Venus May Have Hosted Global Oceans Across Most of Its Surface

A new study suggests Venus’s surface features resemble giant marine signatures, indicating oceans may have covered up to about 90% of the planet and held around 40% as much water as Earth’s oceans. The researchers point to polygonal fault patterns, vast submarine-like channels, and salt-deposit evidence as clues; while not conclusive, the findings imply Venus once had a global sea before a runaway greenhouse effect ended it within the last billion years, a hypothesis future missions EnVision and VERITAS could test.