Heavy metal frost on Venus

Chemical equilibrium calculations of volatile metal geochemistry on Venus show that high dielectric constant compounds of lead and bismuth such as PbS (galena), Bi₂S₃ (bismuthite) or Pb-Bi sulfosalts condense in the venusian highlands and may be responsible for the low radar emissivities observed by Magellan and Pioneer Venus. Our calculations also show that elemental tellurium is unstable on Venus' surface and will not condense below 46.6 km. This is over 30 km higher than Maxwell Montes, the highest point on Venus' surface. Elemental analyses of Venus' highlands surface by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and/or X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can verify the identity of the heavy metal frost on Venus. The Pb-Pb age of Venus could be determined by mass spectrometric measurements of the Pb²⁰⁷/Pb²⁰⁴ and Pb²⁰⁶/Pb²⁰⁴ isotopic ratios in Pb-bearing frosts. All of these measurements are technologically feasible now.     

Radiating graben-fissure systems in the Ulfrun Regio area, Venus

Radiating graben-fissure systems are common on Venus. Most are thought to be underlain by mafic dykes, fed by centrally-located magmatic centres. From previous work it has been shown that these magmatic plumbing systems can extend out up to 2000 km or more and that interaction between neighbouring systems can provide insight into the relative chronology of their magmatic centres. Systematic mapping of graben-fissure systems has potential as a tool for regional magmatic chronology and correlation on Venus.This methodology is applied to the Ulfrun Regio area (200-240°E, 0-25°N) where we mapped 47,000 graben and fissures. From these, 66 radiating systems comprised of 13,000 individual graben and fissures, and having radii of up to 2000 km have been identified, and are interpreted to be underlain by dyke swarms focussed on magmatic centres. Cross-cutting relationships among these systems and with the Hecate Chasma rift zone have been examined to provide a relative chronology for the magmatic centres. Two trends emerged: (a) an apparent younging from the southwest to northeast of the study area and (b) a cluster of older ages in the southwest, linked to the Atla Regio mantle plume.     

Cross-sectional profiles of Baltis Vallis channel on Venus: Reconstructions from Magellan SAR brightness data

Baltis Vallis is a 6800-km long canali-type channel on Venus. Canali have a unique combination of morphological characteristics: extraordinary length, a single main conduit, and a degree of similarity to terrestrial rivers. These characteristics have given rise to intensive discussions on whether the origin of canali is erosional or constructional. Cross-sectional profiles of such channels reveal the detailed morphology of the structure and enable us to distinguish between these two possible origins; however, canali are just several kilometers wide and are therefore too small for the construction of cross-sectional profiles from Magellan altimetry data. Instead, we propose a new method for reconstructing short-wavelength topography using brightness data from Synthetic Aperture Radar images. We apply Muhleman's backscattering function to the backscatter intensity calculated from the brightness of Magellan Full-Resolution SAR Map images. The estimated vertical error of this new method is less than 5 m for a distance of 1 km across the channel. We studied 120 sites along an approximately 6000 km extent of Baltis Vallis. The channel profiles reveal that in nearly 90% of these sites, the bottom surface of the channel is lower than the surrounding plains by 20-100 m. Clear levee structures and intra-channel ridges are recognized in about 30 and 25%, respectively, of the sites analyzed within Baltis Vallis. Most of the levees occur in the upper segment of Baltis Vallis, while intra-channel ridges are mostly confined to the region between 1500 and 3000 km downstream from the probable source. The average depth and width of the channel are 46 m (standard deviation: 16 m) and 2.2 km (standard deviation: 0.4 km), respectively, and the depth profile along the channel is highly undulatory. The groove-like morphology and paucity of levee structures indicates an erosional origin. Furthermore, the observed undulations in depth along the channel indicate that Baltis Vallis most likely formed by mechanical erosion. The observed morphological transition from levees to intra-channel ridges suggests that the channel-forming processes changed across an area located approximately 1500 km from the source. Carbonatite is the most likely candidate material for the low-viscosity fluid that formed Baltis Vallis.     

Resurfacing on Venus

The resurfacing evolution of Venus has been evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations. For the first time, the sizes of volcanic flows in the models were generated using the frequency-size distribution of volcanic units measured on Venus. A non-homogeneous spatial generation of volcanic units was included in the models reproducing the Beta-Alta-Themis volcanic anomaly. Crater modification is simulated using a 3D approach. The final number of modified craters and randomness of the crater population were used to evaluate the success of the models, comparing the results from our simulations with Venus observations. The randomness of the crater population is evaluated using pair-correlation statistics. On the one hand, a catastrophic resurfacing event followed by moderate volcanic activity covering ≈40% of the planetary surface can reproduce the number of modified craters and the pair-correlation statistics do not reject randomness. On the other hand, the pair-correlation test for equilibrium steady-state resurfacing models rejects the randomness of the crater population when reproducing the observed frequency-size distribution of the volcanic units with a non-homogeneous spatial generation of volcanic units.     

金星:认识早期地球的窗口

无论在行星大小、质量还是轨道速度等方面,金星都是太阳系中与地球最相似的行星.自1960年代初期开始,金星一直是人类深空探测的重要目标.本文简要地回顾了人类探索金星的历史,总结了对金星已有的认识,梳理了金星的主要科学问题,最后介绍了未来的国际探测计划,并建议了我国的金星探测目标.早期对金星的探测以苏联的金星计划(Венера)和美国的水手系列(Mariner)为代表,后期的探测器以欧盟、日本等国家的“金星快车(Venus Express)”、“拂晓号(Akatsuki)”为代表.这些探测结果为我们认识金星大气成分、地表地形和内部结构提供了重要的数据.金星的大气组成以CO₂为主,含少量N2,与现在地球的大气组成显著不同,类似早期地球的大气组成.虽然金星地表目前没有液态水,但部分理论模拟工作表明金星地表可能曾经有液态水.一系列探测器对金星地表成分的分析表明,金星地表主要由玄武岩组成.在地形地貌方面,由于金星特殊的地表环境,金星表面风化作用对地表地貌影响很小.金星的地表主要受控于比较年轻的火山作用,发育了许多不同于地球的地貌特征,主要包括区域平原、盾状火山平原、冕状地形以及瓦片状地形等,其动力学机制可能是地幔柱—岩石圈相互作用或地幔对流,至今未发现与板块构造相关的地貌.现阶段金星没有太多大型的、活跃的火山热点,虽然无法估测准确的火山活动速率,但相比地球来说火山活动速率小很多.在内部结构方面,金星具有与地球类似的核幔壳结构.金星的内部组成也与地球类似,例如金星地幔很可能是与地球相似的橄榄岩成分.不存在内部磁场和缺乏板块构造是金星区别于地球的两个重要特征.关于金星为什么没有自身磁场,主流观点是金星地核缺乏对流,无法演化出磁场.而针对金星为什么没有演化出板块构造,目前认为主要有三个可能的原因:地表温度过高,没有软流圈,金星缺乏液态水,其中液态水的缺乏接受度最广.从大气组成、地表岩石组合、构造作用等角度来看,金星都与早期地球非常相似,是我们理解类地行星演化的天然实验室.研究金星和地球为什么会朝不同方向演化,是深入理解包括系外行星在内的行星的宜居性形成与演变的重要途径。因此,金星一直是优先级别最高的深空探测目标之一.近几年,美国、俄罗斯以及欧洲等国家和地区分别针对金星目前主要的科学问题,例如金星是否存在早期海洋、金星的宜居性以及结构和重力场等,先后提出各自的金星探测计划.我国在新的国际竞争中应该、也必然有所作为.     

基于地形精化的金星重力场模型VGM2013

高精度金星重力场的获取,是金星探测的重要内容.本文利用最新的金星地形和重力模型,通过高通滤波后的残差地形（RTM）并在考虑均衡改正的情况下改进了重力的短波成分,最终提出了一个新的金星重力模型VGM2013,该模型赤道分辨率达10 km量级,大大高于现有的金星重力场模型,最终结果是金星表面重力加速度和重力扰动.研究中同时发现金星在Airy-Heiskanen均衡模型下的全球最优补偿深度为30 km,金星地壳的密度可能小于当前认为的2700~2900 kg·m-3.VGM2013模型的结果可为将来的金星探测器定轨和着陆导航提供参考,作为重力计算的先验模型.但由于该模型没有包含短波重力观测信息,不建议直接用于更小尺度的地质和地球物理解释.     

A comparison between Venus and the Earth

By means of the comparison between dynamical figures of Venus and the Earth, we confirmed that the nonhydrostatic moment difference ratios of the two celestial bodies are approximately equal. The hydrostatic flattening of the external equipotential surface of Venus according to the theory of internal field is equal to about 6 × 10^–8, but the observed value of Venusian equatorial flattening is equal to 6.8 × 10^–6. The latter is two orders of magnitude more than the former. These facts indicate that Venus itself is far from hydrostatic equilibrium.     

Hemispherical distribution of CO above the Venus’ clouds by ground-based 2.3 μm spectroscopy

The abundance of carbon monoxide in the Venus’ dayside atmosphere above the clouds was measured by ground-based 2.3 μm spectroscopy for 4 days. The hemispherical distributions found show no significant latitudinal or longitudinal structure. The disc-averaged mixing ratio of 58 ± 17 ppm found at a representative height of 62-67 km is consistent with previous measurements. Such a flat distribution of CO abundance above the clouds seems to be controlled by an efficient horizontal eddy diffusion with a time scale of 30 days or shorter although the CO distribution below the clouds seems to be controlled by the meridional circulation. The pole-ward wind speed of the meridional circulation above the clouds is estimated to be 0.2 m s⁻¹ or less based on the difference between the CO mixing ratios above and below the clouds.