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New Arecibo High-Resolution Radar Images of Venus: Preliminary Interpretation D

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New Arecibo High-Resolution Radar Images of Venus: Preliminary Interpretation D 142 LPSC XX New Arecibo High-Resolution Radar Images of Venus: Preliminary Interpretation D. B. carnpbelll, A. A. I4ine2, J. K. IXarmon2, D. A. senske3, R. W. Vorder ~rue~~e~,P. C. ish her^, S. rank^, and J. W. ~ead~1) National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853. 2) National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612. 3) Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. btroduction: New observations of Venus with the Arecibo radar (wavelength 12.6 cm) in the summer of 1988 will provide images at 1.5-2.5 km resolution over the longitude range 260' to 20" in the latitude bands 12' N to 70' N and 12' S to 70' sl. In this paper we report on a preliminary analysis of images of low northern and southern latitudes including Alpha Regio, eastern Beta Regio, and dark-halo features in the lowland plains of Guinevere Planitia. Crater distributions and the locations of the Venera 9 and 10 landing sites are also examined. Al~haReeio; (So, 25" S) is a 1000 x 1600 km upland region located south of Pioneer-Venus and Venera 15-16 radar image coverage. It was the first area of anomalously high radar return discovered in the early 1960's by Earth- based radars (hence the name). Recent comparisons of Pioneer-Venus altirnetry, reflectivity and r.m.s. slope data with different terrain types apparent in the Venera 15/16 images indicate that Alpha Regio has many similarities with te~sera~-~.The new high resolution images (Fig. 1) show that Alpha itself is a region of high radar retum with very sharp boundaries and a distinctive pattern of bright and dark linear bands with separation distances of 10- 15 km and oriented approximately NNE. Two other less distinctive pattems of lineaments can be observed and are oriented normal to the first, and approximately NE-SE. Additional features include small dark plains-like areas scattered throughout Alpha. On the basis of the linear segments and their orientations and spacings, the local plains deposits, and the distinctive structural relations of its boundaries, the Alpha region appears to be very similar to the tessera terrain (such as Tellus Regio) in the area imaged by Venera 151163. ta Reoicz; Located on the eastern flank of Beta Regio (293O, 25O N) is a region of elevated topography described as an upland plateau7 (Fig. 2). PV radar data shows this feature to possess properties similar to that of other areas mapped as tessera (high values of RMS slope, low values of reflectivity, high diffuse scattering) and on the basis of these properties, it was also predicted to be tessera terrain6. Examination of the high resolution Arecibo images shows this feature to be characterized by a distinctive pattern of parallel closely spaced ridges and troughs oriented generally N-S, spaced approximately 5-10 lan apart, a second orthogonally-oriented fabric of less abundant but more through going lineaments, as well as a thud set of northeast trending ridge and trough pairs. These characteristics are similar to those in Alpha and in other regions that have previously been interpreted to be tessera terrain3. Radardark material possessing characteristics similar to units mapped elsewhere as volcanic plains ernbays the tessera-like unit and we interpret this relationship to indicate the relatively old age of the tessera compared to the dark plains in the surrounding lowland. Park halo fea= Extended, quasi-circular areas of low back scatter cross section (dark halos) with central bright spots of unknown origin and morphology have been observed in early earth based radar images of venus8 and Pioneer-Venus images7$. The new images cover one group of these dark halos in the area between longitudes 320" and 340' and latitudes 15" N and 32" N. Whether the low back scatter cross section is due to a very smooth surface or low intrinsic reflectivity is still not known but most of the bright spots are resolved as craters with extended, very asymmetric bright surrounds. This is not a characteristic of the craters observed at higher latitudes and interpreted to be of impact originlo, and suggests, rather, a volcanic origin. The numbex of impact craters with diameters greater than 15 km in the latitude band 15" N to 30" N may be considerably lower than the approximately one per 106 km2 observed at higher northem latitudes in the Venera 15/16 irnageslO. A number of craters are apparent in the new images in the 15ON to 30°N latitude band but only three or four have characteristics similar to what one would expect based on the comparison of high incidence angle Arecibo observations of craters interpreted to be of impact origin in the Venera images. The remaining craters observed are primarily those in the dark halo features. Venera lander Two Venera landers, Veneras 9 and 10, are located within the region imaged. Venera 9, which landed in a region of steep slopes later known to be rough from Pioneer-Venus data1 1-13 is located in the vicinity of a radar-bright ridge in the Arecibo data (Fig. 3). Lander imaging shows the surface to be covered by abundant blocks with no obvious bedrock e~~osures~~*~3.The blocky field within the lander image may be related to the linear bright scarp seen in the Arecibo image and an atea of associated talus. Venera 10 is located near the edge of a radar-dark plains unit between two blocks of tessera-like material. The lander panorama shows the spacecraft to be located in a flat region with significant bedrock exposure, some thin soil cover, and a plains-like morp11ologyl2J3. O Lunar and Planetary Institute Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System NEW ARECIBO HIGH-RESOLUTION RADAR IMAGES OF VENUS LPSC xx 143 Campbell, D. B. et al. peferences; 1) D. Campbell et a1 (1989) this volume. 2) J. Head et al(1985) JGR, 90,6873.3) A. Basilevsky et al (1986) JGR, 91, D399. 4) D. Bindschadler and J. Head (1987) LPSC XVIII, 73. 5) D. Bindschadler and J. Head (1988) EMP, 42, 133. 6) D. Bindschadler et al (1988) LPSC XIX, 80. 7) D. Senske and J. Head (1988) LPSC XM, 1061. 8) D. Campbell and B. Burns (1980) JGR, 85,8271.9) G. Pettengill et al(1979) Science, 205,90. 10) A. Basilevsky et al(1987) JGR, 92, 12869. 11) A. Basilevsky et al(1982) EMP, 27,63. 12) C. Florensky et al (1977) GSA Bull., 88, 1537. 13) J. Garvin et al(1984) JGR, 89, 3381. Figure 1. Alpha Regio. Figure 2. Eastern Beta Regio. Width of image is 1940 km. Width of image is 1940 km. Figure 3. Venera 9 lander site. The lander is located approximately in the center of the image. Width of the image is 500 km. O Lunar and Planetary Institute Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System .
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