Rocks Types

Metamorphic Rocks

Dr. Nasser Al-Muafa

 Content
• What is Geology?
• How the Universe form?
• Our Solar System
• Composition of the earth
• Plates Tectonics
• Introduction to Mineralogy
• Rock-Forming Minerals
• What is A rock? And Rocks Classifications
• Igneous Rocks
• Weathering and Erosion
• Sedimentary Rocks
• Metamorphic Rocks
• Rock Cycle
• Structural Geology and Rocks Deformation
• Mountains Building
• Geological Time
• Earth Resources
• Earthquakes and Volcanism
• Geology of Yemen

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 Metamorphism
• The metamorphics get their Gneiss
name from "meta" (change) and
"morph" (form).
• During Metamorphism, Heat,
directed pressure, compression,
shear, and catalytic action act to
change parent rock into new
rock with different texture and
compositions.
• Metamorphic Rocks have no
source potential but if fractured Schist
and or weathered can be a
reservoir rock.
• Common metamorphic rocks
include slate, schist, gneiss, and
marble.
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 Metamorphism
• The process of forming metamorphic minerals and
textures takes place very slowly (it may take
thousands to millions of years) and it involves
several processes, which sometimes occur alone
and sometimes together.
• Roughly speaking, most metamorphic rocks we find
in outcrops on continents formed at temperatures of
between 250°C and 850°C.

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Metamorphism

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Metamorphism

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 Metamorphism Processes
The most common processes involved in
metamorphism are:
1- Phase change, which transforms one mineral into another
mineral with the same composition but a different crystal
structure. On an atomic scale, phase change involves the
rearrangement of atoms.

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 Metamorphism Processes
2- Recrystallization (a), which
changes the shape and size of
grains without changing the
identity of the mineral making
up the grains.
3- Metamorphic reaction (b),
which results in growth of new
mineral crystals that differ
from those of the protolith.
• During neocrystallization,
chemical reactions digest
minerals of the protolith to
produce new minerals of the
metamorphic rock.

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 Metamorphism Processes
3- Pressure solution (c), which
happens when a wet rock is
squeezed more strongly in one
direction than in others. Mineral
grains dissolve where their
surfaces are pressed against
other grains, producing ions that
migrate through the water to
precipitate elsewhere.
4- Plastic deformation (d), which
happens when a rock is squeezed
or sheared at elevated
temperatures and pressures.
Under these conditions, grains
behave like soft plastic and
change shape without breaking.

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 Metamorphism Processes
5- Metasomatism: The process of changing a rock’s
chemical composition by reactions with
hydrothermal fluids is called metasomatism.

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 Types of Metamorphic Rocks
• Metamorphic rocks are divided into two fundamental
classes: foliated rocks and non-foliated rocks.
• Each class contains several rock types.
• Foliated rocks can be distinguished from each other
partly by their component minerals and partly by the
nature of their foliation.
• Non-foliated rocks can be distinguished from each
other primarily by their component minerals.

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 Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• The word comes from the Latin folium, for leaf.
• Geologists use foliation to refer to the parallel surfaces
and/or layers that can occur in a metamorphic rock.
• Foliation can give metamorphic rocks a striped or
streaked appearance in an outcrop, and/or can give them
the ability to split into thin sheets.
• A foliated metamorphic rock has foliation either because
it contains in-equant mineral crystals that are aligned
parallel to one another, defining preferred mineral
orientation, and/or because the rock has alternating dark-
colored and light-colored layers.

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 Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Slate is a foliated metamorphic rock that is formed through
the metamorphism of shale.
• It is a low grade metamorphic rock that splits into thin
pieces.

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 Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Phyllite is a foliated metamorphic rock that is made up mainly
of very fine-grained mica.
• Phyllite forms by the metamorphism of slate at a temperature
high enough to cause neocrystallization of white mica.
• The surface of phyllite is typically lustrous and sometimes
wrinkled.
• It is intermediate in grade between slate and schist.

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 Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Schist is metamorphic rock with well developed foliation.
• It often contains significant amounts of mica which allow the
rock to split into thin pieces.
• It is a rock of intermediate metamorphic grade between
phyllite and gneiss.

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 Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Gneiss is foliated metamorphic rock that has a banded
appearance and is made up of granular mineral grains.
• It typically contains abundant quartz or feldspar minerals.

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 Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Non-foliated metamorphic rocks contain minerals that
recrystallized or grew during metamorphism, but have
no foliation.
• The lack of foliation means either that metamorphism
occurred in the absence of compression and shear, or
that most of the new crystals can only grow in an
equant form.

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 Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Hornfels is a fine-grained non-foliated metamorphic rock with
no specific composition.
• Hornfels is a rock that was "baked" while near a heat source
such as a magma chamber, sill or dike.

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 Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Quartzite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is
produced by the metamorphism of sandstone.
• It is composed primarily of quartz.
• Depending on the impurities it contains, quartzite can vary in
color from white to gray, purple, or green.

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 Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks
• Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced
from the metamorphism of limestone.
• It is composed primarily of calcium carbonate.

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 Defining Metamorphic Intensity
• Geologists use the term metamorphic grade in a somewhat
informal way to indicate the intensity of metamorphism,
meaning the amount or degree of metamorphic change.
• To provide a more complete indication of the intensity of
metamorphism, geologists use the concept of metamorphic
facies.
• Classification of metamorphic grade depends primarily on
temperature, because temperature plays the dominant role in
determining the extent of recrystallization and
neocrystallization during metamorphism.
• Different grades of metamorphism yield different metamorphic
mineral assemblages.
• As grade increases, recrystallization and neocrystallization
tend to produce coarser grains and new mineral assemblages
that are stable at higher temperatures and pressures.
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Defining Metamorphic Intensity

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Geologic Settings of Metamorphism
• Thermal (contact) metamorphism occurs in an aureole
surrounding an igneous intrusion.
• Burial metamorphism occurs at depth in a sedimentary
basin.
• Dynamically metamorphosed rocks form along faults.
• Dynamothermal (regional) metamorphism results when
rocks undergo heating and shearing during mountain
building.
• Hydrothermal metamorphism can take place due to the
circulation of hot water in oceanic crust at mid-ocean
ridges.
• Shock metamorphism happens during the impact of a
meteorite.

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Geologic Settings of Metamorphism
• Because of the wide range of possible metamorphic
environments, metamorphism occurs at a wide range of
conditions in the Earth.

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Geologic Settings of Metamorphism

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 The Rock Cycle
Weathering

Igneous
Rock Sediment

Solidification Lithification

Sedimentary
Magma
Rock

Melting Metamorphism
Metamorphic
Rock

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The Rock Cycle

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Rocks Classification Chart

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