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Science 1 October 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5437, pp. 87 - 90
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5437.87
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Reports

Climate Change as a Regulator of Tectonics on Venus

Sean C. Solomon, 1* Mark A. Bullock, 2 David H. Grinspoon 2

Tectonics, volcanism, and climate on Venus may be strongly coupled. Large excursions in surface temperature predicted to follow a global or near-global volcanic event diffuse into the interior and introduce thermal stresses of a magnitude sufficient to influence widespread tectonic deformation. This sequence of events accounts for the timing and many of the characteristics of deformation in the ridged plains of Venus, the most widely preserved volcanic terrain on the planet.

1 Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA.
2 Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 426, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: scs{at}dtm.ciw.edu

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