Laboratory Manual in

PHYSICAL GEOLOGY
TWELFTH EDITION

Chapter 7
Metamorphic Rocks,
Processes, and Resources

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 IGNEOUS ROCKS
(Magma cools and solidifies)

Chemical content

Felsic Mafic
(Si-rich, light-colored) (Mg-Fe, dark-colored)

Extrusive
(fine-grained, Rhyolite Basalt
Origin

on a surface)

Intrusive
(coarse-grained, Granite Gabbro
deep underground)

+ two different grain sizes – porphyritic rocks

 S E D I M E N T A R Y R O C K S
(accumulate at Earth’s surface)

Clastic
(clasts transported from eroded source)

Conglomerate/Breccia Sandstone Siltstone Mudstone

Coarse Fine

Chemical Organic
(precipitate from Earth’s surface from solution) (consolidation of plants
or animals)

Limestone Dolostone Chert Evaporites (Gypsum)

Chalk Coquina
 What is metamorphism?
• Metamorphism is the process of physical and chemical
changes that a rock undergoes due to relatively high heat
and pressure (significantly different from those under
which it first formed)
• The rock is heated and pressured but does not melt
• The old (original) rock is called the protolith
• The new rock is a metamorphic rock

Metamorphic Rock:
Marble (CaCO3))
 What are the agents of metamorphism?
• Heat – can cause ions in the rock to migrate due to
diffusion (e.g., drop of dye in water) causing them to
spread out, bond with other ions and grow metamorphic
minerals that are stable under high temperature
• Pressure (directed and confining) – can causes ions to be
pushed together resulting in minerals whose crystalline
structure is more compact and stable under high pressure
• Stress – can change the shape of grains (Differential stress is a
system of forces that is not of the same magnitude in all directions)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Estimating the Grade of
Metamorphism

There are 4 levels of metamorphism

1. Low grade (200-350 C; low pressure ~ 1-5 kbar)
Increasing P & T

2. Medium grade (350-600 C; moderate pressure ~6-8 kbar)

3. High grade (600-900 C; high pressure ~ 9-12 kbar)
4. Then it starts to partially melt (migmatites) (>900 C)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Understanding the Origin of Rock Textures – Metamorphic
foliation

New minerals orientation develops under stress and

pressure, producing foliation, in which platy minerals like
mica flakes are aligned parallel to one another, as in
muscovite.

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Foliated vs Non-Foliated
Ø Foliated metamorphic rocks (slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss)
Ø Non-foliated metamorphic rocks (hornfels, marble,
quartzite, skarn)

Gneissic Foliation
Slaty Foliation Granofelsic texture
Gneiss
Slate, Phyllite, Schist Quartzite
(high temperature
(pressure, low temperature) – non-foliated -
and pressure)
(recrystallization –
Mineral alignment Compositional
only temperature)
layering
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Foliated - grains have preferred
orientation (banded texture – without
cleavage)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

What can we learn from the texture of a metamorphic rock?

Nonfoliated - grains have no preferred

orientation

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Foliated vs Non-Foliated

Folded (Migmatitic) Gneissic texture

Migmatitic Gneiss
(the highest temp and pressure -
partial melting)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Interpreting the
Types of
Metamorphism
a) Contact metamorphism: at
contacts between igneous intrusions
and wall rock.
(b) Burial metamorphism: in deep
sedimentary basins.
(c) Dynamic metamorphism: in
transform and other major fault zones.
(d) Metasomatism: at hydrothermal
vents along mid-ocean ridges and at
contacts between plutons and wall
rock.
(e) Impact metamorphism: in
meteorite impact craters such as
Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona.
(f) Regional metamorphism: at
convergent boundaries, in subduction
(top) and in continental collision
zones (bottom).

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Types of Metamorphism and Geologic Setting

Contact metamorphism – intrusion of igneous

rocks alter the host rocks around due to heat

Non-foliated rocks
e.g., marble,
hornfels

Only heat,
no pressure

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Figure 7.17

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Types of Metamorphism and Geologic Setting

Burial metamorphism – deeply buried rocks are

altered due to pressure + a little heat

Low grade foliation

e.g., Shale (or mudstone) - Slate (Slaty Foliation)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Foliated Slate –
Low temperature
and pressure
Mudstone is a protolith

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Types of Metamorphism and Geologic Setting

Dynamic metamorphism – stress caused by

grinding of rocks along with heat causes plastic
deformation

E.g.,
Mylonite

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Types of Metamorphism and Geologic Setting

Impact metamorphism – large meteorite

hitting the earth causes heat + stress

Shocked Quartz

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Types of Metamorphism and Geologic Setting

Metasomatism – reaction with hydrothermal

fluids commons along ocean ridges and near
volcanic activity

E.g.,
ore-deposits

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Types of Metamorphism and Geologic Setting

Regional metamorphism – where intense

compression, heat, and pressure result in zones
of metamorphism
Med-high grade foliated rocks
e.g., Schist, Gneiss (Gneissic Foliation)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 M E TA M O R P H I C R O C K S
(formed from other rocks and recrystallized in solid-state from ‘protolith’)

Foliated NonFoliated
(regional metamorphism) (contact metamorphism)

Slate Phyllite Schist Gneiss Migmatite Marble Quartzite

(Mineral alignment, Compositional layering, Migmatitic texture) (Granofelsic texture)
grain size
Fine Coarse
metamorphism
Low High Porphyroblastic Texture
(large crystals in a fine-grained groundmass)
NOTE: The geothermal gradient is typically 30 C per kilometer; the geobaric gradient is
about 0.33 kilobars (kbar) per kilometer (1 kilobar = 1,000 times atmospheric pressure). Thus,
the temperature-pressure conditions 10 km below the surface would be about 300 C and 3.3
kbar. At 25 km - 750 C and about 8.3 kbar.

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Activities:

Activities 7.1, 7.3, 7.4,

7.5
Practice
TODAY
• Complete Activity 7.4 (download the Datasheet from
Blackboard). Samples: 60-65.
• Record your observations in the datasheet

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

How to identify metamorphic rocks?

Step 1: Examine rock texture.

Is it Foliated? (mineral alignment or compositional layering)
Is it Nonfoliated? (interlocking grains without preferred orientation)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

How to identify metamorphic rocks?

Step 2: Identify the dominant minerals present.

• Muscovite / Biotite Micas - (Flat platy minerals, Shiny)
• Quartz / Feldspars - (Harder than glass)
• Calcite / Dolomite - (Softer than glass, reacts to HCl acid)

Muscovite Mica / Quartz / Calcite /

Biotite Mica Feldspar Dolomite
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How to identify metamorphic rocks?

Step 2: Identify any index minerals present.

• Garnet - (dark red, 12-sided crystal)
• Chlorite - (green, platy minerals)
• Kyanite- (blue, bladed crystal)

Garnet Chlorite Kyanite

Index minerals are clues to the pressure and

temperature conditions of metamorphism
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Index minerals and metamorphic grade
Certain minerals, called index minerals, are good indicators
of the metamorphic conditions in which they form

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 How to identify metamorphic rocks?

Step 3: Identify the grain size.

• Fine - (too fine to see, Slaty Foliation)
• Medium - (visible grains < a few mm)
• Coarse - (visible grains > a few mm, Gneissic Foliation)
LOW
GRADE (Fine)

Grain size,
texture, and
mineralogy also
give clues to the
grade of
metamorphism

HIGH (Medium /
GRADE coarse)
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Classification of metamorphic rocks

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

What can we learn from the mineralogy of a metamorphic rock?

Mineral composition are clues to the protolith

(parent rock before metamorphism)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

What can we learn from the texture of a metamorphic rock?
Texture and index minerals are clues to the type of
metamorphism

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

EXTRA SLIDES

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Metamorphic rocks & associated environments

Increasing P & T

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Reviewing Foliation and Lineation
New minerals orientation develops under stress and pressure,
producing foliation, in which platy minerals like mica flakes are
aligned parallel to one another, as in muscovite. Or lineation, in
which rod-shaped crystals lie parallel to one another, as in
amphibole.

NOTE: Polymorphs: Minerals with the same composition

Mica (foliation)
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 What can we learn from the texture of a metamorphic rock?

Foliated - Aligned deformed grains

• the random arrangement in the original rock is
altered to become aligned parallel to one another.

Rounded clasts in conglomerate are flattened in meta-conglomerate.

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 What can we learn from the texture of a metamorphic rock?

Foliated – Mineral Alignment

Breaks along wavy, shimmering Strong alignment of visible mica

surfaces, micas barely visible flakes, often with garnet and
other minerals
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What can we learn from the texture of a metamorphic rock?

Foliated – Compositional Layering

• alternating bands of light and dark minerals

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Burial
Metamorphism

• Associated with very thick sedimentary

strata ex. deltas

• Required depth varies depending on

the prevailing geothermal gradient

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Mountain Buildingà Regional Metamorphism

NOTE: The geothermal gradient is typically 30 C per kilometer; the geobaric gradient is about 0.33
kilobars (kbar) per kilometer (1 kilobar = 1,000 times atmospheric pressure). Thus, the temperature-
pressure conditions 10 km below the surface would be about 300 C and 3.3 kbar. At 25 km - 750 C and
about 8.3 kbar.

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Regional
Metamorphism

Produces the greatest quantity of metamorphic rock

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Metamorphic Index Minerals
Index Minerals: Some metamorphic minerals can only survive
under a specific range of temperature-pressure (T-P) conditions.
• Their presences in the rock indicates what the T-P range was
during metamorphism

Kyanite Al2SiO5

Sillimanite Al2SiO5

Andalusite
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Al2SiO
Education, 5 All Rights Reserved
Inc.
Metamorphic Index Minerals

Polymorphs - Minerals with the same composition,

different crystal structure (Index minerals indicate how
much the original rock was metamorphosed)

Kyanite Al2SiO5

Sillimanite Al2SiO5

Andalusite Al2SiO5
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved