Nuevos datos bioestratigráficos sobre el Jurásico Superior de la Rama Castellana de la Cordillera Ibérica

La heterocronía de los límites litológicos entre las distintas unidades del Jurásico Superior a ambos lados de la fosa terciaria del valle del Jiloca, puesta de manifiesto por el estudio de los ammonoideos, es interpretada como el resultado de la dinámica diferencial de bloques debida a la acción de este accidente paleogeográfico. El límite Oxfordiense-Kimmeridgiense se situaría probablemente en la parte inferior de la Formación "Rítmica calcárea de Loriguilla" o en su equivalente lateral ("Margas de Frias")

Outer Versus Inner Halo Globular Clusters: NGC 7492 Abundances

We have carried out a detailed abundance analysis for 21 elements in a sample of four RGB stars in the outer halo globular cluster NGC 7492 (R_(GC) 25 kpc); we find [Fe/H] = -1.82 dex inferred from Fe Ilines (-1.79 from Fe II) using high-dispersion (R = λ/Δλ = 35,000) spectra obtained with HIRES at the Keck Observatory. Most elements show no sign of star-to-star variation within our limited sample. We have, however, detected an anticorrelation between O and Na abundances similar to that seen in our previous analyses of inner halo GCs as well as in studies of relatively nearby GCs by others. We compare the abundance ratios in NGC 7492 with those we previously determined for the much closer old halo GCs M3 and M13. After making corrections for trends of abundance ratio with metallicity characteristic of halo stars, we find that for these three GCs, for each of the elements in common we deduce identical abundance ratios with respect to Fe to within the probable measurement uncertainties. Thus, the chemical history of the outer halo as exemplified by the metal-poor outer halo globular cluster NGC 7492 is indistinguishable from that of the inner halo, exemplified by M3 and M13, at least through the epoch of formation of these old globular clusters. This applies to the neutron capture processes as well

The Rise of the AGB in the Galactic Halo: Mg Isotopic Ratios and High Precision Elemental Abundances in M71 Giants

High-resolution (R ≈ 100,000), high signal-to-noise spectra of M71 giants have been obtained with High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer at the Keck I telescope in order to measure their Mg isotopic ratios, as well as elemental abundances of C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Ni, Zr, and La. We demonstrate that M71 has two populations, the first having weak CN, normal O, Na, Mg, and Al, and a low ratio of ^(26)Mg/Mg (~4%) consistent with models of galactic chemical evolution with no contribution from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The Galactic halo could have been formed from the dissolution of globular clusters prior to their intermediate-mass stars reaching the AGB. The second population has enhanced Na and Al accompanied by lower O and by higher ^(26)Mg/Mg (~8%), consistent with models which do incorporate ejecta from AGB stars via normal stellar winds. All the M71 giants have identical [Fe/H], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], [Ti/Fe], and [Ni/Fe] to within σ = 0.04 dex (10%). We therefore infer that the timescale for formation of the first generation of stars we see today in this globular cluster must be sufficiently short to avoid a contribution from AGB stars, i.e., less than ~0.3 Gyr. Furthermore, the Mg isotopic ratios in the second M71 population, combined with their elemental abundances for the light elements, demonstrate that the difference must be the result of adding in the ejecta of intermediate-mass AGB stars. Finally, we suggest that the low amplitude of the abundance variations of the light elements within M71 is due to a combination of its low mass and its relatively high Fe-metallicity

Searching for the signatures of terrestial planets in solar analogs

We present a fully differential chemical abundance analysis using very high-resolution (R >~ 85,000) and very high signal-to-noise (S/N~800 on average) HARPS and UVES spectra of 7 solar twins and 95 solar analogs, 24 are planet hosts and 71 are stars without detected planets. The whole sample of solar analogs provide very accurate Galactic chemical evolution trends in the metalliciy range -0.3<[Fe/H]<0.5. Solar twins with and without planets show similar mean abundance ratios. We have also analysed a sub-sample of 28 solar analogs, 14 planet hosts and 14 stars without known planets, with spectra at S/N~850 on average, in the metallicity range 0.14<[Fe/H]<0.36 and find the same abundance pattern for both samples of stars with and without planets. This result does not depend on either the planet mass, from 7 Earth masses to 17.4 Jupiter masses, or the orbital period of the planets, from 3 to 4300 days. In addition, we have derived the slope of the abundance ratios as a function of the condensation temperature for each star and again find similar distributions of the slopes for both stars with and without planets. In particular, the peaks of these two distributions are placed at a similar value but with opposite sign as that expected from a possible signature of terrestial planets. In particular, two of the planetary systems in this sample, containing each of them a Super-Earth like planet, show slope values very close to these peaks which may suggest that these abundance patterns are not related to the presence of terrestial planets.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Evidence of widespread Cretaceous remagnetisation in the Iberian Range and its relation with the rotation of Iberia

A palaeomagnetic investigation has been carried out at 13 sites of Jurassic age in the Iberian Range (northern Spain). Two components of remanent magnetisation have been found at each site. A primary high-temperature component shows an average counterclockwise rotation with respect to the north of 33 2º clockwise about a vertical axis corresponding to the absolute rotation of the Iberian plate since the Jurassic. A secondary low-temperature component shows a systematic declination difference of 16 4º with respect to the primary component. This indicates that a rotation of Iberia must have occurred between the two acquisition times. Comparison of the magnetisation directions with previous palaeomagnetic data and with sea-floor spreading data, constrains the age of the remagnetisation between 95 and 125 Ma. The remagnetisation may be associated with the extensional phases in the Iberian Basin in the Early Cretaceous (Barremianearly Albian) or Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). A principal characteristic of the remagnetisation is its widespread character in the Iberian Range. Ó 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

THE CALLOVIAN UNCONFORMITY AND THE OPHIOLITE OBDUCTION ONTO THE PELAGONIAN CARBONATE PLATFORM OF THE INTERNAL HELLENIDES

The carbonate-platform-complex and the oceanic formations of the central Pelagonian zone of the Hellenides evolved in response to a sequence of plate tectonic episodes of ocean spreading, plate convergence and ophiolite obduction. The biostratigraphies of the carbonate platform and the oceanic successions, show that the Triassic-Early Jurassic platform was coeval with an ocean where pillow basalts and radiolarian cherts were being deposited. After convergence began during late Early- Jurassic - Middle Jurassic time, the oceanic leading edge of the Pelagonian plate was subducted beneath the leading edge of the oceanic, overriding plate. The platform subsided while a supra-subduction, volcanic-island-arc evolved. Biostratigraphic and geochemical evidence shows that the platform and the oceanic floor, temporarily became subaerially exposed during Callovian time. This “Callovian event” is suggested to have taken place as oceanic lithosphere first made compressional, tectonic contact with the carbonate platform, initiating a basal detachment fault, along which the platform was thrust upwards. The central Pelagonian zone became an extensive land area that was supplied with laterite from an ophiolite highland. A similar emergence of Vardar ophiolite most likely took place in the Guevgueli area. The Callovian emergence shows that the initial ophiolite obduction onto the platform took place about 25 million years before the final emplacement of the ophiolite during Valanginian time