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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lgburton" data-source="post: 2342176" data-attributes="member: 30653">actually, geologic evidence suggests that venus periodically re-surfaces itself in rather cataclysmic events. there is a massive ammount of volcanic activity on venus' surface... what we don't know is how the inside of venus works, becaue its atmosphere is so dense and acidic that we can't get anything down there to scan it. venus is a very odd case in the solar system, for a lot of reasons. the problem with the thesis that you are espousing is that you are assuming mars, earth, the jovian moons, and venus to all be of similar size and chemical makeup. i'm not saying you are wrong, nor am i saying that there is evidence to disprove your theory, HOWEVER: the other known instances of volcanism in the system, in the moons of jupiter, are invalid in this arguement. jupiter is how many times more massive than Io? yes, we are very sure that the volcanism on the jovian moons is the direct result of massive tidal forces. however, considering the mass difference between earth and Io, the differences in location, and the differences in composition (radioactive elements in earth's core, etc..) it's really not a very useful comparison. now, would mars, if it had a large moon, still be volcanicaly active? most likely. your inital premise is very sound. however, i can throw one bone in your theory: Luna. earth's moon is not tectonicaly active, despite the presance of a larger neighbor. in fact, luna is probably more "dead" than mars is. there is evidence of past volcanic activity on luna, but nothing very recent. so, if you are going to jump all over and say that you can't call tectonics a base cause, you certainly can't turn around and say the same thing about tidal forces.</blockquote>

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