METAMORPHIC ROCKS – Mini Module

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The word "Metamorphism" comes from the Greek: meta = after, morph = form, so
metamorphism means the after form. In geology this refers to the changes in mineral assemblage
and texture that result from subjecting a rock to pressures and temperatures different from those
under which the rock originally formed.
The original rock that has undergone metamorphism is called the protolith. Protolith can be any
type of rock and sometimes the changes in texture and mineralogy are so dramatic that is
difficult to distinguish what the protolith was.
• Note that diagenesis and weathering are also a changes in form that occur in rocks. In
geology, however, we restrict diagenetic processes to those which occur at temperatures
below 200oC and pressures below about 300 MPa (MPa stands for Mega Pascals), this is
equivalent to about 3,000 atmospheres of pressure.
• Metamorphism therefore occurs at temperatures and pressures higher than 200oC and 300
MPa. Rocks can be subjected to these higher temperatures and pressures as they become
buried deeper in the Earth. Such burial usually takes place as a result of tectonic
processes such as continental collisions or subduction.
• The upper limit of metamorphism occurs at the pressure and temperature of wet partial
melting of the rock in question. Once melting begins, the process changes to an igneous
process rather than a metamorphic process.
During metamorphism the protolith undergoes changes in texture of the rock and the mineral
make up of the rock. These changes take place mostly in the solid state and are caused by
changes in physical or chemical conditions, which in turn can be caused by such things as burial,
tectonic stress, heating by magma or interactions with fluids.

Factors that Control Metamorphism

Metamorphism occurs because rocks undergo changes in temperature and pressure and may be
subjected to differential stress and hydrothermal fluids. Metamorphism occurs because some
minerals are stable only under certain conditions of pressure and temperature. When pressure
and temperature change, chemical reactions occur to cause the minerals in the rock to change to
an assemblage that is stable at the new pressure and temperature conditions. But, the process is
complicated by such things as how the pressure is applied, the time over which the rock is
subjected to the higher pressure and temperature, and whether or not there is a fluid phase
present during metamorphism.
• Temperature
o Temperature increases with depth in the Earth along the Geothermal
Gradient. Thus higher temperature can occur by burial of rock.
o Temperature can also increase due to igneous intrusion.

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 • Pressure increases with depth of burial, thus, both pressure and temperature will vary
with depth in the Earth. Pressure is defined as a force acting equally from all
directions. It is a type of stress, called hydrostatic stress, or uniform stress.

If the stress is not equal from all directions, then the stress is called a differential stress.

There are two kinds of differential stress. Normal stress causes objects to be compressed in the
direction of maximum principal stress and extended in the direction of minimal stress. If
differential stress is present during metamorphism, it can have a profound effect on the texture of
the rock. Shear stress causes objects to be smeared out in the direction of applied stress.

Differential stress if acting on a rocks can have a profound affect on the appearance or texture of
the rock.

Rounded grains can become flattened in the

direction of maximum stress.

Minerals that crystallize or grow in the

differential stress field can have a preferred
orientation. This is especially true of the sheet
silicate minerals (the micas: biotite and
muscovite, chlorite, talc, and serpentine).

These sheet silicates will grow with their sheets orientated perpendicular to the direction of
maximum stress. Preferred orientation of sheet silicates causes rocks to be easily broken along
approximately parallel sheets. Such a structure is called a foliation.

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Grade of Metamorphism

Metamorphic grade is a general term for

describing the relative temperature and
pressure conditions under which metamorphic
rocks form. As the temperature
and/or pressure increases on a body of rock
we say that the rock undergoes prograde
metamorphism or that the grade of
metamorphism increases.

• Low-grade metamorphism takes place at temperatures between about 200 to 320oC, and
relatively low pressure. Low grade metamorphic rocks are characterized by an
abundance of hydrous minerals (minerals that contain water, H2O, in their crystal
structure).

o Examples of hydrous minerals that occur in low grade metamorphic rocks:

▪ Clay Minerals
▪ Serpentine
▪ Chlorite
• High-grade metamorphism takes place at temperatures greater than 320oC and relatively
high pressure. As grade of metamorphism increases, hydrous minerals become less
hydrous, by losing H2O and non-hydrous minerals become more common.

o Examples of less hydrous minerals and non-hydrous minerals that characterize

high grade metamorphic rocks:

▪ Muscovite - hydrous mineral that eventually disappears at the highest

grade of metamorphism
▪ Biotite - a hydrous mineral that is stable to very high grades of
metamorphism.
▪ Pyroxene - a non hydrous mineral.
▪ Garnet - a non hydrous mineral.

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Retrograde Metamorphism
As temperature and pressure fall due to erosion of overlying rock or due to tectonic uplift, one
might expect metamorphism to a follow a reverse path and eventually return the rocks to their
original unmetamorphosed state. Such a process is referred to as retrograde metamorphism. If
retrograde metamorphism were common, we would not commonly see metamorphic rocks at the
surface of the Earth. Since we do see metamorphic rocks exposed at the Earth's surface
retrograde metamorphism does not appear to be common. The reasons for this include:
• chemical reactions take place more slowly as temperature is decreased
• during prograde metamorphism, fluids such as H2O and CO2 are driven off, and these
fluids are necessary to form the hydrous minerals that are stable at the Earth's surface.
chemical reactions take place more rapidly in the presence of fluids, but if the fluids are driven
off during prograde metamorphism, they will not be available to speed up reactions during
retrograde metamorphism.

Metamorphic Rock Types

There are two major subdivisions of metamorphic rocks.

1. Foliated – These have a planar foliation caused by the preferred orientation (alignment)
of minerals and formed under differential stress.
They have a significant amount of sheet silicate (platy minerals and are classified by
composition, grain size, and foliation type.
2. Non-foliated – These have no evident planar fabric or foliation, crystallized under
conditions where there was no differential stress, and are comprised of equant minerals
only. These are classified mainly by the minerals present or the chemical composition of
the protolith.

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Foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Example - metamorphism of a shale,

made up initially of clay minerals and
quartz all of clay or silt size.

• Slate - Slates form at low metamorphic grade by the growth of fine grained chlorite and
clay minerals. The preferred orientation of these sheet silicates causes the rock to easily
break along the planes parallel to the sheet silicates, causing a slatey cleavage. Note that
in the case shown here, the maximum stress is applied at an angle to the original bedding
planes, so that the slatey cleavage has developed at an angle to the original bedding.

Because of the nearly perfect breakage along planes, slates are useful for blackboards and
shingles.
Phyllite - Fine mica-rich rock, formed by low – medium grade metamorphism. In a phyllite, the
clay minerals have recrystallized into tiny micas (biotite and muscovite which reflect a satiny
luster. Phyllite is between slate and schist.
Schist - The size of the mineral grains tends to enlarge with increasing grade of
metamorphism. Eventually the rock develops a near planar foliation caused by the preferred
orientation of sheet silicates (mainly biotite and muscovite). Quartz and Feldspar grains,
however show no preferred orientation. The irregular planar foliation at this stage is
called schistosity
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Schist often has other minerals besides micas. These include minerals like - Quartz, Feldspars,
Kyanite, Garnet, Staurolite, and Sillimanite.
When these non-mica minerals occur with a grain size greater than the rest of the rock, they are
called pophyroblasts.

Gneiss As metamorphic grade increases, the sheet silicates become unstable and dark colored
minerals like hornblende and pyroxene start to grow. These dark colored minerals tend to
become segregated in distinct bands through the rock, giving the rock a gneissic
banding. Because the dark colored minerals tend to form elongated crystals, rather than sheet-
like crystals, they still have a preferred orientation with their long directions perpendicular to the
maximum differential stress.

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Granulite - At the highest grades of metamorphism all of the hydrous minerals and sheet
silicates become unstable and thus there are few minerals present that would show a preferred
orientation. The resulting rock will have a granulitic texture that is similar to a phaneritic texture
in igneous rocks.
Migmatites – If the temperature reaches the solidus temperature (first melting temperature), the
rock may begin to melt and start to co-mingle with the solids. Usually these melts are felsic with
the mafic material remaining metamorphic.

Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Non-foliated rocks lack a planar fabric . Absence of foliation possible for several reasons:
• Rock not subjected to differential stress.
• Dominance of equant minerals (like quartz, feldspar, and garnet).
• Absence of platy minerals (sheet silicates).
Non-foliated rocks are given specific names based on their mineralogy and composition:
Amphibolite - These rocks are dark colored rocks with amphibole (usually hornblende) as their
major mineral. They are usually poorly foliated and form at intermediate to high grades of
metamorphism of basaltic or gabbroic protoliths.
Hornfels - These are very fine grained rocks that usually form as a result of magma intruding
into fined grained igneous rocks or shales. The magma causes a type of metamorphism called
contact metamorphism (to be discussed later).
Quartzite - A rock made up almost entirely of quartz. They are formed by metamorphism of
quartz arenites (sandstones). Since quartz is stable over a large range of temperatures and
pressures, no new minerals are formed during metamorphism, and the only metamorphic effect
that occurs is recrystallization of the quartz resulting in interlocking crystals that make up a very
hard rock.
Marble - A limestone or dolostone made up only of calcite or dolomite will metamorphose to a
marble which is made mostly recrystallized calcite or dolomite. The Recrystallization usually
obliterates all fossils. Marbles have a variety of colors and are often complexly banded. They
are commonly used as a decorative stone.

Protolith Composition
Although textures and structures of the protolith are usually destroyed by metamorphism, we can
still get an idea about the original rock from the minerals present in the metamorphic rock.

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Minerals that form, do so because the chemical elements necessary to form them are present in
the protolith.
General terms used to describe the chemical composition of both the protolith and the resulting
metamorphic rock are:
Pelitic Alumina rich rocks, usually shales or mudstones. These start out originally with clay
minerals and as a result of metamorphism, Alumina rich minerals like micas, chlorite, garnet,
kyanite, sillimanite and andalusite form. Because of the abundance of sheet silicates, pelitic
rocks commonly form slates, phyllites, schists, and gneisses during metamorphism.
Mafic - These are Mg and Fe rich rocks with low amounts of Si. Minerals like biotite,
hornblende and plagioclase form during metamorphism and commonly produce amphibolites.
Calcareous - These are calcium-rich rocks usually derived from limestones or dolostones, and
thus contain an abundance of Calcite. Marbles are the type of metamorphic rock that results.
Quartzo-Feldspathic - Rocks that contain an abundance of quartz and feldspar fall into this
category. Protoliths are usually granites, rhyolites, or arkose sandstones and metamorphism
results in gneisses containing an abundance of quartz, feldspar, and biotite.

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Types of Metamorphism

Metamorphism can take place in several different environments where special conditions exist in
terms of pressure, temperature, stress, conditions, or chemical environments. We here describe
several diff rent types of metamorphism that are recognized.
Contact Metamorphism (also called thermal metamorphism) - Occurs adjacent to igneous
intrusions and results from high temperatures associated with the igneous intrusion. Since only a
small area surrounding the intrusion is heated by the magma, metamorphism is restricted to a
zone surrounding the intrusion, called a metamorphic aureole. Outside of the contact aureole,
the rocks are unmetamorphosed. The grade of metamorphism increases in all directions toward
the intrusion. Because temperature differences between the surrounding rock and the intruded
magma are larger at shallow levels in the crust, contact metamorphism is usually referred to as
high temperature, low pressure metamorphism. The rock produced is often a fine-grained rock
that shows no foliation, called a hornfels.

Burial Metamorphism - When sedimentary rocks are buried to depths of several hundred meters,
temperatures greater than 300oC may develop in the absence of differential stress. New minerals
grow, but the rock does not appear to be metamorphosed. The main minerals produced are the
Zeolites. Burial metamorphism overlaps, to some extent, with diagenesis, and grades into
regional metamorphism as temperature and pressure increase.

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Dynamic Metamorphism - This type of metamorphism is due to mechanical deformation, like
when two bodies of rock slide past one another along a fault zone. Heat is generated by the
friction of sliding along the zone, and the rocks tend to crushed and pulverized due to the
sliding. Dynamic metamorphism is not very common and is restricted to a narrow zone along
which the sliding occurred. The rock that is produced is called a mylonite.

Regional Metamorphism - This type of

metamorphism occurs over large areas that were
subjected to high degrees of deformation under
differential stress. Thus, it usually results in forming
metamorphic rocks that are strongly foliated, such as
slates, schists, and gneisses. The differential stress
usually results from tectonic forces that produce a
compression of the rocks, such as when two
continental masses collide with one another. Thus,
regionally metamorphosed rocks occur in the cores of
mountain ranges or in eroded mountain
ranges. Compressive stresses result in folding of the
rock, as shown here, and results in thickening of the
crust which tends to push rocks down to deeper levels
where they are subjected to higher temperatures and
pressures

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Metamorphic Facies
In general, metamorphic rocks do not undergo significant changes in chemical composition
during metamorphism. The changes in mineral assemblages are due to changes in the
temperature and pressure conditions of metamorphism. Thus, the mineral assemblages that are
observed must be an indication of the temperature and pressure environment that the rock was
subjected to. This pressure and temperature environment is referred to as Metamorphic Facies.

The sequence of metamorphic facies

observed in any metamorphic terrain,
depends on the geothermal gradient
that was present during
metamorphism. A high geothermal
gradient such as the one labeled
"A" in the figure shown here, might
be present around an igneous
intrusion, and would result in
metamorphic rocks belonging to the
hornfels facies. Under a normal
geothermal gradient, such as "B" in
the figure, rocks would progress from
zeolite facies to greenschist,
amphibolite, and eclogite facies as the
grade of metamorphism (or depth of
burial) increased.
If a low geothermal gradient was
present, such the one labeled "C" in
the diagram, then rocks would progress from zeolite facies to blueschist facies to eclogite
facies. Thus, if we know the facies of metamorphic rocks in the region, we can determine what
the geothermal gradient must have been like at the time the metamorphism occurred.

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