Report about Metamorphic Rocks Explain

the Condition Of Forming, Classification,

Chemical Composition, Properties, Uses
and Commercial Terminology.

MetaMorphic
Rocks
Schist - Gneiss

Sec:3 Group : 1
 Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth's crust and form 12% of the Earth's
land surface .Uplift and Erosion help bring metamorphic rock to the Earth's surface .They
are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage .They may be formed
simply by being deep beneath the Earth's surface, subjected to high temperatures and the
great pressure of the rock layers above it. They can form from tectonic pro cesses such as
continental collisions, which cause horizontal pressure, friction and distortion.

Formation of Metamorphic Rocks.

Metamorphism is difficult to understand
because there are many combinations of
temperature and pressure that can create
rocks. For example, mud and clay quietly settle
on the ocean floor. As more mud and clay settle
on top of it, the weight of the sediments
squeezes the water from the mud and clay on
the bottom. It becomes cemented together by
chemical interactions and it becomes a
sedimentary rock called shale. The shale is put
under moderate pressure and low temperature
due to burial or plate movements. The new pressure and temperatures changed the
chemical makeup of the shale into the metamorphic rock called slate.

If not enough heat and temperature were applied another metamorphic rock could have
been formed called phyllite, which is not as hard as slate. However, if the shale was in an
area that was exposed to higher pressures and moderate temperatures, it might have been
transformed into schist. The clay in the shale could have been converted to mica, which
gives schist its shiny look. Granite is a light-colored rock made of quartz, feldspars, mica,
and small amounts of hornblende. The crystals of all these minerals are randomly
arranged. Granite can be metamorphosed into a rock called gneiss. Gneiss has about the
same mineral composition as granite, but the pressure of metamorphism causes the
minerals to line up, giving gneiss a distinct banded appearance. Schist may also be
converted into gneiss, if increased pressure and temperature is added .

The metamorphic system can also react differently if fluids are part of the system
Serpentinite, a mottled green rock, is usually formed with high pressure and low
temperature. The original rock could contain a large amount of olivine (i.e., basalt). The
olivine (Mg2SiO4) reacts with water (H2O) to form the mineral serpentine
(Mg3Si2O5(OH)4)plus magnesium oxide (MgO).
 - Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated metamorphic rock that is created by the alteration of shale
or mudstone by low-grade regional metamorphism. Before the mid-19th century, the terms
slate, shale and schist were not sharply distinguished.

Mineral composition

Slate is composed mainly of clay minerals or micas, depending upon the degree of
metamorphism to which it has been subjected. The original clay minerals in shale alter to
micas with increasing levels of heat and pressure. Slate can also contain abundant quartz
and small amounts of feldspar, calcite, pyrite, hematite, and other minerals.

Uses

Slate is particularly suitable as a roofing

material as it has an extremely low water
absorption index of less than 0.4%, making the
material waterproof. In fact, this natural slate,
which requires only minimal processing, has
the lowest embodied energy of all roofing
materials. Natural slate is used by building
professionals as a result of its beauty and
durability. Slate is incredibly durable and can
last several hundred years, often with little or
no maintenance. Its low water absorption
makes it very resistant to frost damage and breakage due to freezing. Natural slate is also
fire resistant and energy efficient . A disadvantage is the cost of the slate and its
installation in comparison with other roofing materials. A s a result, in new construction
slate is mainly confined to high-end projects and prestige architecture.

In The eighties it was used in graves as a

headstone like John Betjeman's grave.

Due to its thermal stability and chemical

inertness, slate has been used for laboratory
benches.

In 18th- and 19th-century schools, slate was

extensively used for blackboards and individual
writing slates, for which slate or chalk pencils
were used, Students wrote on the slate with a
"pencil" made from slate, soapstone, or clay.

Slate is sometimes used as facing stone on

building exteriors
 - Gneiss
Gneiss is a common distributed type of rock formed by high -grade regional metamorphic
processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary
rocks identified by its bands and lenses of varying composition . Gneiss can form in several
different ways. The most common path begins with shale, which can transform into slate,
then phyllite, then schist, and finally into gneiss. During this transformat ion, clay particles
in shale transform into micas and increase in size .

Mineral composition

Gneiss cannot be identified by its composition, most specimens have bands of feldspar and
quartz grains in an interlocking texture, some specimens of gneiss contain distinctive
minerals characteristic of the metamorphic environment. These minerals might include
biotite, cordierite, sillimanite, kyanite, staurolite, andalusite, and garnet .

Uses

Gneiss is used a crushed stone in road construction, building site prepar ation, and
landscaping projects.

Due to its well shape and color its used in

architectural Work like Beautiful floor tiles,
facing stone, cemetery monuments and
headstone are often made from polished
gneiss.

In the seventeenth century it was to build

arches like Glen Span Arch in Central Park,
New York City it was built completely of
gneiss.

In the past it was used in the manufacture of

Ornaments and jewelry. Notice that the name
of this stone is from the German word gneist
which means Shines or glows.

Types

There are many types of Gneiss which are located in different places in the world.

Augen gneiss: is coarse-grained gneiss resulting from metamorphism of granite, which

contains characteristic elliptic or lenticular shear -bound feldspar porphyroclasts.
Henderson gneiss: is found in North Carolina and South Carolina, US, east of the Brevard
Shear Zone. It has deformed into two sequential forms.
Lewisian gneiss: These rocks are largely igneous in origin, mixed with metamorphosed
marble, quartzite and mica schist with later intrusions of b asaltic dikes and granite
magma.