Metamorphic Rocks

Engineering Geology

Rehan Hakro
 Metamorphic Rocks
• Metamorphic – Changed from an original “parent.”
• Meta = Change.
• Morph = Form or shape.
• Parent rocks are called “protoliths.”
• Metamorphism can occur to any protolith.

• The chemical composition of the original rock

controls the mineralogy of the metamorphosed rock.
 Metamorphism

• “Metamorphism is the change of minerals or

geologic texture (distinct arrangement of minerals)
in pre-existing rocks(protoliths), without the
protolith melting into liquid magma (a solid-state
change)”.
• The change occurs primarily due to heat, pressure,
and the introduction of chemically active fluids.
 Metamorphic Rocks
• Protoliths undergo pronounced changes in…
• Texture.
• Mineralogy.
Due to changes in…
• Temperature.
• Pressure.
• Tectonic stress.
• Reaction with heated water.
 There are six major factors in
metamorphism:
• Chemical composition.
• The change in temperature.
• The change in pressure.
• The presence or absence of fluids.
• How long a rock is subjected to high pressure
or high temperature.
• Whether the rock is simply compressed or is
twisted and broken during metamorphism.
Plastic deformation

• Mineral grains soften and deform.

• Requires elevated temperatures.
• Rock is squeezed or sheared.
• Minerals act like plastic, changing shape
without breaking.
 Causes of Metamorphism

• The agents of metamorphism are…

• Heat (T).
• Pressure (P).
• Compression and/or shear.
• Hot water.
• Rocks may be overprinted by multiple events.
 Heat (Temperature, T)
• Metamorphism occurs as the result of heat.
• Temperature (T) ranges between 200 C and
850 C.
• It varies based upon rock mineral composition
and water content.
• Heat energy breaks and reforms atomic bonds.
• Sources of heat.
• The geothermal gradient.
• Magmatic intrusions.
 Pressure (P)

• P increases with depth in the crust.

• 270 to 300 bars per km (1 bar is almost 1 atm =
14.7 psi).
• Metamorphism occurs mostly in 2 to 12 kbar
range.
• T and P both change with depth.
• Mineral stability is highly dependent upon T
and P.
• Changes in T and P lead to changes in minerals.
 Hydrothermal Fluids

• Hot water with dissolved ions and volatiles.

• Hydrothermal fluids facilitate metamorphism.

• Accelerate chemical reactions.

• Alter rocks by adding or subtracting elements.

• Hydrothermal alteration is called

metasomatism.
 Metamorphic Environments

• The types (and settings) of metamorphism are...

• Thermal – Heating by a plutonic intrusion.
• Burial – Increases in P and T by deep burial in a
basin.
• Dynamic – Shearing in a fault zone.
• Regional – P and T alteration due to orogenesis.
• Hydrothermal – Alteration by hot-water leaching.
• Subduction – High P to low T alteration.
• Shock – impact.
 Contact Metamorphism
• Due to heat from magma invading host rock.
• Creates zoned bands of alteration in host rock.
• Grades of alteration form bands around the pluton.
• Bands range from highly altered to slightly altered.
• The width of each aureole zone is due to…
• The size of the plutonic intrusion.
• The degree of metasomatism.
• The dominant rock is hornfels.
Contact Metamorphism
• occurs adjacent to magma bodies intruding
cooler country rock -- “contact”
• produces non-foliated metamorphic rocks
• happens in a narrow zone of contact
(~1 to 100 m wide) known as aureole
• forms fine-grained (e.g. hornfels) or
coarse-grained (e.g. marble) rocks
 Burial Metamorphism

• As sediments are buried in a sedimentary

basin…
• P increases because of the weight of the
overburden.
 Cataclastic Metamorphism

• This type of metamorphism occurs mainly due

to direct pressure
• Cataclastic metamorphism is mere
mechanical breakdown of rocks without any
new mineral formation, however, sometime
due to intense shearing few new minerals are
formed.
 Cataclastic Metamorphism
• Mechanical deformation of a rock can occur
with only minor chemical recrystallization.
• Usually localized and seen in igneous rocks
when a coarse-grained granite undergoes
intense differential stress.
• Grain and rock fragments become elongated
and a foliation develops.
 Dynamic Metamorphism
• Breakage of rock by shearing at a fault zone.
• Fault location determines type of alteration.
Shallow crust – Upper 10–15 km.
• Rocks behave in a brittle fashion.
• Mineral grains crush-forming fault breccia.
Deeper crust – Below 10–15 km.
• Rocks behave in a ductile manner.
• Minerals smear like taffy to form mylonite.
 Regional Metamorphism

• Regional metamorphism results from tectonic forces.

• It results from pronounced differential stresses and

extensive mechanical deformation in addition to
chemical recrystallization.
• Regional metamorphism produces greenschists and
amphibolites.
 Hydrothermal Metamorphism

Changes that occur in rocks near the surface where

there is intense activity of hot water are categorized
as hydrothermal metamorphism.
It is now generally recognized that the circulating
groundwaters that often become heated by their
proximity to igneous materials produce the
metamorphism.
 Subduction Metamorphism
• Subduction creates the unique blueschist
facies.
• Trenches and accretionary prisms have…
• A low geothermal gradient – low
temperature.
• High pressures.
Parent rock composition
No new material is added to rock during metamorphism
metamorphic rock will have similar composition to
parent rock
if parent material contains only one mineral
resultant metamorphic rock will only have one mineral
--mineral will be recrystallized (texture changes)--

Limestone Marble
Shock
metamorphism
• occurs during impact
events
• yields very high
pressures
• forms “shocked” rocks
around
impact craters
 Role of Time in Metamorphism
• Coarse-grained rocks are the products of long
sustained metamorphic conditions (possibly
over millions of years) at high temperatures
and pressures.

• Fine-grained rocks are products of lower

temperatures, lower pressures or, in some
cases, short reaction times.
• Marble is the metamorphic derivative of
• limestone.
• Coarsely crystalline.
• Pure marble is snow white.
• Quartzite is the metamorphic derivative of
quartz.
• It is derived from quartz sandstone by filling of
the spaces between the original grains with
silica and by recrystallization of the entire
mass.
Foliation
• Foliation in geology refers to repetitive
layering in metamorphic rocks.

• It is caused by shearing forces (pressures

pushing different sections of the rock in
different directions), or differential pressure
(higher pressure from one direction than in
others).
Nonfoliated Metamorphic Rocks

• Nonfoliated metamorphic rocks are typically

formed in the absence of significant
differential pressure or shear.