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Evidence for large-scale strike- slip faulting on Venus. Elissa Koenig Atilla Aydin Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University. INTRODUCTION :. There is strong evidence of tectonic activity on Venus in the form thrust faults, grabens, and strike-slip faults
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Evidence for large-scale strike- slip faulting on Venus Elissa Koenig Atilla Aydin Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University
INTRODUCTION: • There is strong evidence of tectonic activity on Venus in the form thrust faults, grabens, and strike-slip faults • Earlier studies suggest the surface of Venus was influenced by plate tectonics • New technologies have allowed a more detailed examination of surface features and give evidence to the Tectonic activity on Venus
Lavinia Planitia: Molpadia Linea: • high concentration of deformational features • consists of multiple fracture regimes indicating several tectonic events • orientation of fractures indicate tectonic history
Features associated with strike-slip faulting: Compressional Features • Thrust Faults • Folds • Solution Surfaces Tensile Features • Joints • Tail Cracks • Normal Faults
Terrestrial Examples of fracture patterns exhibited on Venus:
Summary: • The features observed show significant horizontal motion across Lavinia Planitia • Lavinia Planitia overlies a down-welling mantle plume • Downwelling coupled to the lithosphere has formed Molpadia Linea • Multiple tectonic events have introduced structural heterogeneity into the Venutian crust which has in turn imparted rotation and horizontal motion into the normal, compressional forces associated with down-welling
Conclusion: The surface features of Venus are influenced not by plate tectonics but rather by structural heterogeneity within the crust, which deflects the compressional forces and imparts a horizontal compression, thereby generating strike-slip faults