Venus’ Well-kept Secrets: Lessons for Earth and Earth-like Planets
When
Where
Dr. Suzanne Smrekar
Deputy Principal Investigator, InSight
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
A dedicated mission last explored the surface of Venus in 1994. Many ideas about how Venus operates and why it is so different from its twin planet, Earth, need to be reexamined in light of recent advances. I will discuss 3 ‘myths’ surrounding Venus: resurfacing & surface age, interior water, and evidence for subduction. The focus will be on the evidence for subduction based on laboratory simulations of convection and surface deformation along with examination of topography, gravity, radar imaging, and 1 micron emissivity data. I will argue that plume-induced subduction is occurring on Venus today. Typically, this takes the form of rollback subduction, but may advance beyond the boundaries of the plume head in some cases. Constraining the conditions under which subduction – the first step in initiating plate tectonics – may occur on Venus has important implications for both early Earth and for predicting plate tectonics and possible habitability on exoplanets.
Host: Dr. Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna