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Published byDoreen Rose Modified over 9 years ago
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Metamorphism Changes in rocks due to increasing P-T conditions and/or interaction with fluids.
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Importance 1.Mineral Resources 2.Mountain Building Events 3.History of Continental Crust Uncut Ruby and Sapphire Oldest rocks on the Earth (4.0 billion year old gneiss from Northern Canada)
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Metamorphism usually involves changes in: mineralogy formation of new metamorphic minerals texture development of metamorphic “fabrics”
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Mineralogical Changes
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Textural Changes
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Metamorphic Conditions All changes occur in the SOLID state between ~100 C and 800 C “Solid State Recrystallization” = Metamorphism Metamorphic “Grade” refers to general P-T conditions
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High-temperature limit grades into partial melting migmatites (“mixed rocks”)
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Agents of Metamorphism Temperature: depends on geothermal gradient (avg. 30°C/km) Pressure: 1.lithostatic - uniform P, due to weight of overlying rock; 1 kb (0.1 GPa) = 3.3 km depth. 2.differential - unequal P in different directions; produces metamorphic rock fabrics Fluids: H 2 O-dominated ± CO 2. Derived from metamorphic reactions (internal) or magmatic fluids (external).
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Types of Metamorphism Two main types at tectonically active regions: (1) Contact Metamorphism (2) Regional Metamorphism
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Contact Metamorphism thermal metamorphism due to heat of igneous intrusions narrow zones (<1 km wide)
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Regional Metamorphism Large, regional areas of crust affected (thousands of km 2 ); one or more episodes of orogeny with combined elevated geothermal gradients and deformation Associated with mountain building processes at convergent plate boundaries (subduction zones; collision zones) Examples: Andes, Himalayas, Appalachians Full range of P-T metamorphic conditions; foliated rocks are a characteristic product
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Variable P-T Conditions in a Convergent Plate Setting Low P, high T (contact) high P and T (regional) high P, low T (“blueschist”)
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Non-foliated Foliated
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Slaty Cleavage Common Metamorphic Fabrics Schistocity Gneissic Banding
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Origin of Metamorphic Foliation Produced by differential stress Compressive Shearing
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Granite Granitic Gneiss Rotation and flattening of platy (clays, micas) or elongate minerals (hornblende, feldspars) Origin of Metamorphic Foliation
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“Protolith” = parent rock type prior to metamorphism Broad Compositional Categories based on mineralogy and textures ultimately inherited from the “protolith”.
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Quartz Sandstone
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(a) Limestone (fiossiliferous)
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ShaleSchist
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IMPORTANT CONCEPT: Metamorphic assemblages are a function of P-T and protolith chemistry Different protoliths will yield different mineral assemblages at the same P-T conditions
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3 Most Important Compositional Categories 1.Pelites: protolith = Al-rich, fine-grained clastic sediments (shales, siltstones). Classic slate-phyllite- schist-gneiss sequence. 2. Calcareous: protolith = carbonate rocks (limestones, dolostones, shaly ls). Marbles, calc-silicate rocks. 3. Mafic and Ultramafic: protolith = ultramafic to mafic igneous rocks. Greenstones, amphibolites, granulites.
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metamorphic grade (low, intermediate, high) is the most basic way to classify based on P-T P-T Classification BUT, we can be more specific than that!
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P-T diagram showing “Metamorphic Facies”
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Metamorphic Facies are broad characterizations of the P-T conditions experienced by metamorphic rocks in an area. They are represented by “fields” or “polygons” on a P-T diagram. If we find rocks in the field with a particular mineralogy, then a certain facies (P-T conditions) may be assigned to the area. Adirondacks, NY NJ Highlands rocks
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Facies are defined by distinctive mineral assemblages Facies boundaries are defined by important mineral reactions and the disappearance/appearance of distinctive minerals. Protolith = mafic igneous rocks
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