Foreword

Granites and Related Rocks: a tribute to Guillermo Corretgé (Geologica Acta 15, 4, Special Issue). Foreword

Fractal dimension and size scaling of domains in thin films of multiferroic BiFeO3

We have analyzed the morphology of ferroelectric domains in very thin films of multiferroic BiFeO3. Unlike the more common stripe domains observed in thicker films BiFeO3 or in other ferroics, the domains tend not to be straight, but irregular in shape, with significant domain wall roughening leading to a fractal dimensionality. Also contrary to what is usually observed in other ferroics, the domain size appears not to scale as the square root of the film thickness. A model is proposed in which the observed domain size as a function of film thickness can be directly linked to the fractal dimension of the domains.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

A revised Ordovician age for the Miranda do Douro orthogneiss, Portugal. Zircon U-Pb ion-microprobe and LA-ICPMS dating

The Miranda do Douro orthogneiss was believed to be the oldest magmatic rock of the Central Iberian Zone, on the base of a U-Pb discordia upper intercept of 618 ± 9 Ma. Nevertheless, new ion-microprobe and LA-ICPMS U-Pb zircon dating revealed that the crystallization age was 483 ± 3 Ma. The orthogneiss also contains a 605 ± 13 Ma zircon population that indicates that the source-rock for the Ordovician magma was Pan-African. Moreover, a few ~3.17 Ga zircon grains were also recorded. These grains are the oldest found so far in Iberia, and its occurrence would suggest the involvement of an Archean crust in the Pan-African orogeny

Rb-Sr and single - zircon grain 207Pb / 206Pb chronology of the Monesterio granodiorite and related migmatites. Evidence of a Late Cambrian melting event in the Ossa-Morena Zone, Iberian Massif

The Monesterio granodiorite, a small granodioritic body placed in a migmatitic complex in the SW of the Olivenza-Monesterio antiform, is a key plutonic body to understanding the relationships among the magmatism, metamorphism, and deformation in the Ossa-Morena Zone, SW Iberian Massif. We dated the granodiorite with the single zircon stepwise-evaporation 207Pb/206Pb method, and the related migmatization event with the Rb-Sr method on leucosomes. Our results indicate that the Monesterio granodiorite crystallised at 510 ± 7 Ma and its protolith had a component with Upper Proterozoic zircons with a minimum age of 1696 Ma. Leucosomes give a Rb-Sr age of 511 ± 40 Ma (MSWD =1,7) with initial 87Sr/86Sr =0.70914 ± 0.00048. The lower initial 87Sr/86Sr of the granodiorite and its calc-alkaline chemistry precludes it from having derived from the same protolith as the migmatites. The existence of different magmatic bodies in the Ossa-Morena Zone with ages clustering around 500-510 Ma reveals the existence of a significant melting event during the Late Cambrian that involved protoliths with very different geochemical and isotopic signatures.La granodiorita de Monesterio es un pequeño cuerpo emplazado en un complejo migmatítico en el SO del antiforme Olivenza-Monesterio, importante para entender las relaciones entre magmatismo, metamorfismo y deformación en la Zona de Ossa-Morena. Se ha datado la granodiorita por el método de evaporación secuencial de 207Pb/206Pb en cristal único de circón y los leucosomes de las migmatitas circundantes por el método Rb-Sr. Los datos indican una edad de cristalización de la granodiorita de 510 ± 4 Ma y un posible protolito Proterozoico Superior con una edad mínima de ∼1.700 Ma, obtenida a partir de núcleos heredados de los circones analizados. Los leucosomes dan una edad Rb-Sr de 511 ± 40 Ma, con una relación 87Sr/86Sr=0,70914 ± 0,00048. La relación inicial de 87Sr/86Sr en la granodiorita (∼0,7049) es mucho más baja que en los leucosomes, lo que junto con su naturaleza calcoalcalina indica que no derivan del mismo protolito. La existencia en la zona de Ossa-Morena de diferentes cuerpos magmáticos con edades en tomo a 500-510 Ma, indica un evento de fusión importante durante el Cámbrico Superior desarrollado sobre protolitos con características geoquímicas e isotópicas muy diferentes

Enhanced sensitivity of postsynaptic serotonin-1A receptors in rats and mice with high trait aggression

Individual differences in aggressive behaviour have been linked to variability in central serotonergic activity, both in humans and animals. A previous experiment in mice, selectively bred for high or low levels of aggression, showed an up-regulation of postsynaptic serotonin-1A (5-HT1A) receptors, both in receptor binding and in mRNA levels, in the aggressive line. The aim of this experiment was to study whether similar differences in 5-HT1A receptors exist in individuals from a random-bred rat strain, varying in aggressiveness. In addition, because little is known about the functional consequences of these receptor differences, a response mediated via postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors (i.e., hypothermia) was studied both in the selection lines of mice and in the randomly bred rats. The difference in receptor binding, as demonstrated in mice previously, could not be shown in rats. However, both in rats and mice, the hypothermic response to the 5-HT1A agonist alnespirone was larger in aggressive individuals. So, in the rat strain as well as in the mouse lines, there is, to a greater or lesser extent, an enhanced sensitivity of postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors in aggressive individuals. This could be a compensatory up-regulation induced by a lower basal 5-HT neurotransmission, which is in agreement with the serotonin deficiency hypothesis of aggression.

A precise late Permian 40Ar/39Ar age for Central Iberian camptonitic lamprohyres

The Avila batholith of central Spain is composed, predominantly, of crustal-melt peraluminous granites cut by small-scale mafic alkaline bodies. Dating of the Gredos sector mafic camptonitic lamprophyre dykes was undertaken to constrain the Late Variscan tectonomagmatic evolution of the region. A well constrained late Permian, Capitanian, age of 264.5 ± 1.3 Ma was obtained by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology using amphibole separates. This new age clearly distinguishes the dykes from other episodes of alkaline mafic magmatism in the region. We suggest that the lamprophyre dykes were emplaced into already solidified granitoids after the tectonic control on magma generation changed from purely extensional to transtensional

Tourmaline 40Ar/39Ar chronology of tourmaline-rich rocks from Central Iberia dates the main Variscan deformation phases

During crustal thickening, metapelites taken to depth release boron-bearing hydrothermal fluids because of progressive heating and dehydration. These fluids swiftly percolate upwards, especially if the crust is being actively deformed, to form tourmaline where the PT conditions and the chemical composition of the host-rock are favorable. The age of the so-formed tourmaline would record the age of the upward admittance of B-bearing fluids and, presumably, the age of the deformation. This process has been documented in the Martinamor Antiform of Central Iberia, a region where tourmaline-bearing rocks are particularly abundant. Metasomatic tourmaline from the Late Cambrian San Pelayo orthogneisses (zircon U-Pb age of 496 ± 5 Ma) yielded 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages at 370 ± 5 Ma and 342 ± 5 Ma. The first value represents the crystallization age of the tourmaline and is so far the most precise estimation of the age of crustal thickening in Central Iberia (D1). The second value reflects a partial loss of Ar caused by the second deformation phase (D2). Tourmaline from mylonitized and folded tourmalinites developed above D2 shear zones yield perturbed spectra with mean "plateau" ages of 347 ± 9 Ma and 342 ± 9 Ma which may represent either the resetting of older tourmaline or the formation of new tourmaline by focused boron metasomatism. After the metamorphic peak and simultaneously with the emplacement of the main granitoids of the Avila Batholith (310-315 Ma), another episode of boron metasomatism precipitated a new generation of tourmaline, which appears either concentrated in fine-layered tourmalinites (318 ± 2 Ma) or disseminated within Ediacaran-Cambrian metasediments (316 ± 2 Ma). The source of boron was the breakdown of previously formed tourmaline during melting reactions. Lastly, tourmaline from a leucogranitic body yielded a saddle-shaped age spectrum with a minimum age of ca. 296 Ma, roughly coeval with the youngest leucograni - tes. Although further work is required, our results suggest that tourmaline can be a useful chronological marker for dating deformation and magmatism

A precise late Permian 40Ar/ 39Ar age for Central Iberian camptonitic lamprophyres

The Avila batholith of central Spain is composed, predominantly, of crustal-melt peraluminous granites cut by small-scale mafic alkaline bodies. Dating of the Gredos sector mafic camptonitic lamprophyre dykes was undertaken to constrain the Late Variscan tectonomagmatic evolution of the region. A well constrained late Permian, Capitanian, age of 264.5 ± 1.3 Ma was obtained by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology using amphibole separates. This new age clearly distinguishes the dykes from other episodes of alkaline mafic magmatism in the region. We suggest that the lamprophyre dykes were emplaced into already solidified granitoids after the tectonic control on magma generation changed from purely extensional to transtensional