Scientists have surveyed rivers on Earth through soil and ice and compared them to lava flows through rock. With rivers, centrifugal forces push the water to go faster at the bends, leading to erosion on the outer edge and sediments along the inner edge. Volcanic and ice channels are created by melting and do not deposit material in the same way. This difference will allow scientists to work out the history of channels on worlds across the Solar System.

Researchers quantify the way rivers bend, opening up the possibility for identifying origins of channels on other planets

Whether it’s rivers cutting through earth, lava melting through rock, or water slicing through ice, channels all twist and bend in a seemingly similar back-and-forth manner. But a new study led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has discovered that channels carved by rivers actually have curves distinct to those cut by lava or ice.

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