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%)
Where Does the Pressure Come from?
• Air Pressure = 14 P.s.i. (1 Atmosphere or 1
Bar)
• 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 km Of Rock) = 1
Kilobar (Kb.)
 Types of Metamorphism
Contact Regional
• Around Intrusions • Wide Areas
• Shallow: 0-6 Km • 5-20 Km, Sometimes
• Low Pressure 30+
• Local • High Pressure
• Usually Accompained
by Deformation
 What Happens During
Metamorphism
Minerals React to Form New Materials Are Added
New Minerals (Metasomatism)
• 2SiO2 + CaMg(CO3) 2 == • CaMg(SiO2)2 + 2CO2 ==
CaMgSi2O6 + 2CO2 CaMg(CO3)2 + 2SiO2
• Quartz + Dolomite == • Pyroxene + CO2 ==
Pyroxene Dolomite + Quartz
Minerals Change Form • Minerals in Solution ==
• Al2SiO5 == Al2SiO5 Ore Bodies
• Andalusite == Kyanite Recrystallization
 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
 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?
 Polymorphism
Al2SiO5 Calcite - Aragonite
• Andalusite Quartz -
• Kyanite • - Tridymite -
• Sillimanite Cristobalite (increasing
temperature)
Ice - 6 high
pressure forms • - Coesite - Stishovite
(increasing pressure)
Diamond - Graphite
 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)

Mantle Rocks