Metamorphism

•Changes in Rock Composition or Texture

•Due to Heat, Pressure and Action of Fluids
 We Do Not Live at “Normal”
Conditions
• By the standards of Earth’s interior, we live
in a frozen vacuum
• Things that look “abnormal” to us are
normal behavior for materials
– Solids can flow
– Solids can react chemically with each
other
– A given material can have several
different atomic structures
 Chemical Changes in Rocks
Weathering Metamorphism
• At Surface • Starts about 200 C
• Outside range of
Diagenesis normal near-surface
• Sedimentary Rocks conditions
 Where Does the Heat Come from?
Uranium and Thorium  Other Elements + Lead
+ Radiation (about 90%)

Potassium-40  Calcium-40 or Argon-40 +

Radiation (about 10%)

Possibly some primordial heat (controversial)

 Where Does the Pressure Come from?
• Air Pressure = 14 P.s.i. (1 Atmosphere or 1 Bar
= 100 kPa)
• Pressure Beneath 10 Meters (33 Ft.) Of Water
= 1 Atm. = 1 Bar
• Same Pressure Beneath 3.5 m (10 ft.) Of Rock
• Pressure in Deepest Part of Ocean = 1000 Bars
• Pressure under One Mile of Rock = 500 Bars
• 1000 Bars (2 Mi. or 3.5 km Of Rock) = 1
Kilobar (Kb.) = 100 MPa
 Pressure Units
• 1 Newton (N) = gravitational attraction on 100
grams
• One Newton = 7 Fig Newtons
• 1 Pascal (Pa) = 1 N/square meter
• 1 Pascal = pressure under thin cardboard or
0.1 mm water
• A Thin section exerts about 1 Pa pressure on
the slide
• One bar = 1 atm = 100 kPa
• 1 MPa = 10 bars
• 1 GPa = 10 kilobars
 Types of Metamorphism
Contact
• Around Intrusions or Local Heat Sources
Regional
• Usually Accompanied by Deformation
Cataclasis
• Shearing and fault zones
Shock
• Ultra-high pressures and rapid deformation
 What Happens During
Metamorphism
Minerals React to Form New New Materials Are Added
Minerals (Metasomatism)
• 2SiO2 + CaMg(CO3) 2 == • CaMg(SiO2)2 + 2CO2 ==
CaMgSi2O6 + 2CO2 CaMg(CO3)2 + 2SiO2
• Quartz + Dolomite == • Pyroxene + CO2 == Dolomite
Pyroxene + Quartz
Minerals Change Form • Minerals in Solution == Ore
• Al2SiO5 == Al2SiO5 Bodies
• Andalusite == Kyanite Recrystallization
Cataclasis
Shock Metamorphism
 Polymorphism

Al2SiO5 Calcite - Aragonite

• Andalusite Quartz -
• Kyanite • - Tridymite - Cristobalite
• Sillimanite (increasing
temperature)
Ice - 6 high pressure
forms • - Coesite - Stishovite
(increasing pressure)
Diamond - Graphite
 Why Don't Rocks
"De-metamorphose"?
Reactions Can't Reverse Because Ingredients Lost
– 2AlSi2O5(OH) == Al2SiO5 + 3SiO2 + H2O
– Clay Mineral == Andalusite + Quartz + Water (Lost)
• An example of carbonate metamorphism:
– CaMg(CO3) 2 + 2SiO2 == CaMgSi2O6 +2CO2
– Dolomite + Quartz == Pyroxene + CO2 (Lost)
Reactions "Freeze"
Sometimes it Does Happen if Fluids Present
• Retrograde Metamorphism
• On the surface we call it weathering
 Foliation
Foliation is a
sheetlike
structure
that forms
when rocks
are
deformed.
Foliation
a. Flattening
b. Grain
Rotation
c. Solution
d. New
Minerals
e. Partial
Melting
f. Shearing
 Foliation
In every case, the
foliation is:
• In the direction
of least
resistance
• at right angles
to the direction
of greatest
compression.
 Metamorphic Grade -
Degree to Which the Rock Has Changed
Composition
• Can Often See Original Bedding
• Can Sometimes Even See Deformed Fossils
• At High Grades, Rocks Can Often Lose All
Trace of Their Original Appearance
 Major Metamorphic Rock Types
Index
Temp C Temp F Coal Limestone Sandstone Basalt Shale
Minerals
Lignite
Bituminous
500 Anthracite

300 600 Graphite Marble Slate Chlorite

700 Greenstone

800 Quartzite Phyllite Biotite

500 900 Schist Garnet

1000 Amphibolite Staurolite

Gneiss
600 1100 Kyanite

1200 Sillimanite

Melting
700
Begins
 Major Metamorphic Rock Types
Index
Temp C Temp F Coal Limestone Sandstone Basalt Shale
Minerals
Lignite
Bituminous
500 Anthracite

300 600 Graphite Marble Slate Chlorite

700 Greenstone

800 Quartzite Phyllite Biotite

500 900 Schist Garnet

1000 Amphibolite Staurolite

Gneiss
600 1100 Kyanite

1200 Sillimanite

Melting
700
Begins
 Major Metamorphic Rock Types
Index
Temp C Temp F Coal Limestone Sandstone Basalt Shale
Minerals
Lignite
Bituminous
500 Anthracite

300 600 Graphite Marble Slate Chlorite

700 Greenstone

800 Quartzite Phyllite Biotite

500 900 Schist Garnet

1000 Amphibolite Staurolite

Gneiss
600 1100 Kyanite

1200 Sillimanite

Melting
700
Begins
 Major Metamorphic Rock Types
Index
Temp C Temp F Coal Limestone Sandstone Basalt Shale
Minerals
Lignite
Bituminous
500 Anthracite

300 600 Graphite Marble Slate Chlorite

700 Greenstone

800 Quartzite Phyllite Biotite

500 900 Schist Garnet

1000 Amphibolite Staurolite

Gneiss
600 1100 Kyanite

1200 Sillimanite

Melting
700
Begins
 Major Metamorphic Rock Types
Index
Temp C Temp F Coal Limestone Sandstone Basalt Shale
Minerals
Lignite
Bituminous
500 Anthracite

300 600 Graphite Marble Slate Chlorite

700 Greenstone

800 Quartzite Phyllite Biotite

500 900 Schist Garnet

1000 Amphibolite Staurolite

Gneiss
600 1100 Kyanite

1200 Sillimanite

Melting
700
Begins
What About Other Rocks?
 Metamorphic Facies
Depth\Temp 300C 400C 500 C 600 C 700 C 800 C

5 km Zeolite Contact Metamorphism - Andalusite forms

10 km - 3 kb Greenschist Amphibolite Granulite

15 km Blueschist Chlorite, Garnet, Sillimanite forms
Biotite form Staurolite, Muscovite
20 km - 6 kb •Slate Kyanite form breaks down to
•Greenstone •Schist K-feldspar
25 km •Amphibolite Partial Melting
•Quartzite
•Quartzite •Gneiss
30 km - 9 kb •Marble
•Marble
35 km •Gneiss

40 km - 12 kb Not Found Eclogite (Mantle)

Metamorphic Map
Mantle Rocks
Metamorphism and Plate Tectonics