Metamorphic Rocks

Most rocks are an aggregate of one or more minerals, and a few rocks are composed of non- mineral matter. There are
three major rock types:
1. Igneous
2. Sedimentary
3. Metamorphic Rock
Metamorphic rocks are formed when preexisting rocks are transformed into new rocks by heat and pressure below the
Earth's surface.
Definitions Metamorphic Rock
"Meta"= Change (Grk)
"Morph"= form (Grk)
a rock that has been changed from its original form (parent) by heat, pressure, and fluid activity into a new rock
(daughter).
Metamorphic Rocks
 Metamorphic rocks are formed when existing parent rocks are transformed (metamorphosed) by heat and pressure
deep below the surface of the earth or along the boundary of tectonic plates.
 The three primary causes of metamorphism include one or more of the following conditions: heat, pressure,
and/or chemically active fluids.
 During metamorphism, rocks may fold, fracture, or even partially melt to a viscous state and flow before
reforming into a new rock.
 Metamorphic rocks change in appearance, mineralogy, and sometimes even chemical composition from their
parent rock source.
Metamorphic Conditions
1. Contact or Thermal Metamorphism: Occurs when parent rock is intruded by magma (usually an igneous
intrusion). Metamorphic changes under these conditions are primarily the result of temperature changes associated
with the intruding magma. Additionally, when hot ion-rich water circulates through fractures in a rock, it can also
cause chemical changes to the parent rock. These heat-driven, chemical reactions occur with igneous activity and
the presence of water.
• Caused by heat from magma intrusion.
• May involve chemical changes due to hot, ion-rich water circulation.
• Associated with igneous activity.
2. Dynamic Metamorphism: occurs when rocks are subjected to extreme pressure very rapidly. Two situations
are noted, (a.) fault zones and (b.) impact craters.
Fault Zones:
• In the upper crust, faults act as planar zones of crushed rock.
• Frictional heat during faulting can melt and metamorphose rock.
Impact Craters:
• Formed by meteorite collisions with Earth.
• Recognized by high-pressure minerals such as stishovite and coesite, which are unique forms of quartz
resulting from the intense impact forces.
Stishovite and coesite, both are high-pressure forms of quartz resulting from meteor impacts.
3. Regional Metamorphism: occurs when rocks are subjected to both heat and pressure on a regional scale. It is
caused by burial deep in the crust and is associated with large scale deformation and mountain building. It is the
most widespread form of metamorphism.
• Caused by deep burial in the Earth's crust.
• Associated with large-scale deformation and mountain-building processes.
• It is the most widespread type of metamorphism.
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➢ Metamorphism can occur along a range of heat and pressure intensities from low to high-grade metamorphism.
1. Low-grade metamorphism involves lower temperature and compressional forces that result in less overall
change to the parent rock. In many cases, after low-grade metamorphic changes the parent rock may still be
easily distinguishable.
2. High-grade metamorphism results in a total transformation of the parent rock into a new rock whereby its
original parent-rock source is difficult to identify.
Causes of Metamorphism: Heat
▪ Roll of Heat:-
1. Provides energy for chemical reactions, enabling the formation of new minerals from the original minerals
in the source rock.
2. Allows ions to mobilize and migrate, facilitating recrystallization and the development of new minerals.
▪ Sources of Heat:
1. Heat transferred during contact metamorphism from magma or igneous intrusions.
2. Progressive temperature with geothermal gradient increase associated as rocks are transported to greater
depths below the Earth's surface.
Causes of Metamorphism: Pressure
▪ Pressure equals force per unit area: (Pressure = F/A).
▪ Pressure increases with depth as the weight and thickness of the overlying rocks increases.
▪ Pressure during metamorphism is manifested by two different forces: body force (confining pressure) and
surface force (differential stress).
 Body force –
1. Equal forces applied in all directions (e.g., due to gravity).
2. Compresses individual grains closer together.
3. Extreme pressures may cause recrystallization, forming new minerals.
 Surface force -
1. Unequal forces applied along a specific plane (push-pull forces).
2. Causes shortening or extension of rocks.
• Effects on Rocks:
✓ Near the surface: Cooler temperatures make rocks brittle, leading to fracturing.
✓ Deep below the surface: Higher temperatures make rocks ductile, causing flattening, elongation, and
intricate folding patterns rather than breaking.
• Directed Pressure
✓ One direction of squeezing is much stronger than the others
✓ Minerals align themselves to reduce stress.
Causes of Metamorphism: Chemically Active Fluids
1. Role of Chemically Active Fluids:
• Facilitate ion movement and promote the recrystallization of existing and new minerals.
2. Effect of Temperature:
• Higher temperatures enhance the reactivity of ion-rich fluids.
• Fluids dissolve mineral grains by exploiting differential chemical potentials, enabling ions to migrate and
eventually recrystallize.
3. Ion Transport:
• These fluids can move between rock layers, transporting ions from one rock to another before the ions
recrystallize into new minerals.

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 The Role of Parent Rocks in Metamorphism

1. Source of Minerals and Ions:

• Parent rocks supply the minerals and ions that are transformed into new minerals and metamorphic rocks.
2. Chemical Composition:
• Typically, the resulting metamorphic rock retains the same chemical composition as its parent rock.

Classifying Metamorphic Rocks by Different

• Texture is used to describe the size, shape, and arrangement of grains within a rock.
• The texture provides insights into the conditions under which the rock was formed (e.g., pressure, temperature, or
stress).
• Many of the mineral grains in metamorphic rocks display preferential orientations where the alignment of the
minerals is parallel or subparallel to one another.
• Categories Based on Texture:
✓ Foliated Rocks: Exhibit parallel or sub-parallel orientation of mineral grains (e.g., slate, schist).
✓ Nonfoliated Rocks: Do not display any preferred orientation (e.g., marble, quartzite).

Foliated Rock Textures

✓ Foliation is broadly defined as any planar arrangement of mineral grains or structural features in a rock. Foliation
can occur in both igneous and metamorphic rocks (this section will only focus on foliation in metamorphic rocks).
✓ Formation of Foliation:
• Occurs when minerals align and recrystallize along parallel planes due to heat and compressional forces.
• Minerals transform into platy, elongated, or flattened grains, segregating into thin layers, forming banded
slivers of interlayered minerals.
✓ Types of Foliated Textures:
• Slaty Cleavage: Fine-grained, closely spaced planes (e.g., slate).
• Schistosity: Medium- to coarse-grained alignment of platy minerals (e.g., schist).
• Gneissic Texture: Alternating bands of light and dark minerals (e.g., gneiss).
Foliated Textures: Slaty Cleavage
✓ Slaty cleavage refers to the ability of a rock to split into thin, planar slabs when struck with a hammer.
✓ Mineral Composition:
• Rocks with slaty cleavage often contain alternating bands of minerals.
• Mica, formed from recrystallized clay, typically aligns as platy grains, creating the foliated texture.
✓ Slaty cleavage commonly occurs under low-grade metamorphic conditions.

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 Foliated Textures: Schistosity
✓ Schistosity describes rocks with foliated mineral grains that are large enough to see without magnification.
✓ Develops under medium-grade metamorphic conditions, allowing crystals more time and opportunity to grow
during recrystallization.
✓ Affects all mineral components in the rock, unlike slaty cleavage, which tends to influence specific minerals
(e.g., mica).
✓ Rocks with schistosity are generally referred to as schist.

Foliated Rocks: Slate

✓ Slate is a fine-grained rock composed primarily of mica flakes and quartz grains. Its structure allows it to break
into thin slabs along planes of slaty cleavage.
✓ Slate forms in low-grade metamorphic environments from a parent rock of either shale, mudstone, or siltstone.
✓ Color Variations:
Commonly black, but can also appear:
• Red (due to iron oxide minerals).
• Green (due to chlorite content).
• Light brown (when weathered).

Foliated Rocks: Schist

✓ Schist is a foliated metamorphic rock that displays a characteristic texture known as schistosity.
✓ Schistosity: A texture formed by the parallel alignment of platy, medium- to coarse-grained minerals, typically
developed under moderate- to high-grade metamorphic conditions.
✓ Schists are primarily composed of silicate minerals such as mica (muscovite and biotite), quartz, and
feldspar.
✓ Shale, siltstone, and some sandstones can provide the parent rock for schist.
✓ Schist may contain accessory minerals such as garnet, tourmaline, and pyrite.

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 Foliated Textures: Gneissic
✓ Gneissic textures occur when the silicate minerals in the rock separate and recrystallize into alternating bands of
light (quartz and feldspar) and dark (biotite, amphibole, or hornblende) grains of silicate minerals.
✓ The mineral alignment in gneissic rocks is less platy and more granular or elongated than slaty cleavage or
schistosity.

Foliated Rocks: Gneiss

✓ Gneiss is a medium-to coarse-grained rock formed under high grade-metamorphic conditions.
✓ Gneiss is primarily composed of quartz, potassium feldspar, and plagioclase feldspar with lesser amounts of biotite,
muscovite, and amphibole.
✓ Granites and sometimes rhyolite provide the parent rock for gneiss.

Non-foliated Rock Textures

✓ Nonfoliated rock textures form under two basic conditions-
1. Metamorphism of monomineralic rocks
2. Metamorphism in the absence of directed stress.
✓ Nonfoliated textures form during recrystallization of monomineralic rocks where the distribution of mineral
growth is approximately equal, i.e. minerals grow at same rate and to same size.
✓ In the absence of directed stress, minerals with high aspect ratio are randomly oriented and show no preferential
alignment.
✓ Marble is an example of a metamorphic rock with a nonfoliated texture.

Nonfoliated Rocks: Marble

✓ Marble is a nonfoliated, coarse-grained metamorphic rock formed from the parent rock limestone or dolostone.
✓ Because it is formed from limestone or dolostone it is predominantly composed of the mineral calcite, which
metamorphoses into various carbonate and other minerals. As calcite recrystallizes, all the grains are active at the
same time and they grow to the same size and shape, which leads to its nonfoliated texture.
✓ Different color schemes in marble are the result of impurities or the presence of weathered materials deposited in
or near the limestone.
Nonfoliated Rocks: Quartzite
✓ Quartzite is a metamorphic rock formed under moderate to high- grade metamorphism that exhibits both foliated
and nonfoliated structure.
✓ The parent rock to quartzite is sandstone.
✓ Quartzite forms from the recrystallization of quartz grains in the sandstone and often the resulting metamorphic
rock will preserve vestiges of the original bedding patterns.
✓ Quartz is predominantly white in color, but can also contain pinkish or grayish shades depending on the presence
of iron oxides.

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