Violent volcanoes may have altered Venus’ climate, research suggests

Dense volcanic activity throughout its ancient history Venus It may have changed the planet’s climate. The information was highlighted in a new NASA study that suggested that these eruptions, occurring in a short interval in geological time, lasting hundreds to thousands of centuries, caused an eruption. runaway greenhouse effect this caused a transition from a humid and temperate climate to a hot and dry one.

Large lava flows, now solidified, are believed to cover about 80% of its entire surface. Known as Earth’s “sister planet” due to the similarity in size and mass between the two, Venus is hot enough to melt lead and can reach 484 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, its toxic atmosphere, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, represents 90 times the pressure at the Earth’s surface. According to the news published in the newspaper Journal of Planetary Sciencesuch conditions are the result great fiery states (LIP originally abbreviated Great Magmatic Provinces).

LIP are areas that are usually seen at their borders. tectonic plates why could it be large scale volcanic systems🇧🇷 In most of these cases, they cause episodes. climate change and mass extinction on a planet. The world is known to have experienced at least five of these major cataclysmic events, each of which destroyed more than 50% of animal life.

However, our planet has not experienced enough volcanic activity to cause such extreme weather disturbances as that of Venus. The next challenge for scientists will be to understand the dynamics at work in that world to know the moment of greatest impact responsible for turning the planet into a hot, dry environment unsuitable for life forms as we know it.

In this context, missions to be carried out by space agencies aim to investigate the surface and atmosphere of Venus. VERITAS and DAVINCI, which will analyze the history of water and when it may have disappeared, are the main examples of studies aiming to provide detailed information on how water disappeared. venus climate changed over time.