High-MgO ultrapotassic rocks are found in four different areas of the Western Mediterranean basin associated in space and time with shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks. They represent different magmatic events at the active continental plate margin from Oligocene to Pleistocene. These rocks are found within the Western Alps (Northern Italy), in Corsica (France), in Murcia-Almeria (South-Eastern Spain), and in Southern Tuscany (Central Italy). Ultrapotassic terms are mostly lamprophyres, but olivine latitic lavas with a clear lamproitic affinity are also found. Lamproite-like rocks range from slightly silica under-saturated to silica over-saturated, and they are characterised by low Al 2 O 3 , CaO, and Na 2 O contents. They are plagioclase-free rocks, but K-feldspar is abundant beside other K-bearing phases. Shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks are invariably space associated to lamproites, and they either precede or follow them. High-Mg ultrapotassic rocks are characterised by strong enrichment of incompatible elements, which prevent further enrichment due to shallow level crustal contamination. K 2 O and incompatible element contents decrease passing from high-Mg ultrapotassic to high-Mg shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks suggesting that K and incompatible trace elements enrichments are a primary characteristic. Ultrapotassic to calc-alkaline rocks from Western Mediterranean regions, in spite of their different age of emplacement, are characterised by similar incompatible trace elements distribution. Depletion of High Field Strength elements with respect to Large Ion Lithophile elements is observed. Positive spikes at Th, U, and Pb, with negative spikes at Ba, Nb, Ta, Sr, P, and Ti, are common characteristics of ultrapotassic (lamproitic) to high-K calc-alkaline rocks. Ultrapotassic rocks are extremely enriched in radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd with respect to the associated shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks. Different isotopic values are distinctive of the different magmatic provinces irrespective of magmatic affinities. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i ranges between 0.71645 and 0.71759 for Western Alps lamproites, between 0.71226 and 0.71230 for Corsica lamproite, between 0.71642 and 0.72259 for Murcia-Almeria lamproites, and between 0.71578 and 0.71672 for Tuscany lamproites. Radiogenic Sr decreases along with K 2 O through shoshonitic to calc-alkaline rocks. Conversely 143 Nd/ 144 Nd i values increase with decreasing K 2 O, with the highest value of 0.51243 found for the one samples from Murcia-Almeria. Contrasting trends are observed among initial values of lead isotopes, but all falling well within the field of upper crustal rocks. Different trends of 207 Pb/ 204 Pb i and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb i vs. 206 Pb/ 204 Pb i for samples from the different provinces are observed. Several evidences indicate that most of the magmas of the different provinces have been generated in a depleted upper mantle (i.e., lithospheric) modified by metasomatism, but an asthenospheric component is also recognised in Corsica. At least two different s...

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We present a model of mantle lithosphere evolution in an extensional setting based on the structure and petrology of the Alpine-Apennine ophiolitic peridotites from the Jurassic Ligurian Tethys Ocean. Continental extension and rifting in the Ligurian domain were induced by far-fi eld tectonic forces and were characterized by the interplay of tectonic and magmatic processes. Extension and thinning of the lithosphere induced adiabatic upwelling and decompression melting of the asthenosphere. Mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB) melts percolated by porous fl ow through the extending lithospheric mantle and were trapped therein by interstitial crystallization. Therefore, melt emplacement at the seafl oor during continental rifting and breakup was prevented, and the resulting rifted margins of the basin were nonvolcanic. The asthenosphere-lithosphere interaction induced signifi cant rheological modifi cations of the percolated mantle. Weakening and softening of the mantle lithosphere signifi cantly lowered the total lithospheric strength. Accordingly, thermo-mechanical erosion of the mantle lithosphere promoted lithosphere stretching and thinning and enhanced the transition from distributed continental deformation to localized oceanic spreading.

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