MANTLE HETEROGENEITY AND MELTING CONDITIONS IN THE STRAIT OF SICILY RIFT ZONE

The Strait of Sicily Rift Zone (SSRZ) is a northwest-southeast trending transtensional rift system situated on the Pelagian Block, the northern promontory of the African plate that represents the foreland domain of the Sicilian Apenninic-Maghrebian orogeny. The SSRZ consists of three basins: the Pantelleria Trough, the Linosa Trough, and the Malta Trough. Volcanoes are present in or adjacent to all except the Malta Trough, and include two islands (Pantelleria and Linosa) and several seamounts. Volcanism in the SSRZ is dominated by continental OIB-like (C-OIB) Na-alkaline mafic lavas and tuffs. Although petrographically similar, there are significant differences in the major-element, trace-e…