Inspiration of wrinkles in layered material for the mechanism study of several geological activities

Abstract

In this work, we propose a universal method of preparing wrinkle structures in layered crystals, which provides a good model for studying the physical properties of layered materials under strain. More importantly, there are some similarities between wrinkle engineering and geological activities, which inspires us to give some possible explanations to the mechanism for geological activities like earthquake and volcanic. The wrinkle structures of layered crystals can be achieved by exerting uniaxial or biaxial stress on the flexible substrate, which is very similar to the layered structure of the Earth and the formation of mountain folds on the Earth's surface. Since the Earth has an uneven mass distribution and self-rotation as well, the moments of inertia for plates are different from each other. Here in this work, we point out that there is a difference in angular velocity between the north hemisphere and south hemisphere, which may strongly influence the topography and geology activities near the equator. This work provides a possible mechanism explanation for several geological phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and continental drift. Based on China's special topography, we propose a matter flow hypothesis and discuss the orientation of matter flow in detail. We point out that the geological activity mechanism in China and the regions around plate boundaries is quite different. The matter flow hypothesis can be well applied to explain the causes of earthquake disasters in China, the distribution of mineral resources, and the possible causes of oil in the Middle East countries. Besides, it also provides a new theoretical guidance for predicting the earthquake disasters and prospecting the mineral resources in China. This work provides a new idea for humans to avoid natural disasters, to understand the natural phenomena on the Earth, and to make rational use of natural resources.