Monte Carlo simulations of the interaction between volcanic resurfacing and cratering on Venus

Abstract

The interaction between volcanic resurfacing and impact cratering on Venus has been evaluated for different proposed geological evolutions of the planet. The models generate conic volcanic units and impact craters randomly in space and time over a sphere. The process of impact crater burial or volcanic partial modification is reproduced using a 3D approach, the geometry of each unit in the model is a flat cone with an edge angle of 0.5 degrees. The sizes of volcanic flows in the models were generated using the frequency–size distribution of volcanic units measured on Venus. A non-homogeneous spatial generation of volcanic units was included in the models reproducing the Beta–Alta–Themis volcanic anomaly. The final number of modified craters and randomness of the crater population measured by pair-correlation statistics were used to evaluate the success of the models, comparing the results from our simulations with Venus observations. The modified crater frequency-size distribution and the frequency of distances from craters and modified craters to the center of the BAT anomaly were also obtained form the models and compared with Venus. A catastrophic evolution is the only solution that fits Venus observations. Evolutionary models cannot reproduce all the characteristics of the crater population.