Abundance calibration and evolution of GiantHii Regions

We present a self-consistent method to determine abundance and evolutionary status for GiantHii Regions (GHR) as well as the nominal temperature of the ionizing cluster and the ionization parameter. We define the ionization parameter-free plane ,R ₂₃] (Vilchez and Pagel, 1988) where observations are compared with the prediction of photoionization models, in order to obtain the abundance and evolutionary status for a given GHR. This new method allows us to re-calibrate the empirical relationship (R ₂₃, O/H) by Pagelet al. (1979) up to abundances three times solar. The effects of evolution of GHR on their observed spectra are explained in terms of the cooling down of the ionizing population and some evolutionary tracks are presented.