Metamorphic rocks

• Metamorphic rocks are formed when the pre-existing

rocks (igneous or sedimentary) are subjected to
increased temperature, pressure and action of
chemically active fluids.
 During metamorphism, recrystallization of the
mineral constituents take place which results in the
production of new minerals and textures.
 Metamorphism means "change in form".
 Generally the metamorphic processes improve the
engineering behavior of these rocks by increasing
their hardness and strength. Nevertheless, some
metamorphic rocks still can be problematic.

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Agents of Metamorphism or factors controlling
metamorphism
The agents which bring about metamorphism of rocks are:
1) Physical agents: Heat, Uniform pressure (or confining or
hydrostatic), and directed pressure (stress).
2) Chemical agents: chemically active water and gases.
 These agents produce changes in the pre-existing rocks,
that are either physical, chemical or both.
 Physical changes produces new textue whereas
chemical changes produce new minerals.
 Recrystallization is the process which produces new
texture. In this process, the original mineral undergo a
change in their structure i.e. They are flattened or
elongate.

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 Types of Metamorphism
Depending upon the dominance of one or the other of the
agents, the metamorphism is classified as:
1) Thermal metamorphism. Here the changes brought in
rocks are mainly due to heat, but heated magmatic water
or vapors carrying mineral matter in solution also play
important part. The confining pressure is usually
relatively low because it mostly takes place not too far
beneath Earth’s surface (<10Km).
 When thermal metamorphism occurs in the immediate
vicinity of igneous intrusions, it is called contact
metamorphism. and when it occurs on a regional scale
(large scale) at depth, it is called plutonic
metamorphism.

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 Types of Metamorphism
 Uniform pressure predominates in thermal
metamorphism, thus leading to the development of dense
and equidimensional minerals during recrystallization.
And the resulting rocks are non-foliated* having even
grained texture.
 Foliation*: referes to the repetitive layers in metamorphic
rocks, whose thickness varies from a few mm to over a
meter. They are caused by shearing forces or differential
pressure.
 During contact metamorphism, clays and shales may
changed into the very fine-grained Porcellanite, hornfels
or even mica-schist, while sandstones and limestones may
form quartzites and marbles, respectively.

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 Types of Metamorphism
2) Regional or dynamothermal metamorphism. It is
caused when both directed pressure and heat act
together.
 The directed pressure involves movement and shearing,
and therefore it is the main factor in forming foliated and
cleavable rocks. The new minerals developed under
directed pressure are usually flat, tabular, elongated, or
bladed in nature, e.g. Muscovite,biotite, chlorite, talc etc.
These minerals develop with their flat sides at right
angles to the direction of pressure.
 The foliated rocks include slates, phyllites, schists, gneiss
etc.
 This metamorphism is associated with folded mountain
ranges.
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 Types of Metamorphism
3) Cataclastic metamorphism. Here mainly the directed
pressure or stress predominates. The stress produces
shearing movements in the rocks and causes crushing,
granulation and powdering. Therefore, cataclastic rocks
show mainly mechanical breaking with little new
mineral formation.
 This takes place near the earth surface, where rocks are
hard and brittle.
 Example of cataclastic rocks are mylonites and fault
breccia.

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 Types of Metamorphism
4) Metasomatism. The metasomatic replacements of
rocks are brought about by deposition from
hydrothermal solution (hot magmatic water).
 Th replacement takes place molecule by molecule, so
that the new mineral is added, the old is removed.
 The metasomatic replacement is commonly
associated with carbonate rocks such as limestones
and dolomites, which are easily dissolved and
replaced by silica, iron ore etc.

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Common Metamorphic Transformations

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 Metamorphic zones
The degree or intensity of metamorphism generally increases
with depth becasue as the depth increases, temperature and
pressue also increases. From the earth surface downward there
are three zones of metamorphism.
1) Epizone: this zone lies near the earth surface where
temperature is upto 3000C, and directed pressure is high.
Cataclastic metamorphism takes place here. The alteration in
rock is weak. The typical rocks are phyllites.
2) Mesozone: an intermediate zone, where temperature is
between 3000C and 5000C, and directed pressure is also high.
Dynamothermal metamorphism takes place here. Schists are
the typical rocks of this zone.
3) Ketazone: the bottom most zone, where directed pressure is
absent, uniform pressure is high, and temp is above 5000C.
Plutonic metamorphism predominates here to produce even
grained rocks.

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 Grade of metamorphism
 It varies directly with the amount of heat and pressure to which
the rock is subjected.
 As the degree of metamorphism increases, new minerals
become stable and crystallize. The minerals present in a
metamorphic rocks are thus indicators of the P/T conditions at
the time of the last recrystallization. Metamorphic Grade is a
scale of metamorphic intensity which uses indicator
minerals as geothermometers and geobarometers.
 Slate and phyllite which show a low grade of metamorphism,
are formed away from the intrusive igneous body, while high
grade metamorphic rock like gneiss is formed near its margin.
 Higher the grade of metamorphism, higher the grain size, e.g.
Slates and phyllites are fine grained, while schists and gneiss
are coarse grained.

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 Grade of metamorphism
• In general, proceeding from low grade (lower
pressure and temperature) to high grade (higher
pressure and temperature), the following facies are
recognized:
Zeolite: low temperature, low pressure
Prehnite-pumpellyite: low temperature,
low-medium pressure
Greenschist: low-medium temperature,
low-medium pressure
Blueschist: low-medium temperature,
high pressure
Amphibolite: medium-high temperature,
medium-high pressure
Granulite: high temperature, high
pressure
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 Common metamorphic rocks
Slate: Slates are produced by the low grade
regionale metamorphism of shales.
 They are foliated and fine grained rocks.
 They are composed of very fine grained
mixture of quartz, chlorite, muscovite and
feldspars.

 It is popular for a wide variety of uses such

as roofing, flooring, and flagging because of
its durability and attractive appearance.

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 Common metamorphic rocks
Phyllite: is a foliated, low grade metamorphic rock,
having glossy and shinning lustre. This luster is due to
the presence of large amount of fine flakes of mica
(muscovite).
 Composed of mainly muscovite and quartz.
 It is intermediate grade between slate and schist.

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 Common metamorphic rocks
Schist: Schist is a foliated metamorphic rock made up of plate-
shaped mineral grains that are large enough to see with an
unaided eye.
 It usually forms on a continental side of a convergent plate
boundary where sedimentary rocks, such as shales and
mudstones, have been subjected to compressive forces, heat,
and chemical activity.
They are largely composed of flaky minerals
such as muscovite, biotite, hornblende,
chloride, talc etc.
Depending upon the type of flaky mineral
present, they are named as muscovite-schist,
biotite-schist, hornblende-schist,etc.
The dominant visible mineral in
 Because of its lower strenght, it is this schist is muscovite.
unsuitable for use as construction
aggregate,or building stone.
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 Common metamorphic rocks
Gneiss: is a high graded, coarse grained, foliated metamorphic
rock.
 It has a banded appearance and is made up of granular mineral
grains .
 It is composed of feldspars, quartz and some mafic minerals.
 They are distinguished by the minerals present in large
amount, e.g. Biotite-gneiss, hornblende-gneiss etc.
 Because of its strength, it is used as construction
aggregates in road construction, building site
preparation, and landscaping projects.

 Some gneiss is durable enough to perform well as a

dimension stone. These rocks are sawn or sheared
into blocks and slabs used in a variety of building,
paving, and curbing projects.

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 Common metamorphic rocks
Marble: Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms when
limestone is subjected to the heat and pressure of
metamorphism. It is composed primarily of the mineral
calcite (CaCO3) and usually contains other minerals,
such as clay minerals, micas, quartz, pyrite, iron oxides,
and graphite.
 Most marble forms at convergent plate boundaries
where large areas of Earth's crust are exposed to Pink marble
regional metamorphism. Some marble also forms by
contact metamorphism when a hot magma body
heats adjacent limestone.
 It has a hardness of 3 on Mohs scale, which makes it
easy to carve for sculptures and ornamental objects.
 Marble is used as an aggregates in highways,
railroad beds, building foundation , and as a
dimension stone. Gray marble
 It is also used for acid neutralization in chemical
industry.

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Engineering Properties of Some Common Metamorphic Rocks

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 The rock cycle
 The rock cycle is a fundamental concept in geology that
describes the dynamic transitions through geologic time among
the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic,
and igneous. As the diagram illustrates, each of the types of
rocks are altered or destroyed when it is forced out of its
equilibrium conditions.

 An igneous rock such as basalt may break down and dissolve

when exposed to the atmosphere, or melt as it
is subducted under a continent. Due to the driving forces of the
rock cycle, plate tectonics and the water cycle, rocks do not
remain in equilibrium and are forced to change as they
encounter new environments.

 The rock cycle is an illustration that explains how the three rock
types are related to each other, and how processes change
from one type to another over time.

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 The rock cycle

Note: All rocks may not go through each step in the cycle e.g. sedimentary
rocks might be uplifted and exposed to weathering, creating new sediment.
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 Driving forces for the rock cycle
1) Plate tectonics
 Spreading ridges
 Subduction zones
 Continental collision
 Accelerated erosion
• The water cycle

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