Heat flow estimates of terrestrial planets and icy satellites are important for exploring their thermal evolution. Topographic signatures of flexure can be used to estimate the effective elastic lithospheric thickness, h_e, and heat flow. Here, we use high resolution stereo topography and axisymmetric elastic flexure models to investigate lithospheric flexure around Narina Tholus, a steep-sided volcanic dome ∼40 km across that superposes the tectonic annulus of Aramaiti Corona. Our results indicate a best-fit elastic thickness h_e = 3.9–9.1 km, for values of Young's modulus, E, ranging from 65 to 5 GPa respectively. This suggests a thinned lithosphere locally around Narina Tholus, compared to regional estimates for h_e. The lower values of E are appropriate to the heavily fractured environment of the corona annulus, and we find that they predict flexural stresses compatible with the limited fracturing observed around Narina Tholus. A global survey yielded 13 additional tholi (or tholi groups) at coronae and with stereo coverage, none of which showed evidence for flexure. We find, that locally at Narina Tholus, the heat flow is elevated by a factor of 2–4 relative to that inferred from a previous study of flexure at Aramaiti, consistent with late-stage, possibly recent, volcanism focused at, and facilitated by, the fracture annulus. Our results further strengthen arguments for a currently volcanically active planet and demonstrate the role that high-resolution stereo topography can play in elucidating the current thermal state of Venus.

中文翻译：

---

金星 Aramaiti Corona 近期火山活动导致局部变薄的岩石圈的证据

类地行星和冰冷卫星的热流估计对于探索它们的热演化很重要。挠曲的地形签名可以被用于估计有效弹性岩石圈厚度，ħ _È，和热流。在这里，我们使用高分辨率立体地形和轴对称弹性弯曲模型来研究 Narina Tholus 周围的岩石圈弯曲，Narina Tholus 是一个陡峭的火山圆顶，直径约 40 公里，与 Aramaiti Corona 的构造环重叠。我们的结果表明 ，对于杨氏模量E 的值，最佳拟合弹性厚度h _e = 3.9–9.1 km，分别为65 到 5 GPa。与h 的区域估计相比，这表明 Narina Tholus 周围的岩石圈局部变薄_电子。E的较低值适合日冕环的严重破裂环境，我们发现它们预测的弯曲应力与在 Narina Tholus 周围观察到的有限破裂相容。一项全球调查在日冕和立体覆盖上产生了 13 个额外的 tholi（或 tholi 组），没有一个显示出弯曲的证据。我们发现，在 Narina Tholus 的局部，相对于之前对 Aramaiti 的弯曲研究推断出的热流增加了 2-4 倍，这与后期的，可能是最近的火山活动一致，集中于并促进了，骨折环。我们的研究结果进一步加强了当前火山活动行星的论据，并证明了高分辨率立体地形在阐明金星当前的热状态方面可以发挥的作用。