In my prior post, I included a link to the actual study. The study researched how river valleys in the United States may be produced and spelled out a mathematical formula the author created to explain the depth and width of the valleys themselves. The purpose of the study was to see if such a formula could be discovered to explain valley characteristics. The study was flawed in that it only studied a few western regional valleys and a single eastern regional valley. The author’s conclusion that the cause of the valley dimensions were simple animal use of each valley is fascinating but mundane if taken solely for that result. However, Earth geology is often used to explain the same of other planets within and without our solar system. The author definitely needs to study polar valleys and similar troughs on Greenland and other nether reaches of our planet. However, if his conclusion holds up, the portent for exoplanets is astounding.
The study can be found here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090722/sc_livescience/formulafoundtoexplainearthsevenlyspacedvalleys
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