MORPHOLOGIC IDENTIFICATION OF VENUSIAN LAVAS

Two independent methods are applied to Venusian lavas. First, fractal properties of 30 lavas are used to identify a'a, pahoehoe and transitional morphologies. Eighteen of these flows are then categorized into these same morphologies based on their radar signal. The techniques produce similar identifications, lending confidence to the fractal identification of those flow margins that could not be studied by the radar technique. Three of these flow margins are of lavas in Mylitta Fluctus, a flood basalt. Our fractal analysis suggests all 3 margins were emplaced as a'a flows, which has implications for the emplacement of large lava plateaux in general.