Abstract
ON Venus, fold-and-thrust belts—which accommodate large-scale horizontal crustal convergence—are often located at the margins of kilometre-high plateaux1–5. Such mountain belts, typically hundreds of kilometres long and tens to hundreds of kilometres wide, surround the Lakshmi Planum plateau in the Ishtar Terra highland (Fig. 1). In explaining the origin of fold-and-thrust belts, it is important to understand the relative importance of thick-skinned deformation of the whole lithosphere and thin-skinned, large-scale overthrusting of near-surface layers. Previous quantitative analyses of mountain belts on Venus have been restricted to thin-skinned models6–8, but this style of deformation does not account for the pronounced topographic highs at the plateau edge. We propose that the long-wavelength topography of these venusian fold-and-thrust belts is more readily explained by horizontal shortening of a laterally heterogeneous lithosphere. In this thick-skinned model, deformation within the mechanically strong outer layer of Venus controls mountain building. Our results suggest that lateral variations in either the thermal or mechanical structure of the interior provide a mechanism for focusing deformation due to convergent, global-scale forces on Venus.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Campbell, D. B., Head, J. W., Harmon. J. K. & Hine, A. A. Science 221, 647–664 (1983).
Crumpler, L. S., Head, J. W. & Campbell, D. B. Geology 14, 1031–1034 (1986).
Head, J. W. Geology 18, 99–102 (1990).
Solomon, S. C. et al. Science 252, 297–312 (1991).
Solomon, S. C. et al. J. geophys. Res. 97, 13199–13255 (1992).
Vorder Bruegge, R. W. & Fletcher, R. C. Lunar planet. Sci. Conf. 21, 1278–1279 (1990).
Suppe, J. & Conners, C. J. geophys. Res. 97, 13545–13561 (1992).
Williams, C. A., Conners, C., Dahlen, F. A., Price, E. J. & Suppe, J. J. geophys. Res. 99, 19947–19974 (1994).
Price, R. A. in Thrust and Nappe Tectonics (eds McClay, K. R. & Price, N. J.) 427–448 (Geol. Soc., London. 1981).
Cook, F. A. et al. Geology 7, 563–567 (1979).
Harris, L. & Bayer, K. C. Geology 7, 568–572 (1979).
Burchfiel, B. C. et al. Geology 17, 448–452 (1989).
Burchfiel, B. C. & Royden, L. H. Eclogae geol. Helv. 84, 599–629 (1991).
Davis, D., Suppe, J. & Dahlen, F. A. J. geophys. Res. 88, 1153–1172 (1983).
Hoffman, P. F. in Geology of North America—An Overview, Decade of North American Geology (eds Bally, A. W. & Palmer, A. R.) 447–512 (Geol. Soc. Am., Denver, 1989).
Munoz, J. A., Martinez, A. & Verges, J. J. struct. Geol. 8, 399–406 (1986).
Phillips, R. J. & Hansen, V. L. Rev. Earth planet. Sci. 22, 597–654 (1994).
Hansen, V. Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf. 23, 478–479 (1992).
Kuala, W. M. et al. J. geophys. Res. 97, 16085–16120 (1992).
Keep, M. & Hansen, V. L. J. geophys. Res. 99, 26015–26028 (1994).
Keep, M. & Hansen, V. Lunar planet Sci. Conf. 25, 681–682 (1994).
Hansen, V. L. & Phillips, R. J. Geology 23, 292–296 (1995).
Grimm, R. E. & Phillips, R. J. J. geophys. Res. 96, 8305–8324 (1991).
Bathe, K.-J. & Wilson, E. L. Numerical Methods in Finite Element Analysis (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1976).
Zuber, M. T. & Parmentier, E. M. J. geophys. Res. (in the press).
Chen, Y. & Morgan, W. J. J. geophys. Res. 95, 17583–17604 (1990).
Desai, C. S. & Abel, J. F. Introduction to the Finite Element Method (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1972).
Bindschadler, D. L., Schubert, G. & Kuala, W. M. Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 1345–1348 (1990).
Lenardic, A., Kaula, W. M. & Bindschadler, D. L. J. geophys. Res. 98, 18697–18705 (1993).
Namiki, N. & Solomon, S. C. J. geophys. Res. 98, 15025–15031 (1993).
Zuber, M. T. J. geophys. Res. 92, E541–E551 (1987).
Mackwell, S. J., Zimmerman, M. E., Kohlstedt, D. L. & Scherber, D. S. in Proc. 35th US Symp. on Rock Mechanics (eds Daemen, J. J. K. & Schultz, R. A.) 207–214 (Balkema, Lake Tahoe, NV, 1995).
Hansen, V. L. & Phillips, R. J. Lunar planet. Sci. Conf. 24, 603–604 (1993).
Zuber, M. T. Lunar planet. Sci. Conf. 25, 1575–1578 (1994).
Vorder Bruegge, R. W. & Head, J. W. Geology 19, 885–888 (1991).
Banerdt, W. B. & Golombek, M. P. J. geophys. Res. 93, 4759–4772 (1988).
Zuber, M. T. & Parmentier, E. M. Icarus 85, 290–308 (1990).
Kono, M., Fukao, Y. & Yamamoto, A. J. geophys. Res. 94, 3891–3905 (1989).
Masek, J., Isacks, B. L., Gubbels, T. L. & Fielding, E. J. J. geophys. Res. 99, 13941–13956 (1994).
Ford, P. G. & Pettengill, G. H. J. geophys. Res. 97, 13103–13114 (1992).
Parmentier, E. M. Lunar planet. Sci. Conf. 17, 648–649 (1986).
Grimm, R. E. J. geophys. Res. 99, 23163–23171 (1994).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zuber, M., Parmentier, E. Formation of fold-and-thrust belts on Venus by thick-skinned deformation. Nature 377, 704–707 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/377704a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/377704a0
This article is cited by
-
Strength models of the terrestrial planets and implications for their lithospheric structure and evolution
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science (2021)
-
Venus Interior Structure and Dynamics
Space Science Reviews (2018)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.