Chapter 8

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphism: to change from one form to another Metamorphic rock: any rock that has undergone solid state changes in texture, mineralogy, and/or chemical composition

How Do Rocks Metamorphose?

Rocks metamorphose by the partial or complete recrystallization of minerals in the rocks over long periods of time These rocks remain essentially solid during metamorphism, but can flow in a plastic-like manner

Metamorphism
Three Principal Factors that Drive Metamorphism

Temperature Pressure Fluids

Temperature
Temperature (heat) is the most important of the three factors in metamorphism Temperature drives the chemical changes that result in the recrystallization of existing minerals or the creating of new minerals

Temperature
Earths internal heat comes from energy being released by radioactive decay and thermal energy left over from the formation of the planet

Temperature
The rate at which the temperature increases as you go deeper into the Earths crust is called the geothermal gradient

Temperature
The geothermal gradient averages 30oC per kilometer increase with depth (but it can vary from 20oC to 50oC per kilometer of depth)

Temperature
Note that the geothermal gradient is lowered by the subduction of the cooler oceanic plate

Temperature
In contrast, the rising magma increases the geothermal gradient

Effects of Temperature
Heat, by itself, can greatly affect a rocks texture and mineralogy Heat breaks chemical bonds and alters the crystal structure Atoms and ions re-crystallize into new mineral assemblages Many new crystals will grow larger than they were in the parent rock

Effects of Temperature
Given the initial mineral composition of the rock, the metamorphic changes that occur with a change in temperature follows a predictable and repeatable path Minerals crystallize (and remain stable) at different temperatures in a predictable manner Therefore, given a specific set of minerals in a metamorphic rock, you can infer the temperature at which the metamorphic rock formed

Temperature
Metamorphic changes can occur with increasing or decreasing temperature Prograde refers to mineral changes that take place during an increase in temperature Retrograde refers to mineral changes that take place during an decrease in temperature

Pressure
Pressure, like temperature, changes a rocks mineralogy and texture in a predictable manner Pressure, like temperature, also increases with depth Increases 1 kbar per 4.4 kilometers

Pressure
There are two major types of pressure:

Confining pressure applies pressure from all directions Differential stress is pressure comes from a particular direction (such as from the collision of two tectonic plates)

Confining Pressure
Buried rocks are subject to confining pressure, where the pressure is applied equally in all directions

Confining Pressure

Confining Pressure
Confining pressure causes the spaces between mineral grains to close, producing a more compact rock with a greater density

Confining Pressure

Confining Pressure
Confining pressure does not fold or deform rocks

Differential Stress
Differential stress is a pressure that is applied from a direction (rather than all directions)

Differential Stress
Rocks subject to differential stress are preferentially shortened in the direction that pressure is applied ...

Differential Stress
... and lengthened in the direction perpendicular to that pressure

Effects of Pressure
Directed pressure guides the shape and orientation of the new metamorphic minerals Metamorphic minerals can be compressed, elongated and/or rotated by being forced into preferred orientations

Can form spectacular and erratic banding

Effects of Pressure
At low pressures, rocks are brittle and tend to fracture when subjected to differential stress At high pressures, rocks are ductile and flow like plastic Under ductile conditions, mineral grains tend to flatten and elongate when subject to differential stress

Fluids

Fluids composed of water and other volatile components, such as carbon dioxide, play an important roll in metamorphism Metamorphism can add or remove chemical components that dissolve in water Water acts as a catalyst during metamorphism Water aids in the exchange of ions between growing crystals

Fluids
Clays minerals can contained up to 60% water Water is part of the crystal structure in many minerals, such as mica and amphibole When subject to low to medium temperatures, water molecules can be removed from minerals Once expelled, the water moves along the individual mineral grains and is available to transport ions At higher metamorphic temperatures, the water and fluids are driven from the rock

Parent Rocks
The initial composition of the parents rocks is a fourth major factor Most metamorphic rocks have the same overall composition as the parent rock from which they formed Except for the possible loss or accumulation of volatiles such as water and carbon dioxide

Metamorphic Grade
Metamorphic rocks are classified by how much metamorphic changes they have undergone High-grade: Formed in deeper crustal regions, perhaps as deep as the upper mantle, under high temperature and/or high pressure Low-grade: Formed in shallower crustal regions under low temperature and/or low pressure

Metamorphic Grade
The grade is related to both temperature and pressure, which is related to depth

Texture & Composition

Metamorphic rocks are classified by their texture and composition, which is also related to their grade

Low grade

Slate Phyllite Schist Gneiss High grade Migmatite

Metamorphic Texture
Metamorphism creates new textures on the rock it alters In general the grain size of crystals increase as the grade of metamorphism increases Four main criteria: The size of their crystals How the mineral grain shape is changed The degree to which minerals are segregated into light and dark bands Metamorphic grade

Metamorphic Textures
There are three major types of metamorphic rock textures: Foliation Granoblastic Large-crystal When we look at foliation, we will also discuss: Schistosity Gneissic texture

Foliation
A fundamental and prominent textural feature of regional metamorphosed rock A set of flat or wavy parallel planes produced by directed stress deformation Presence of platy or elongated minerals (chiefly micas and chlorite) help create the foliation

Foliation
Stress deformation causes mineral grains in preexisting rocks to develop parallel, or nearly parallel, alignment

Foliation
(Left) Existing minerals keep their random orientation if force is uniformly applied by confining pressure

Foliation
(Right) Differential stress causes rocks to flatten, and the mineral grains to rotate toward the plane of flattening

Foliation
A. Ductile deformation (flattening) of mineral grains can occur in one of two ways

Foliation
B. The first mechanism is a solid-state plastic flow by intracrystalline movement within each grain

Foliation
C. The second mechanism involves the dissolving of ions from areas of high stress and the moving and deposition of the ions in low stress areas

Foliation
D. Both mechanisms change the shape of the mineral grains (but the volume and overall composition remains essentially unchanged)

Foliated Rocks
Slate Phyllite Schist Gneiss Migmatite

Foliated Rocks - Slate

Slates are of the lowest metamorphic grade They are so fine-grained that you need a microscope to see individual minerals Parent rock is shale

Foliated Rocks - Slate

Slate can be spilt along cleavage into thin sheets, which gives it economic value Chalk blackboards were made of thin sheets of slate

Slate
Slate can be used for roofing, but weight is a problem

Slate
The very best pool tables are made of slate

Foliated Rocks - Phyllites

Phyllites form during low-grade metamorphism of mud- and clay-rich sedimentary rocks They represent an intermediate step between slate and schist Phyllites are very fine grained rocks with a grain size barely visible in a hand specimen They usually exhibit cleavage

Foliated Rocks - Schist

The schists are a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, which are characterized by having medium- to coarse-grained minerals that are platy or flakey in appearance These platy mineral grains include micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others

Foliated Rocks - Schist

The small, platy (flakey) grains of mica in this schist can easily be seen with the unaided eye

Foliated Rocks - Schist

Schist is also used as a catch-all term to describe the texture of a metamorphic rock To indicate composition, mineral names are used For example, this is a mica garnet schist (Note that the garnets are of gem quality)

Foliated Rocks - Schist

Most schists have in all probability been derived from clay and mud sedimentary rocks which have passed through a series of metamorphic processes involving the production of shales, slates and phyllites as intermediate steps

Foliated Rocks - Gneiss

Gneiss are a group of high-grade metamorphic rocks, which are characterized by having medium- to coarse-grained minerals that are banded or laminated in appearance Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes

Foliated Rocks - Gneiss

Gneiss is metamorphosed shale, granite or volcanic rocks The most common minerals in gneiss are quartz, potassium feldspar and sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar (plus lesser amounts of mica and other minerals) (Red-colored lichen growing on gneiss in Canada)

Banding in Gneiss

The banding can be very distinctive

Foliated Rocks - Migmatite

Migmatite is a very high-grade of metamorphic rock Migmatite is a rock at the frontier between metamorphic and igneous rocks Temperatures are just high enough to start melting the rock As a consequence, migmatite istypically very badly deformed and contorted with veins, pods and lenses of melted rock

Foliated Rocks - Migmatite

Granoblastic Rocks
Not all metamorphic rocks have foliated texture Many metamorphic rocks have a massive or coarse granular appearance and exhibit no deformation They are composed mainly of crystals that grow in equidimensional shapes Therefore they are catalogued by mineral composition, and not texture These are referred to as granoblastic rock

Granoblastic Rocks
Some of the more common granoblastic rocks are: Quartzite Marble (Hornfels) (Greenstones) (Amphibolite) We will look at quartzite and especially marble

Quartzite
Quartzite is a very hard metamorphic rock formed from quartz sandstone Pure quartzite is white, but reddish/pinkish and grayish colors caused by impurities are common The recrystillization is so complete that when broken, quartzite will split through the quartz grains rather than along their boundaries

Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone or dolostone This metamorphic process causes a complete recrystallization of the original rock into an interlocking mosaic of calcite, aragonite and/or dolomite crystals The temperatures and pressures necessary to form marble usually destroy any fossils and sedimentary textures present in the original rock

Marble
White in its pure form, marble is available in a beautiful variety of colors, which are caused by mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert

Marble
Quarries in the mountains of Carrara, Italy have been yielding quality marble for thousands of years You can even see the quarries from outer space

Marble
Marble is commonly used as a building material For example, as faades, flooring and countertops

Taj Mahal
Located in Agra, India, the Taj Majal is a huge mausoleum built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaj Mahal, and both are interred in it in a simple crypt

Taj Mahal
It was built between 1631 and 1648 in the Mughal architectural style, which combines elements of Islamic, Indian, Persian and Turkish design The Taj Mahal is considered to be the greatest masterpiece of Islamic architectural art in India

Taj Mahal
The picture on the left was taken a half century ago and shows the natural, brilliant white of the marble used in the construction The picture on the right shows how acid rain, generated from local foundries and an oil refinery, is turning the white marble into a sickly light tan color

Marble
Pure white marbles, from Italy and China, have been prized for sculpture since classical times These white marbles are soft which facilitates carving, have the ability to take a fine polish and are relative resistance to shattering Most of the greatest statues in the world, such as the Venus de Milo and David, were carved by hand out of marble by the old masters

Marble
The low index of refraction of calcite in white marble allows light to penetrate several millimeters into the stone, resulting in the characteristic "waxy" look which gives "life" to marble sculptures of the human body

Three Graces by Antonio Canova

Marble
Antonio Canova (1 November 1757 to 13 October 1822) was from the Republic of Venice and many consider him to be the greatest Italian sculptor

Eros and Psyche in the Louvre, Paris

Large-crystal Textures
Metamorphic rocks can exhibit a great variation in crystal size During the recrystallization process, certain metamorphic minerals, including garnet, Staurolite and andalusite, tend to develop a few very large crystals In contrast, minerals such as muscovite, biotite and quartz typically form a large number of small crystals

Porphyroblasts

Garnet

Porphyroblasts are metamorphic rocks having a matrix of fine-grained minerals with large crystals The garnets grew much faster than the matrix in this schist

Speaking of Garnets
Garnets are only found in metamorphic rock and can be used to judge the grade of the metamorphism Most garnet is not of gem quality In fact, the most common use of garnet is as an abrasive, such as in garnet sandpaper

Speaking of Garnets
When of gem quality, garnets are typically red, but they occur in a wide variety of other colors The rarest color is blue Uvarovite is a calcium chromium garnet which is green in color It is found in crystalline marbles and schists in Russia and Finland

Texture
Classification of Metamorphic Rocks on Texture

Texture

Texture
1. Metamorphism causes sedimentary rocks, like shale, to form slaty cleavage planes perpendicular to their bedding planes 2. Original bedding was thin clay layers 3. Metamorphism changes the shale to slate

Texture
4. Folliation is the result of directed compression 5. Mineral crystals become elongated perpendicular to the compression 6. Platy minerals develop a preferred orientation

Texture
7. As intensity of metamorphism increases, so does crystal size and coarseness of folliation

Texture
8. Foliated rocks are classified by the degree of cleavage, shistosity and banding, which corresponds to the intensity of metamorphism

Metamorphic Environments

Contact (or thermal) Hydrothermal Burial Regional Shock (impact) Fault Zone

Contact Metamorphism
Contact or thermal metamorphism occurs when an intrusive magma heats the surrounding country (or host) rock and changes the mineralogy and texture

Contact Metamorphism

The zone where the rocks are subject to metamorphism is called the metamorphic aureole

Contact Metamorphism
The sedimentary rocks are turned into metamorphic rock by contact metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism
Even small dykes can form aureole of metamorphic rock a few centimeters thick

Contact Metamorphism
The metamorphic aureole is the darker rock that once roofed over the igneous pluton

Hydrothermal Metamorphism
Hydrothermal fluids can carry dissolved calcium dioxide, sodium, silica, copper and zinc Ascending hydrothermal fluids can react with overlying rock, creating new minerals (which may have great economic value)

Hydrothermal Metamorphism
The most widespread occurrence of hydrothermal metamorphism is along the mid-oceanic ridges As seawater percolates through the newly created crust, it is heated and chemically reacts with the mafic (Fe and Mg rich) basalt

Hydrothermal Metamorphism
The ferromagnesian igneous minerals, such as olivine and pyroxene, are changed into metamorphic minerals such as serpentine, chlorite and talc Calcium-rich plagioclase feldspars become more sodiumrich as the sea salt (NaCl) exchanges calcium for sodium

Black Smokers
Large amounts of metals, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, silver, gold and copper, are dissolved from the newly formed crust These hot (~350oC), metal-rich fluids rise along fractures, generating particle-filled clouds called black smokers

Black Smokers
Black smokers were first discovered in 1977 around the Galpagos Islands by the small submersible vehicle called Alvin Smokers have now been found in all oceans

Black Smokers
Although life is very sparse at these depths, black smokers are the center of entire ecosystems Sunlight is nonexistent, so many organisms must convert the heat, methane, and sulfur compounds provided by black smokers into energy through a process called chemosynthesis

Black Smokers
Hydrothermal vents support a large population of chemosynthetic bacteria The bacteria then grow into a thick mat which attracts other organisms such as amphipods and copepods which graze upon the bacteria directly Larger organisms such as snails, shrimp, crabs, tube worms, fish, and octopuses form a food chain of predator and prey

Burial Metamorphism
Burial metamorphism occurs when thick accumulations of sedimentary strata on the ocean floor are subducted beneath another plate

Burial Metamorphism
This is a low grade metamorphism that typically begins when the subducted sediments reach a depth of 6-10 kilometers (3-6 miles) or when the temperature reaches about 200oC

Regional Metamorphism
Most metamorphic rocks are created during the process of regional metamorphism associated with mountain building During these dynamic events, large segments of the Earths crust are intensely deformed along convergent plate boundaries

Regional Metamorphism
The mountain building applies differential stress literally over a wide regional area Sediments and crustal rock lifted up from the ocean floor are folded and faulted Metamorphism of all grades, from low to high occurs

Regional Metamorphism
The Andes Mountains and the Himalaya Mountains (below) are prime examples where regional metamorphism has occurred along thousands of miles of mountain range

Regional Metamorphism
The Swiss and Austrian Alps in Europe are other famous examples where extensive regional metamorphism has occurred

Impact Metamorphism
Impact metamorphism occurs when an asteroid or comet impacts the Earths surface These objects can be moving as fast as 100,000 miles per hour (~28 miles per second)

Impact Metamorphism
In a fraction of a second, the energy of the rapidly moving object is transferred into heat energy and shock waves as it smashes into the Earth

Impact Metamorphism
The impacting asteroid or comet is vaporized The impacted rock is shattered, pulverized and sometimes even melted Minerals in the rock are instantly subjected to both high temperature and high pressure

Impact Metamorphism
Rare and unusual metamorphic minerals such as coesite, which are normally never found on the Earths surface, are nearly instantly formed Staggering quantities of matter are blown into the atmosphere Fortunately for life on Earth, this is a rare event, but these impacts have repeatedly caused mass extinctions

Impact Metamorphism
A crater one mile in diameter and 500 feet deep is formed in only 30 seconds A crater ten miles in diameter and a mile deep is formed in 90 seconds The largest known crater on the Earth in located in South Africa and is 180 miles in diameter

(Above) Tenoumer Crater in Mauritania

Fault Zone Metamorphism

Near the surface, rock behaves like a brittle solid So near the surface, movement along a fault zone fractures and pulverizes the rock, creating what is called fault breccia

In contrast, at depth under higher heat and pressure, rock is ductile and flows like plastic At depth along a fault zone, the mineral structures are deformed by the ductile flow, giving the metamorphic rock a foliated or lineated appearance

Fault Zone Metamorphism

Metamorphic Grade
Metamorphic grade tells us the maximum temperature and pressure to which a rock was subject However, metamorphism is a dynamic process and a metamorphosed rock may have a very complex history Most minerals are stable over a relatively narrow range of pressure and temperature The stability range of different minerals sometimes overlap and provide insights into the metamorphic history of rocks

Metamorphic Grade
1. During metamorphism, a garnet crystal grows and its composition changes as the temperature and pressure around it changes

Metamorphic Grade
2. We can plot the growth of the garnet on the P-T chart from where it started growing at its center [1] to its edge at [2]

Metamorphic Grade
3. The garnet started growing in a schist [1] and continued growing in a gneiss [2] as the grade of metamorphism increased along the prograde path

Metamorphic Grade
4. Note that the garnet survived the progression along the retrograde path as it headed to the surface

Metamorphic Facies
About a century ago, it was realized that there are groups of associated metamorphic minerals that were formed under similar temperatures and pressures Different metamorphic rocks containing the same assemblage of minerals are said to belong to the same metamorphic facies

Metamorphic Facies
Each facies is characteristic of particular tectonic environments and will have certain index minerals that are indicative of those conditions Therefore the minerals in a rock can be clues to the (pressure and temperature) history of the rock

Metamorphic Facies

Metamorphic Facies
This color plot shows the change in the grade of six common index metamorphic minerals across New England Note the regional progression from low- to high- grade

Metamorphic Facies

Metamorphic Facies

With increasing metamorphic grade, mineral compositions change and these minerals define the metamorphic facies for the metamorphic environment

Metamorphic Facies
Metamorphic facies are determined by the temperature and pressure In turn, these temperatures and pressures define the metamorphic environment Therefore we can plot the metamorphic environments

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

The pressure-temperature history of the rock can often be tied to the plate tectonic setting Continent-continent collision Continent-ocean convergence Seafloor spreading Transform-fault

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

Plate tectonics moves rocks through different temperature and pressure zones, from shallow to deep levels in the crust And the back to the shallow crust and even the surface

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

We will look at two examples involving continent-ocean convergence

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

Plate Tectonics & Metamorphism

The association of metamorphic facies with the various types of plate tectonic metamorphic environments

Chapter 9
Geologic Time