{"id":297304,"date":"2021-07-12T22:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T19:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/new-research-suggests-explosive-volcanic-activity-on-venus\/"},"modified":"2021-07-12T22:00:07","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T19:00:07","slug":"new-research-suggests-explosive-volcanic-activity-on-venus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/new-research-suggests-explosive-volcanic-activity-on-venus\/","title":{"rendered":"#New research suggests explosive volcanic activity on Venus"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#New research suggests explosive volcanic activity on Venus<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"New
\n Maat Mons, a large volcano on Venus, is shown in this 1991 simulated-color radar image from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft mission. Credit: NASA\/JPL
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Traces of the gas phosphine point to volcanic activity on Venus, according to new research from Cornell University.<\/p>\n


\n <\/section>\n

Last autumn, scientists revealed that phosphine was found in trace amounts in the planet’s upper atmosphere. That discovery promised the slim possibility that phosphine serves as a biological signature for the hot, toxic planet.<\/p>\n

Now Cornell scientists say the chemical fingerprint support a different and important scientific find: a geological signature, showing evidence of explosive volcanoes on the mysterious planet.<\/p>\n

“The phosphine is not telling us about the biology of Venus,” said Jonathan Lunine, professor of physical science<\/a>s and chair of the astronomy department at Cornell. “It’s telling us about the geology. Science is pointing to a planet that has active explosive volcanism today or in the very recent past.”<\/p>\n

Lunine and Ngoc Truong, a doctoral candidate in geology, authored the study, “Volcanically Extruded Phosphides as an Abiotic Source of Venusian Phosphine,” published July 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Truong and Lunine argue that volcanism is the means for phosphine to get into Venus’ upper atmosphere, after examining observations from the ground-based, submillimeter-wavelength James Clerk Maxwell Telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in northern Chile.<\/p>\n

If Venus has phosphide\u2014a form of phosphorous present in the planet’s deep mantle\u2014and, if it is brought to the surface in an explosive, volcanic way and then injected into the atmosphere, those phosphides react with the Venusian atmosphere’s sulfuric acid to form phosphine, Truong said.<\/p>\n

Lunine said their phosphine model “suggests explosive volcanism occurring,” while “radar images from the Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s show some geologic features could support this.”<\/p>\n

In 1978, on NASA’s Pioneer Venus orbiter mission, scientists uncovered variations of sulfur dioxide in Venus’ upper atmosphere, hinting at the prospect of explosive volcanism, Truong said, similar to the scale of Earth’s Krakatoa volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1883.<\/p>\n

But, Truong said, “confirming explosive volcanism on Venus through the gas phosphine was totally unexpected.”<\/p>\n\n

\n

Venus: Could it really harbour life? New study springs a surprise\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n More information:<\/strong>
\n N. Truong el al., “Volcanically extruded phosphides as an abiotic source of Venusian phosphine,” PNAS<\/i> (2021). www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2021689118<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
\n Provided by
\n Cornell University
\n
\n <\/svg><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Citation<\/strong>:
\n New research suggests explosive volcanic activity on Venus (2021, July 12)
\n retrieved 12 July 2021
\n from https:\/\/phys.org\/news<\/a>\/2021-07-explosive-volcanic-venus.html<\/p>\n

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n