Block Rotations in NW Iran in Response to the Arabia-Eurasia Collision Constrained by Paleomagnetism

Northwest Iran is a seismically active region dominated by NW-SE trending strike-slip faults, such as the North Tabriz and Qosha Dagh faults, and smaller NNE-SSW striking faults. The Bozgush Mountains are shaped by these faults and divided into two domains that show a difference in strike. To quantify rotational tectonic deformation in NW Iran, we performed a paleomagnetic study along three transects of the Bozgush and Qosha Dagh Mountains with 127 sites. Our large new paleomagnetic data set shows that the Bozgush Mountains did not rotate as a single rigid block. In the western domain of the Bozgush Mountains, we find evidence for clockwise vertical axis rotations of ∼40°, while the eastern domain has rotated up to ∼80° clockwise. Declinations of the western Bozgush domain fit well with observed declinations in the Qosha Dagh Mountains. Fault patterns show that the eastern domain of the Bozgush Mountains is divided by a set of NNE-SSW striking sinistral strike-slip faults, which created domino-style blocks that accommodated the additional 40° of rotation. We estimate that these extra rotations have resulted in around 4 km of N-S shortening and more than 1.5 km of differential uplift

Seismicity in the western coast of the South Caspian Basin and the Talesh Mountains

We have studied the seismicity of the western margin of the South Caspian Basin (SCB) and the neighbouring Talesh fold and thrust belt. We have used the hypocentroidal decomposition multiple-event location technique to obtain accurate location of events recorded during 2 yr of observation. Data from a temporary seismic network in northwest Iran and other national and regional networks were combined to make an accurate assessment of seismicity in the region. Significant offshore seismicity is observed in a 50-km wide margin of the SCB. East of the Talesh Fault along the Caspian coastline, the depth of seismicity varies from 20 to 47 km. This pattern extends inland about 20–25 km west of the North Talesh Fault. This pattern of seismicity indicates that the basement slab of the South Caspian is undergoing intense seismic deformation as it is underthrusting beneath the northern Talesh, whereas the sedimentary cover deforms aseismically. The seismicity, depths, and previous focal mechanisms of the larger offshore events are consistent with low-angle underthrusting of the South Caspian floor. Within the Talesh, seismicity is mostly concentrated in the northern and southern structural arcs of the range, where deformation is more intense and complicated. Shallow crustal seismicity in the eastern flank of the Talesh is much less intense than in the western flank, where it signifies the deformation of the upper continental crust. One major observation is the lack of any significant N–S alignment of shallow epicentres inside the central Talesh to match the observed right-lateral shear deformation there. This suggests that shear deformation inside the Talesh may have a distributed nature, rather than being concentrated on a single thorough-going fault zone, as the Talesh moves northward relative to the South Caspian. We have determined a new moment tensor solution in the southwestern Talesh, with a dominant N–S trending right-lateral motion, the only solution so far confirming along-strike shear deformation in the Talesh

Ethnographic exploration of empowerment to improve elderly residents' quality of life

Background: Evidence underscores that empowerment is central to improve the elderly residents' quality of life. In truth, empowerment is a process through which individuals gain better control over their life. The aim of this study was to explore how perceived empowerment influence on the quality of life among elderly Malay residents. Materials and Methods: A focus ethnographic approach was employed in a Malaysian residential home between May 2011 and January 2012. Data were gathered from participant observations, field notes, in-depth interviews, and exploring related documents. Results: The analysis of the data gathered in the current study resulted in the development of three themes – social life and its requirements, caregivers' skills empowerment, and listening and supporting. Conclusions: Findings of the study provide new insights that are useful in charting new guideline for care providers and policy makers to improve the elderly residents' quality of life

Evidence for an early-MORB to fore-arc evolution within the Zagros suture zone: Constraints from zircon U Pb geochronology and geochemistry of the Neyriz ophiolite (South Iran)

Late Cretaceous Neyriz ophiolite, as a part of the Outer Zagros Ophiolitic Belt, represents a remnant of the southern Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere exposed along the Zagros suture zone in the south of Iran. Neyriz ophiolite is composed of dismembered lithological units including variably depleted mantle peridotites as well as intrusive and extrusive rocks preserving a geochemical evolution from mid-ocean ridge (MORB) to subduction-related (boninitic) signatures. Initially, the southern Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere formed in the mid-ocean ridge spreading centre between the Arabian plate to the south west and the Eurasian plate to the north east. The inception of intra-oceanic subduction in the northern margin of the Arabian plate caused a slightly metasomatised supra-subduction-zone (SSZ) mantle lithosphere, producing MORB-like melts with a high degree of partial melting (~25–30%), and complementary depleted residual clinopyroxene (Cpx)-rich harzburgite. The zircon U-Pb geochronology for plagiogranite and gabbro intrusions reveals formation ages of 100.1 ± 2.3 Ma to 93.4 ± 1.3 Ma, respectively (Cenomanian). At a later stage, the rapid slab rollback and associated fore-arc spreading led to asthenospheric diapirism and arc-wedge mantle corner flow, which produced boninitic-like melts with advanced degrees of shallow partial melting (~35%), and ultra-depleted residual Cpx-poor harzburgites. The pervasive interaction between boninitic-like melts and refractory Cpx-poor harzburgites produced dunites as replacive lenses. Thus, this study postulates that Neyriz ophiolite formed from the Neo-Tethyan intra-oceanic subduction system, and preserves evidence of the evolution from an early-MORB oceanic crust to an extending fore-arc basin during subduction rollback processes. This tectonic environment is common in the Eastern Mediterranean region, where SSZ ophiolites have resulted in extended protoarc-forearc settings above subducted slabs