METAMORPHIC
PETROLOGY
METAMORPHIC PETROLOGY
o The study of the
composition,
characteristics, and origin
of metamorphic rocks.
o Covers the chemical and
physical work done in
natural systems in response
to changing physical
conditions.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
o Metamorphic rocks can be derived
from sedimentary, igneous or other
metamorphic rocks from heat and
pressure in which the rock remains in a
solid state.
o Rocks that form when a protolith
changes due to temperature or
pressure, and as a result of squashing or
shearing.
o Rocks form new minerals and textures
all without melting.
OCCURENCE
METAMORPHISM
o The mineralogical and
structural adjustment
of solid rocks to
physical and
chemical conditions.
o Metamorphism
doesn’t include
weathering,
diagenesis, and
melting. It is a solid-
state process.
METAMORPHISM
o Metamorphic rocks occur because
of changes that are caused by
high temperature (above 600˚ C)
and high pressure (500 Mpa)(20 km
deep).
o Most of metamorphic changes
begin at depths of few miles of the
earth, continuing up to the upper
mantle depths with rising
temperature and pressure.
CONTROLLING FACTORS
1. Parent rock composition
2. Temperature and pressure
during metamorphism
3. Tectonic forces
4. Fluids
CONTROLLING FACTORS
1. Parent rock composition
- Most metamorphic rocks have the
same overall chemical composition as the
parent rock from which they formed.
- The mineral content of the
metamorphic rock is controlled by the
chemical composition of the parent rock.
- Metamorphic rock will have similar
composition to parent rock.
CONTROLLING FACTORS
2. Temperature and pressure during metamorphism
Temperature
- Heat, necessary for metamorphic
reactions, comes primarily from the outward flow
of geothermal energy from Earth’s deep interior.
- Usually, the deeper a rock is beneath the
surface, the hotter it will be. (An exception to this is
the temperature distribution along convergent
plate boundaries due to subduction of cold crust)
CONTROLLING FACTORS
2. Temperature and pressure during
metamorphism
Temperature
- heat from earth’s deep interior
- all minerals stable over finite
temperature range
- higher temperature than range
cause melting
CONTROLLING FACTORS
2. Temperature and pressure during
metamorphism
Pressure
- pressure in the Earth acts the same
in all directions.
- pressure is proportional to depth in
the Earth.
- increases at 1 kilobar per 3.3 km
- pressure increases = volume
decreases
CONTROLLING FACTORS
3. Tectonic forces
- driven by plate motion
- lead to forces that are not
equal in all direction (differential
stress)
CONTROLLING FACTORS
Compressive Stress
- causes
flattening at 90˚ to
stress
Shearing
- causes
flattening parallel
to stress
CONTROLLING FACTORS
4. Fluids
- hot water (water vapor) most
important
- heat causes unstable minerals
to release water
- water reacts with surrounding
rocks and transports dissolved
material and ions
CLASSIFICATION
FOLIATED ROCKS
- a special type of
metamorphic rock that
has distinct, repetitive
layers. These layers form
as the conditions (heat
and pressure) change
for each layer of
the rock.
- Foliation – any planar
arrangement of mineral
grains or structural
features within a rock.
FOLIATED ROCKS
Examples:
1. Slate
2. Phyllite
3. Schist
4. Gneiss
SLATE
- PROTOLITH: Shale or Mudstone
- DEFINITION: A fine-grained, foliated
metamorphic rock that is created by the
alteration of shale or mudstone by low-
grade regional metamorphism.
- COLOR: Gray, Green, Red, Black, Purple,
and Brown
- COMPOSITION: Mica, Quartz, Feldspar,
Calcite, Pyrite, and Hematite.
SLATE
- USES: Roofing, interior flooring, exterior
paving, dimension stone, decorative
aggregate. Others: chalkboards, billiard
table, cemetery markers, table tops, and
early electric panels.
PHYLLITE
- PROTOLITH: Slate
- DEFINITION: Phyllite is subjected to low levels of
heat, pressure and chemical activity.
- COLOR: Gray, Black, Greenish, Tan/Brown
- COMPOSITION: Mica, Quartz, Feldspar
PHYLLITE
USES: landscape, paving, sidewalk stone
SCHIST
- PROTOLITH: Phyllite
- DEFINITION: Made-up of plate shape
mineral grains that are large enough to
see with an unaided eye. Usually form
on a continental side.
- COMPOSITION: Mica, Quartz, Feldspar
- USES: host rock for variety of gemstone
- fill when the physical properties of
the materials are not critical.
GNEISS
- PROTOLITH: Schist
- DEFINITION: Identified by its bands and lenses of
varying composition. A high-grade
metamorphic rock in which mineral grains
recrystallized under intense heat and pressure.
It is usually forms by regional metamorphism at
convergent plate bounderies.
- COLOR: Usually light and alternate with bands
of darker-colored minerals.
- COMPOSITION: Quartz, Feldspar
GNEISS
- USES: Crushed stones in road construction,
building site preparation, landscaping project,
and dimension stone. Architectural stone: floor
tiles, facing stone, stair treads, window sills,
countertops, and cemetery monuments.
NON-FOLIATED ROCKS
- formed around igneous
intrusions where the
temperatures are high
but the pressures are
relatively low and equal
in all directions
(confining pressure).
- Develop in
environments where
stress (deformation) is
minimal.
NON - FOLIATED ROCKS
Examples:
1. Hornfels
2. Marble
3. Quartzite
4. Novaculite
HORNFELS
- PROTOLITH: Igneous (basalt, gabbro, rhyolite,
granite, andesite, and diabase); Sedimentary
(shale, siltstone, sandstone, and limestone);
Metamorphic (schist and gneiss)
- DEFINITION: A fine-grain that was subjected to
the heat and pressure of contact
metamorphism at a shallow depth.
Temperature (700 - 800˚ C)
- COLOR: Black,Gray, Brown, Red, and Green
HORNFELS
- USES: road base and on concrete
landscaping (decorative rock in
garden)
MARBLE
- PROTOLITH: Limestone
- DEFINITION: Forms when limestone is subjected
to the heat and pressure of metamorphism.
Recrystallization is what marks the separation
between limestone and marble.
- COLOR: light-colored rock, white, bluish, gray,
pink, yellow, and black
- COMPOSITION: Calcite, Clay minerals, Mica,
Quartz, Pyrite, Iron Oxide, and Graphite
MARBLE
- USES: Crushed stone (aggregates in highways,
railroad beds, building foundations, and other
types of construction); Dimension stone
(monuments, buildings, sculptures, and paving)
QUARTZITE
- PROTOLITH: Quartz-rich sandstone
- DEFINITION: Composed almost entirely of
quartz. It is so tough that it breaks
through the quartz grains rather than
breaking along the boundaries between
them.
- COLOR: Gray, Pink, Red, Purple, Yellow,
Orange, Brown, Green, and Blue
- COMPOSITION: Quartz
QUARTZITE
- USES: Construction (crushed stone);
architecture (stair treads, floor tiles, and
countertops); Manufacturing
(manufacture glass, ferrosilicon,
manganese ferrosilicon, silicon metal,
silicon carbide); Decorative
(aventurine); Stone tools (crude cutting
and chopping tools)
NOVACULITE
- PROTOLITH: Chert
- DEFINITION: A dense, hard, fine-grained
siliceous rock that breaks with a
conchoidal fracture
- COLOR: Light colors, White, Gray, Pink,
Red, Tan
- COMPOSITION: Quartz
NOVACULITE
- USES: Manufacture (cutting tools and
weapon); Sharpening tools and
weapon; Aggregate (road base, rail
road ballast, and rip-rap); Refractory
(glass manufacturing); Tripoli; Reservoir
Rock; and Gold Testing.
ENGINEERING
PROPERTIES
o Rocks showing foliation should not
be preferred as construction
materials in terms of strength.
o Marbles from metamorphic rocks
are preferred as a good building
material. It is the building material
that is required in the building
coverings.
o Metamorphics can be exposed to
change immediately under
favorable climatic conditions. Due
to the changing construction,
volume increases and pressure
increases. Such features should be
observed in tunnels and dam
construction.
o Schists and similar rocks create
landslide hazards in road
constructions, dam abrasions, and
reservoir slopes.
o Massive gneisses provide very good
conditions for large underground
openings. Facilities for swimming
fools, theaters, skating rinks, industrial
warehouses, production plants and
many other activities have been
created economically safety in
large openings to such rocks.
