Offshore Oligo-Miocene volcanic fields within the Corsica-Liguria Basin: Magmatic diversity and slab evolution in the western Mediterranean Sea

► Presentation of an original collection of submarine rocks sampled by dredgings and in situ divings during 25 years within the Liguria-Corsica Basin. ► Geochemical diversity of lavas and K-Ar dating of whole rocks and 39Ar-40Ar of plagioclases and amphiboles between 30 and 6 Ma in several stages. ► West of Corsica, discovery of adakitic emissions K-Ar dated around 16 Ma. ► Transition from calc-alkaline, K-rich calc-alkaline and shoshonitic lavas to alkaline basalts in north Liguria Basin and in Toulonnais. ► Constraints on the kinematic and geodynamic evolution of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Liguria-Corsica Basin).