Petrology Lecture 9

Introduction to Metamorphism
GLY 4310 - Spring, 2012

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 Metamorphism Definition
• “The mineralogical, chemical, and
structural adjustment of solid rocks to
physical and chemical conditions
which differ from the conditions under
which the rocks in question originated”
(from the Glossary of geology, 2nd
edition)
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 Onset of Metamorphism
• Minerals used to characterize the onset of
metamorphism include:
 Analcime, carpholite, glaucophane, heulandite,
laumontite, lawsonite, paragonite, prehnite,
pumpellyite, and stilpnomelane

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 SCMR Definition of Metamorphism
• The Subcommission on the Systematics of
Metamorphic Rocks has proposed the following
definition:
 Metamorphism is a subsolidus process leading to
changes in mineralogy and/or texture (for example
grain size) and often in chemical composition in a
rock. These changes are due to physical and/or
chemical conditions that differ from those normally
occurring at the surface of planets and in zones of
concentration and diagenesis below the surface. They
may coexist with partial melting.

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 Oceanic and
Continental
Geotherms
Figure 1.9. Estimated ranges of oceanic and
continental steady-state geotherms to a depth of
100 km using upper and lower limits based on
heat flows measured near the surface. After
Sclater et al. (1980), Earth. Rev. Geophys. Space
Sci., 18, 269-311.

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 Metamorphic Trajectories

Figure 21-1. Metamorphic field gradients (estimated P-T conditions along surface traverses
directly up metamorphic grade) for several metamorphic areas. After Turner (1981).
Metamorphic Petrology: Mineralogical, Field, and Tectonic Aspects. McGraw-Hill.
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 Pressure Types
• Lithostatic pressure - uniform stress (hydrostatic)
• Deviatoric stress = pressure unequal in different
directions
• Resolved into three mutually perpendicular stress
(s) components:
s1 is the maximum principal stress
s2 is an intermediate principal stress
s3 is the minimum principal stress
• In hydrostatic situations all three are equal

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Deviatoric Stress Effect

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 Deviatoric Stress: Tension

Figure 21-2. The three main types of deviatoric stress with an example of possible resulting
structures. a. Tension, in which one stress in negative. “Tension fractures” may open normal to
the extension direction and become filled with mineral precipitates. Winter (2001) An
Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall.
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Deviatoric Stress: Compression

Figure 21-2. The three main types of deviatoric stress with an example of possible resulting
structures. b. Compression, causing flattening or folding. Winter (2001) An Introduction
to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall. 10
 Flattening

• s1 > s2 = s3  foliation and no lineation

• s1 = s2 > s3  lineation and no foliation
• s1 > s2 > s3  both foliation and lineation
Figure 21-3. Flattening of a ductile homogeneous sphere (a) containing randomly oriented flat
disks or flakes. In (b), the matrix flows with progressive flattening, and the flakes are rotated
toward parallelism normal to the predominant stress. Winter (2001) An Introduction to Igneous 11
and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall.
 Deviatoric Stress: Shear

Figure 21-2. The three main types of deviatoric stress with an example of possible resulting structures.
b. Shear, causing slip along parallel planes and rotation. Winter (2001) An Introduction to
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall.

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Phase Diagram
for Water

Fig. 6-7. After Bridgman (1911) Proc.

Amer. Acad. Arts and Sci., 5, 441-
513; (1936) J. Chem. Phys., 3, 597-
605; (1937) J. Chem. Phys., 5, 964-
966.

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 Collapse

Figure 21-4. A situation in which lithostatic pressure (Plith) exerted by the mineral grains is greater than the intergranular
fluid pressure (Pfluid). At a depth around 10 km (or T around 300oC) minerals begin to yield or dissolve at the contact
points and shift toward or precipitate in the fluid-filled areas, allowing the rock to compress. The decreased volume of the
pore spaces will raise Pfluid until it equals Plith. Winter (2001) An Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology.
Prentice Hall.

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 Multi-Component Fluid Phases
• Pfluid = PH2O + PCO2 + .....

• XH2O + XCO2 + ..... = 1.0

• PH2O = XH2O • Pfluid

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 Potential Fluid Sources
• 1. Meteoritic water
• 2. Juvenile Water
• 3. Water associated with subducted material
• 4. Sedimentary brines
• 5. Water from metamorphic dehydration
reactions
• 6. Degassing of the mantle
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 IUGS-SCMR Classification of
Metamorphic Rocks
• Contact Metamorphism
 Pyrometamorphism
• Regional Metamorphism
 Orogenic Metamorphism
 Burial Metamorphism
 Ocean Floor Metamorphism
• Hydrothermal Metamorphism
• Fault-Zone Metamorphism
• Impact or Shock Metamorphism 17
 Contact Metamorphism

• Heat from the lava flow above baked sediments

Into a red shale in a narrow zone alone the contact
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 Temperature
Distributions
Within a
Dike

Figure 21-5. Temperature distribution within a 1-km thick vertical dike

and in the country rocks (initially at 0ºC) as a function of time. Curves
are labeled in years. The model assumes an initial intrusion temperature
of 1200ºC and cooling by conduction only. After Jaeger, (1968) Cooling
and solidification of igneous rocks. In H. H. Hess and A. Poldervaart
(eds.), Basalts, vol. 2. John Wiley & Sons. New York, pp. 503-536.

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 Hornfels

• Pinkish upper layer is Shap Granite, which intruded as hot magma into the
surrounding rocks around 400 million years ago.
• Heat from the magma intrusion has “baked” the darker rock (which was originally
mudstone), causing it to re-crystallize in a new form – a hard, flinty-looking
metamorphic rock called hornfels.
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Continental
Arc Orogen
Figure 21-6. Schematic model for
the sequential (a  c)
development of a “Cordilleran-
type” or active continental
margin orogen. The dashed and
black layers on the right
represent the basaltic and
gabbroic layers of the oceanic
crust. From Dewey and Bird
(1970) J. Geophys. Res., 75, 2625-
2647; and Miyashiro et al. (1979)
Orogeny. John Wiley & Sons.

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 Mylonite

• Mylonite along the Linville Falls Fault, Linville Falls, NC.

Relatively undeformed conglomeratic quartzite lies above the
layered mylonite zone. (Text from Pamela Gore)

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 Fault Zone
Cross-
Sections
(a) Shallow fault zone
with fault breccia
(b) Slightly deeper
fault zone (exposed by
Figure 21-7. Schematic cross section across fault
erosion) with some
zones. After Mason (1978) Petrology of the
Metamorphic Rocks. George Allen & Unwin.
ductile flow and fault
London.
mylonite
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 Shocked Quartz

• Shocked quartz crystal from the K/T boundary layer of the

Raton Basin, Colorado/New Mexico.
• Photo by Glen Isett, US Geological Survey
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Shatter Cones
• Figure 22-4. Shatter
cones in limestone
from the Haughton
Structure, Northwest
Territories
• Photograph courtesy
Richard Grieve, ©
Natural Resources
Canada
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 Prograde Metamorphism
• Prograde: increase in metamorphic grade with time
as a rock is subjected to gradually more severe
conditions
• Prograde metamorphism: changes in a rock that

accompany increasing metamorphic grade

• Retrograde: decreasing grade as rock cools and
recovers from a metamorphic or igneous event
 Retrograde metamorphism: any accompanying

changes

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 The Progressive Nature of Metamorphism

• A rock at a high metamorphic grade probably

progressed through a sequence of mineral
assemblages rather than hopping directly from an
unmetamorphosed rock to the metamorphic rock
that we find today

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 The Progressive Nature of Metamorphism
• Retrograde metamorphism typically of minor
significance
 Prograde reactions are endothermic and easily
driven by increasing T
 Devolatilization reactions are easier than
reintroducing the volatiles
 Geothermometry indicates that the mineral
compositions commonly preserve the maximum
temperature
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 Types of Protolith
Lump the common types of sedimentary and igneous
rocks into six chemically based-groups
1. Ultramafic - very high Mg, Fe, Ni, Cr
2. Mafic - high Fe, Mg, and Ca
3. Shales (pelitic) - high Al, K, Si
4. Carbonates - high Ca, Mg, CO2
5. Quartz - nearly pure SiO2.
6. Quartzo-feldspathic - high Si, Na, K, Al

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 Regional
Barrow’s Area
Metamorphism,
Scottish Highlands
• Figure 21-8. Regional
metamorphic map of the
Scottish Highlands,
showing the zones of
minerals that develop
with increasing
metamorphic grade
• From Gillen (1982)
Metamorphic Geology.
An Introduction to
Tectonic and
Metamorphic Processes.
George Allen & Unwin.
London.

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•
Barrovian
Chlorite zone - Slates or phyllites
Zones
 Minerals: Chlorite, muscovite, quartz, albite
• Biotite zone - Phyllites, schists
 Minerals: Biotite, chlorite, muscovite, quartz, albite
• Garnet zone: Garniferous schists
 Minerals: Red almandine garnet, biotite, chlorite, muscovite,
quartz, albite or oligoclase
• Staurolite zone: Schists
 Minerals: Staurolite, biotite, muscovite, quartz, garnet and
plagioclase
• Kyanite zone - Schists
 Minerals: Kyanite, biotite, muscovite, quartz, and plagioclase,
±garnet, ±staurolite.
• Sillimanite zone - Schists and gneisses
 Minerals: Sillimanite, biotite, muscovite, quartz, plagioclase,
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and garnet, ±staurolite, ±kyanite
 Al2SiO5
Phase
Diagram

Figure 21-9 The P-T diagram for the system Al2SiO5 showing the stability fields for the
three polymorphs: andalusite, kyanite, and sillimanite. Also shown is the hydration of
Al2SiO5 to pyrophyllite, which limits the occurance of an Al2SiO5 polymorph at low
grades in the presence of excess silica and water. The diagram was calculated using
the program TWQ (Berman, 1988, 1990, 1991).

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 Buchan or Abukuma Isograds

• Chlorite
• Biotite
• Cordierite
• Andalusite
• Sillimanite

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 Regional Burial Metamorphism
Otago, New Zealand
Section X-Y shows more detail

Figure 21-10. Geologic sketch map of the South Island of New

Zealand showing the Mesozoic metamorphic rocks east of the
older Tasman Belt and the Alpine Fault. The Torlese Group is
metamorphosed predominantly in the prehnite-pumpellyite
zone, and the Otago Schist in higher grade zones. X-Y is the
Haast River Section of Figure 21-11. From Turner (1981) 34
Metamorphic Petrology: Mineralogical, Field, and Tectonic
Aspects. McGraw-Hill.
Haast Group
•Figure 21-11. Metamorphic zones
of the Haast Group (along section X-
Y in Figure 21-10).
•After Cooper and Lovering (1970)
Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 27, 11-24.

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 Japanese Metamorphic Belts

• Figure 21-12. The

Sanbagawa and Ryoke
metamorphic belts of Japan\
• From Turner (1981)
Metamorphic Petrology:
Mineralogical, Field, and
Tectonic Aspects. McGraw-
Hill and Miyashiro (1994)
Metamorphic Petrology.
Oxford University Press.

36
 Subduction Zone Isotherms

• Figure 16-15 Cross section of subduction zone showing

isotherms (after Furukawa, 1993) and mantle flow lines
(dashed and arrows, after Tatsumi and Eggins, 1995). 37
Potential magma source regions are numbered.
Circum-Pacific Metamorphism

• Figure 21-13.
Some of the paired
metamorphic belts
in the circum-
Pacific region
• From Miyashiro
(1994)
Metamorphic
Petrology. Oxford
University Press.

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 Contact Metamorphism of Pelitic
Rocks in the Skiddaw Aureole, UK

Unaltered slates
•

Increasing •Outer zone of spotted slates

Metamorphic •Middle zone of andalusite slates

Grade
•Inner zone of hornfels

•Skiddaw granite

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 Skiddaw Granite, Lake District, UK

• Figure 21-14. Geologic Map and

cross-section of the area around the
Skiddaw granite, Lake District, UK
• After Eastwood (1et al. 968).
Geology of the Country around
Cockermouth and Caldbeck
• Explanation accompanying the 1-
inch Geological Sheet 23, New
Series. Institute of Geological
Sciences. London.

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 Skiddaw Aureole, UK
Middle Zone
•Slates more thoroughly
recrystallized
• Contain biotite +
muscovite + cordierite +
1 mm
andalusite + quartz
• Figure 21-15. Cordierite-
andalusite slate from the
middle zone of the Skiddaw
aureole
• From Mason (1978)
Petrology of the Metamorphic
Rocks. George Allen & 41
Unwin. London.
Skiddaw Aureole, UK
Inner Zone
Thoroughly recrystallized
Foliation lost

1 mm
• Figure 21-16. Andalusite-cordierite
schist from the inner zone of the
Skiddaw aureole
• Note the chiastolite cross in
andalusite (see also Figure 22-49).
From Mason (1978) Petrology of the
Metamorphic Rocks
• George Allen & Unwin. London.
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 Comrie Schists, Scotland
• Typical Mineral Assemblage:
 Hypersthene + cordierite + orthoclase + biotite
+ opaques
• Silica rich rocks
 Cummingtonite (Ca-free amphibole) + quartz +
andesine + biotite + opaques
• Silica undersaturated
 Corundum, Fe-Mg spinel

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Contact Metamorphism, Crestmore, California

•Figure 21-17.
Idealized N-S
cross section (not
to scale) through
the quartz
monzonite and
the aureole at
Crestmore, CA
• From Burnham
(1959) Geol. Soc.
Amer. Bull., 70,
879-920.

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 Zone Number Mineral Assemblage
Forsterite 1 calcite+brucite+clinohumite+
spinel
Crestmore
2 calcite+clinohumite+forsterite+
spinel Zones
3 calcite+forsterite+spinel+
clintonite
Monticellite 4 calcite+forsterite+monticellite+
clintonite
5 calcite+monticellite+melilite
clintonite
6 calcite+monticellite+spurrite (or
tilleyite)+clintonite
7 monticellite+spurrite+merwinite+
melilite
Vesuvianite 8 vesuvianite+monticellite+spurrite+
merwinite+melilite
9 vesuvianite+monticellite+diopside+
wollastonite
Garnet 10 grossular+diopside+wollastonite

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 Example Transformations
• Assemblage 1 to Assemblage 2
 2 Clinohumite + SiO2 → 9 Forsterite + 2 H2O
• Assemblage 7 to Assemblage 8
 Monticellite + 2 Spurrite + 3 Merwinite + 4
Melilite + 15 SiO2 + 12 H2O → 6 Vesuvianite
+ 2 CO2

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Figure 21-18. CaO-MgO-SiO2 diagram at a fixed pressure and temperature showing the
compositional relationships among the minerals and zones at Crestmore. Numbers
correspond to zones listed in the text. After Burnham (1959) Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., 70,
879-920; and Best (1982) Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. W. H. Freeman.
CaO-MgO-
SiO2
Zones are
numbered (from
outside inward)

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