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Gravity-driven deformation of the crust on VenusIntense horizontal deformation features are observed on the surface of Venus despite the apparent absence of terrestrial-style plate tectonics. High surface temperature, low erosion rate, and regions of elevated terrain suggest that gravity spreading may be responsible for some of these features. Gravity spreading on the Earth is known to cause extensive deformation in certain thin-skinned tectonic regions, where the uppermost layers become detached along a decollement. While the high pore pressures and soft sedimentary rocks frequently observed along decollements on the Earth are not plausible for Venus, temperature induced regions of ductile deformation may exist. Simple viscous models of gravity spreading above a ductile region of the crust are developed to examine the effects of rheology, thermal gradient, surface slope and crustal thickness on deformation. For a reasonable range of parameters, the models show that surface-slope-driven ductile deformation at relatively shallow depths in the crust is possible and may be capable of detaching the uppermost rigid portion of the crust, resulting in horizontal translation.
Document ID
19880057814
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Smrekar, Suzanne
(Southern Methodist Univ. Dallas, TX, United States)
Phillips, Roger J.
(Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1988
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 15
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
88A45041
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-459
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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