have focused on volcanic features of a specific type (e.g., large volcanoes in Venus or hot-spot volcanism on Earth), or have concentrated on relatively small regions (i.e., vent distribution within individual volcanic fields), but no comparison of extensive databases has been made by using the same tools in both planets. In this work, the description of the distribution of volcanic features observed over the entire surface of Venus is made using the same tool used for Earth, and is applied to an extensive database. The analysis is based on density contours obtained with the Fisher kernel. As a result, several groupings of volcanoes are identified refining the already documented concentration of volcanoes on the BAT zone. In particular some doughnut-like patterns are observed that might be related to the action of mantle plumes. The occurrence of such features on Earth, as well as the existence of a uniform distribution of background volcanism on both planets, suggests similarities on their geodynamic behavior that had not been identified previously.