Affiliation:
1. Institute of Planetary Research German Aerospace Center (DLR) Berlin Germany
2. Centre of Astronomy and Astrophysics Technical University of Berlin Berlin Germany
3. Université Côte d’Azur Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur CNRS Laboratoire Lagrange Nice France
4. Department of Earth Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
Abstract
AbstractThere is a growing consensus that Venus is seismically active, although its level of seismicity could be very different from that of Earth due to the lack of plate tectonics. Here, we estimate upper and lower bounds on the expected annual seismicity of Venus by scaling the seismicity of the Earth. We consider different scaling factors for different tectonic settings and account for the lower seismogenic thickness of Venus. We find that 95–296 venusquakes equal to or bigger than moment magnitude (Mw) 4 per year are expected for an inactive Venus, where the global seismicity rate is assumed to be similar to that of continental intraplate seismicity on Earth. For the active Venus scenarios, we assume that the coronae, fold belts, and rifts of Venus are currently seismically active. This results in 1,161–3,609 venusquakes ≥Mw4 annually as a realistic lower bound and 5,715–17,773 venusquakes ≥Mw4 per year as a maximum upper bound for an active Venus.
Funder
International Space Science Institute
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)