Venus Coronae: Active Windows into a Dynamic Planet
Gael Cascioli
Venus is often considered Earth's twin, yet it evolved along a dramatically different path. Our study of coronae—large, ring-shaped volcanic features unique to Venus—reveals these structures as critical windows into the planet's current geological activity and evolutionary history. By comparing gravity and topography signatures from Magellan mission data with our geodynamic models, we've shown that many of Venus' coronae are likely active today, challenging the long-held assumption that Venus is geologically dormant.
Many studies have hypothesized that coronae form when hot mantle plumes rise and interact with Venus' rigid outer layer, creating distinctive surface patterns that evolve through time. In our study, we have leveraged previous developments in large-scale, high-fidelity geodynamic modeling of coronae formation and evolution and combined them with the topography and gravity fields measured by the Magellan mission. Specifically, we have used four end-member models of corona formation and evolution describing very different mechanisms, depending on the properties of Venus' mantle and crust. We have developed a novel and robust fitting algorithm that allowed us to match specific time evolution steps of these geodynamic models to the observed gravity and topography of specific coronae.
By examining the gravity and topography signatures of 75 coronae, we found evidence of buoyant mantle material beneath 52 of them, suggesting ongoing activity across much of the planet's surface (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Global distribution and classification of coronae resolved in Magellan data and examples of 'active' coronae.
(A) Global map showing 75 coronae resolved in Magellan gravity data. Filled circles indicate coronae with positive gravity anomalies, which we interpret as currently active. Colors represent different topographic types: coronae with topographic trenches (dark blue/red) suggest crustal recycling processes, while those with raised rims and elevated interiors (pink) indicate embedded or underplated plumes.
(B-D) Three examples of active coronae types shown in Magellan radar imagery. Red lines indicate topographic profiles used for comparison with our geodynamic models.
Our analysis shows that topographic information is the main driver for distinguishing between different formation scenarios (e.g., involving or not involving crustal material recycling), while gravity information is the main driver for distinguishing the evolutionary state (e.g., early stages vs. remnant, inactive structure).
The main limiting factor to the number of coronae we could analyze is the spatial resolution of the Venus gravity field measured by Magellan. Notably, we also demonstrated that the effects of low resolution should be carefully taken into account to avoid erroneous interpretations.
The upcoming NASA VERITAS mission will revolutionize our understanding of Venus' geological activity by providing dramatically improved gravity and topography measurements (Figure 2). With two to five times better spatial resolution than Magellan data, VERITAS will allow us to extend this kind of analysis to hundreds of coronae and to compare finer scale details of the geodynamic models to the measured data, ultimately providing us with a very powerful tool to link surface structures to interior processes in present-day Venus.
Figure 2. Comparative resolution of Venus coronae in Magellan and future VERITAS data.
(A-B) Global maps showing coronae that can be resolved in Magellan gravity data (A) versus predicted VERITAS gravity data (B). White circles represent 'broadly resolved' coronae (1-3 data points within radius); green circles show 'finely resolved' coronae (4+ data points).
(C) Size distribution of all known Venus coronae, with vertical lines showing average resolution capabilities of Magellan (red) and VERITAS (blue). The gray area shows coronae too small for even VERITAS to resolve globally.
Data Availability
All data needed to evaluate our conclusions are available on Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13357274), including 3D density models, corona activity information, and gravity/topography grids for our geodynamic models.Data Usage Policy
Please cite the following reference when using any of the products described above:Manuscript: Cascioli, G. Gülcher, A.J.P., Mazarico, E., Smrekar, S.E. (2025), A spectrum of tectonic processes at coronae on Venus revealed by gravity and topography, Science Advances, doi:10.3847/PSJ/adbaf0.
Dataset: Gülcher, A., & Cascioli, G. (2025), A spectrum of tectonic processes at coronae on Venus revealed by gravity and topography: Supplementary Datasets 1-3 [Data set], in Science Advances, Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13357274 .