Tectonics and Volcanism of Eastern Aphrodite Terra, Venus: No Subduction, No Spreading
Vicki L. Hansen 1 and
Roger J. Phillips 2
1 Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275
2 McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130
Eastern Aphrodite Terra, a deformed region with high topographic relief on Venus, has been interpreted as analogous to a terrestrial extensional or convergent plate boundary. However, analysis of geological and structural relations indicates that the tectonics of eastern Aphrodite Terra is dominated by blistering of the crust by magma diapirs. The findings imply that, within this region, vertical tectonism dominates over horizontal tectonism and, consequently, that this region is neither a divergent nor a convergent plate boundary.
Submitted on December 1, 1992
Accepted on February 18, 1993
