Geology of Venus - Lava Flows and Channels

Lava Flows and Channels

Lava flows on Venus are often much larger than Earth's, up to several hundred kilometres long and tens of kilometres wide. It is still unknown why these lava fields or lobate flows reach such sizes, but it is suggested that they are the result of very large eruptions of basaltic, low-viscosity lava spreading out to form wide, flat plains.

On Earth, there are two known types of basaltic lava: ʻAʻa and Pāhoehoe. ʻAʻa lava presents a rough texture in the shape of broken blocks (clinkers). Pāhoehoe lava is recognized by its pillowy or ropy appearance. Rough surfaces appear bright in radar images, which can be used to determine the differences between ʻAʻa and Pāhoehoe lavas. These variations can also reflect differences in lava age and preservation. Channels and lava tubes (channels that have cooled down and over which a dome has formed) are very common on Venus. Two planetary Astronomers from the University of Wollongong in Australia, Dr Graeme Melville and Prof. Bill Zealey, researched these lava tubes, using data supplied by NASA, over a number of years and concluded that they were widespread and up to ten times the size of those on the Earth. Melville and Zealey said that the gigantic size of the Venusian lava tubes (tens of metres wide and hundreds of kilometres long) may be explained by the very fluid lava flows together with the high temperatures on Venus, allowing the lava to cool slowly.

For the most part, lava flow fields are associated with volcanoes. The central volcanoes are surrounded by extensive flows that form the core of the volcano. They are also related to fissure craters, coronae, dense clusters of volcanic domes, cones, wells and channels.

Thanks to Magellan, more than 200 channels and valley complexes have been identified. The channels were classified as simple, complex, or compound. Simple channels are characterized by a single, long main channel. This category includes rills similar to those found on the Moon, and a new type, called canali, consisting of long, distinct channels which maintain their width throughout their entire course. The longest such channel identified (Baltis Vallis) has a length of more than 6,800 kilometres (4,200 mi), about one-sixth of the circumference of the planet.

Complex channels include anastomosed networks, in addition to distribution networks. This type of channel has been observed in association with several impact craters and important lava floods related to major lava flow fields. Compound channels are made of both simple and complex segments. The largest of these channels shows an anastomosed web and modified hills similar to those present on Mars.

Although the shape of these channels is highly suggestive of fluid erosion, there is no evidence that they were formed by water. In fact, there is no evidence of water anywhere on Venus in the last 600 million years. While the most popular theory for the channels' formation is that they are the result of thermal erosion by lava, there are other hypotheses, including that they were formed by heated fluids formed and ejected during impacts.