  The absence of plate tectonics and the young surface age (0.3-1 billion
years) of Venus have led to diverse geodynamic models for Venus. The energetics
of the Venusian interior drive these models; however, the lack of direct
constraints on surface heat flow hampers their quantitative assessment. Here we
present the first global heat flow map for Venus, obtained from an inversion of
geophysical data, including crustal thickness, effective elastic thickness, and
radioactive heat production. Heat flow on Venus is lower and less
geographically structured than on Earth but with highs reaching values typical
of magmatically active terrestrial areas. The obtained total heat loss is
11-14.5 TW, similar to estimates of the total radioactive heat production.
Therefore, at present, Venus proportionally dissipates much less heat than
Earth. Furthermore, the calculated crustal temperatures imply that crustal
melting or eclogitization are not dominant in the Venusian crust.
