Magma Chamber Depressurization and the Creation of Concentric Graben and Late‐Stage Flow Units at Sapas Mons, Venus.

Sapas Mons is a large shield volcano in Atla Regio on Venus. Its summit region is partially encircled by a system of pits and extensional faults (graben). The existence and configuration of this system have been attributed to stresses generated above the margin of a magma chamber spanning the region beneath the summit. The proposed stress‐generating mechanism includes either withdrawal of magma from or solidification of magma within such a chamber (Keddie & Head, 1994, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00644896). To explore these hypotheses, we calculate Finite Element Method models of stresses and deformations resulting from magma chamber depressurization beneath a Sapas Mons‐sized edifice with axisymmetric geometry. For a range of magma chamber depths and vertical thicknesses, we determine the minimum under pressure that produces a stress state predicting failure in circumferential normal mode at the observed position of the graben system. We also determine maximum under pressure under two conditions: (1) no failure (thrust fault mode) predicted at the summit, and (2) predicted failure (thrust fault mode) limited to within 10 km of the summit. We find that successful models require sill‐like chamber geometry with vertical thicknesses <1.5 km (diameter to thickness aspect ratios >66:1), and chamber depth <8 km beneath the summit. Calculated reductions in chamber volume are comparable to volumes of late‐stage eruptive units mapped at Sapas Mons, favoring the magma withdrawal hypothesis for graben system formation. Evidence that unit 5 of Keddie and Head (1994, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00644896) overlapped in time with, but largely postdated, the graben forming event renders it the most likely destination for magma removed from the chamber. Plain Language Summary: Sapas Mons is a large volcanic mountain on Venus, with lava flows that extend outwards for 100s of kilometers. Its distinctive summit region is partially encircled by a narrow ring of faults, which are most prominent on the east side. It has been proposed that a very wide but short chamber full of molten rock (magma) exists beneath the center of Sapas Mons, and that the faulting occurs when the top of the chamber moves downward, which can happen in two ways: (1) magma cools and solidifies within the chamber or (2) the magma leaves the chamber, presumably to erupt at the surface in lava flows. We calculated computer models of the process by which the magma chamber would contract in order to figure out the conditions under which the observed faults could happen (and also under which other types of faults, not seen, are avoided). The chambers must be less than 8 km below the summit and thinner than 1.5 km tall. We determined that the volume lost by the chamber is about the same as that estimated for a specific group of lava flows near the summit, a finding that favors scenario 2 above. Key Points: Sapas Mons volcano on Venus exhibits a partial ring of extensional faults that results from depressurization of an oblate magma chamberNumerical models of magma chamber deflation require extremely oblate chambers at shallow depths to explain observed fault patternsModeled chamber volume changes are comparable to volumes of the youngest mapped volcanic units, pointing to a magma withdrawal mechanism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]