THE PLANET VENUS DISPLAYS A PANOPLY OF STRIKING VOLCANO-TECTONIC STRUCTURES INCLUDING BROAD VOLCANIC EDIFICES AND RADIATING FRACTURE SYSTEMS. IN PREVIOUS NASA-SUPPORTED EFFORTS WE HAVE EXPLORED THE MECHANICS OF MAGMA TRANSPORT STORAGE AND EMPLACEMENT ON VENUS IN RELATION TO LITHOSPHERIC STRESS STATES FROM FLEXURAL LOADING. THIS WORK HAS YIELDED FUNDAMENTAL NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE EVOLUTION OF VOLCANIC SYSTEMS SUCH AS THE FIRST SCENARIO FOR PRODUCING VENUS S RADIATING DIKE SYSTEMS FROM REALISTICALLY LOADED MAGMA CHAMBERS. HOWEVER OUR INVESTIGATIONS HAVE FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY UPON RESERVOIRS LOCATED IN THE SUB-EDIFICE SUBSTRATE (THE LITHOSPHERE) AND HAVE REVEALED A CRITICAL OBSTACLE THAT INHIBITS OUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND VOLCANO-TECTONIC FEATURES ON VENUS. ELASTIC MODELS OF LARGE EDIFICES THAT INDUCE SUBSTANTIAL LITHOSPHERIC FLEXURE REQUIRE FIRST-ORDER ASSUMPTIONS CONCERNING THE EDIFICE STRESS STATE THAT IN COMBINATION WITH FLEXURAL LOADING STRESSES INHIBIT TRANSPORT OF MAGMA TO THE SURFACE AND CREATION OF THE TYPES OF CIRCUMFERENTIAL AND RADIAL TECTONIC STRUCTURES SEEN ON VOLCANOES ON VENUS. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION OF STRESSES WITHIN AND BENEATH AN EDIFICE AS IT GROWS WE NEED TO MOVE BEYOND THESE LIMITATIONS. TO THIS END WE PROPOSE AN ADVANCED PROGRAM OF FINITE ELEMENT NUMERICAL MODELING DESIGNED TO EXAMINE THE TIME-DEPENDENT STRESS AND DEFORMATION OF LITHOSPHERE SUBJECTED TO EXTRUSIVE AND INTRUSIVE MODES OF VOLCANIC LOADING. THE PROPOSED WORK COMPRISES TWO TASKS. IN THE FIRST TASK WE WILL CONSTRUCT FINITE ELEMENT MODELS OF VOLCANIC EDIFICES AND THEIR SUPPORTING LITHOSPHERES IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE TIME-DEPENDENT EMPLACEMENT OF PREDETERMINED VOLCANIC UNITS AT THE SURFACE (VIA IN-PROGRESS ADDITIONS TO FINITE ELEMENT MESHES) CONTROLS THE STRESS HISTORY WITHIN AND BENEATH THE EDIFICE. OF NECESSITY THIS PROCESS MUST INCORPORATE STRESS-MITIGATING EFFECTS SUCH AS FAULTING (VIA PLASTICITY) AND TIME-DEPENDENT DUCTILE FLOW (VIA VISCOELASTICITY). WHILE INITIAL MODELS WILL BE DEVELOPED WITHOUT ERUPTIBLE MAGMA RESERVOIRS REFLECTING THE BREVITY OF SUCH FEATURES WITHIN LONG-LIVED VOLCANIC SYSTEMS THE MECHANICAL AND THERMAL EFFECTS OF INTRUSIVE BODIES WILL BE INCORPORATED LATER VIA APPROPRIATE ADJUSTMENTS OF MODEL DOMAINS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS AT SPECIFIC TIME STEPS SIMULATING TRANSITION FROM A STABLE THERMAL MUSH TO AN ERUPTIBLE MOSTLY LIQUID MAGMA. IN THE SECOND TASK WE WILL EVALUATE THE STRESS STATES GENERATED IN THE FIRST TASK AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR MAGMA STORAGE (CHAMBERS) ASCENT INTRUSION (SILLS AND DIKES) AND EXTRUSION (E.G. EDIFICE CONSTRUCTION) AND THERMAL STATE. STRESS FIELDS FROM TASK 1 AND MAGMA PROPERTIES (DENSITY VISCOSITY) WILL BE INPUTS TO EQUATIONS FOR MAGMA MOVEMENT VELOCITY IN DIKES AND SILLS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE MAGMA MOVEMENT PATHS WITHIN THE LITHOSPHERE AND THESE MAGMA PATHWAYS WILL IN TURN DICTATE WHERE (IF) MATERIAL ERUPTS AND HENCE THE SURFACE LOADING THAT OCCURS WHICH FEEDS BACK INTO THE STRESS STATE CONTROLLING SUBSEQUENT ERUPTIONS. IN THIS WAY WE WILL LET THE MAGMA DECIDE HOW GROWTH OF THE EDIFICE AND THEREBY THE STRESS HISTORY EVOLVES. WE WILL INTERPRET SPECIFIC MODELS FROM TASK 1 IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF MAGMA PATHWAYS AND CHANGES IN INTRUSION GEOMETRY OR EDIFICE SHAPE. BY COMPARING THE RESULTS TO EXISTING VENUSIAN VOLCANO-TECTONIC FEATURES E.G. CONICAL AND FLAT-TOPPED VOLCANOES VARIOUS CORONAE WE CAN CONSTRAIN THE EFFECTS OF PARAMETERS SUCH AS LITHOSPHERE THICKNESS MAGMA SUPPLY RATE AND MAGMA SOURCE DIMENSIONS ON THE ERUPTIVE INTRUSIVE AND THERMAL HISTORIES OF THE RESULTING SYSTEMS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE HOST REGIONS OF VENUS. THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO SSW PROGRAM GOALS OF UNDERSTANDING PHENOMENA AFFECTING THE SURFACES AND INTERIORS OF PLANETS SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING CALLED-OUT RESEARCH AREAS IN INTERIOR STRUCTURE LITHOSPHERES VOLCANISM AND EVOLUTION AND MODIFICATION OF SURFACES.