metam.ppt.pptVIP

Metamorphism: New Rocks from Old Chapter 10 Geology Today Barbara W. Murck, Brian J. Skinner Mineralogical, chemical, and structural changes in solid rocks, in response to physical and chemical conditions at depths below regions of sedimentation and diagenesis. Pressure, temperature are the most important factors. TIME - enhances all other metamorphic factorsLong periods of time allow larger grains to grow Slate Gneiss Protolith: shale Protolith: shale Low grade High grade Preferred orientation: All the seagulls are facing into or away from the wind This alignment produces a foliation From conglomerate tometaconglomerate - flattened cobbles parallel to each other Slaty cleavage - tendency to break along planes that form perpendicular to maximum stress. In folded layers the cleavage parallels the axial plane Schistosity - planar minerals like mica crystallize perpendicular to maximum stress. Gneiss - micaceous schist alternating with coarsely crystalline bands Pre-existing layers High-grade metamorphism Progressive changes to shale as higher T and P over time allow different index minerals to form. Fig. 10.8, p. 280 Assemblage of minerals typical of a set of metamorphic conditions Polymorphs of Al2SiO5 reveal P-T conditions Continental core regions -- Canadian Shield Finely foliated rocks: slate and phyllite. Slate, with slaty cleavage at high angle to bedding Coarsely foliated rocks: Schist Micaceous minerals, formed from shale or siltstone Coarsely foliated rocks: Gneiss Bands of micaceous minerals alternating with bands of granular minerals (usually quartz and feldspar) Along faults - grinding and crushing at shallow crustal levels, stretching and recrystallization at deeper levels. Also known as cataclastic metamorphism (not in textbook). Protolith + Process = Product Basalt + moderate T and P = greenschist (green chlorite) Basalt + high T and P = amphibolite (black amphibole) Protolith + Process = Product Basalt + low T,