6(a) A metamorphic rock is one that is formed directly from a pre-existing

rock which is usually a sedimentary rock, but it can also be an igneous

rock. Heat and pressure are the 'driving forces' for metamorphic rock
formation in which the grains of pre-existing rocks arere-crystallised
without melting. The metamorphic rock usually retains the same chemical
composition as the original rock, but the crystal structure will be different.
The pre-existing rocks involved are usually deep in the crust where they
are subjected to great pressure. The high temperatures often needed,
are due to rocks being near the hot mantle, or when an igneous intrusion
rises, or volcanic rock heats other surrounding rock and when continental
plate meets oceanic plate (see (3) in Fig 2. below). However, if the
temperature is high enough to melt the rock, which subsequently cools to
solidify again, the new rock is an igneous rock and cannot be classified as
a metamorphic rock.

Metamorphic rock is rock that has changed from one type of rock into
another. The word metamorphic (from Greek) means "of changing form."
Metamorphic rock is produced from either igneous rock (rock formed from
the cooling and hardening of magma) or sedimentary rock (rock
formed from compressed and solidified layers of organic or
inorganic matter). Most of Earth's crust is made up of metamorphic rock.
Igneous and sedimentary rocks become metamorphic rock as a result of
intense heat from magma and pressure from tectonic shifting. Although
the rock becomes extremely hot and under a great deal of pressure it does
not melt. If the rock melted, the process would result in igneous, not
metamorphic rock. "Metamorphism" of rock causes the texture and/or
mineral composition to change. New textures are formed from a process
called recrystallization. New minerals (which are simply various
combinations of elements) are created when elements recombine.

Some useful metamorphic concepts came from the study of rocks in the Highlands of
Scotland in the early Twentieth Century. George Barrow identified patterns in the minerals
found in these rocks, based on the appearance of characteristic index minerals (chlorite,
biotite, garnet, staurolite, kyanite, sillimanite). His insight was that these index minerals were
distributed in distinctive ways.
Index minerals are minerals used in metamorphic rocks as indicators of peak pressure and temperature. The first
appearance of a mineral defines an index zone that identifies the minimum peak temperature and pressure

obtained. The index mineral may survive progressive metamorphism and be present with other index minerals,
for example, chlorite can frequently be found in biotite schists and garnet is often present in kyanite schists.

The higher the pressure and temperature in which the rock formed, the higher the grade of the
rock

Index minerals are used to define the degree of metamorphism. Depending on the
composition of the parent rock, chemical reactions occur when the rock is exposed to
increasing levels of heat and pressure. Each zone contains an index mineral that indicates
the level of metamorphism.

Chlorite zone: quartz, chlorite, muscovite, albite

Biotite zone: quartz, muscovite, biotite, chlorite, albite

Garnet zone: quartz, muscovite, biotite, garnet, Na plagioclase

Staurolite zone: quartz, muscovite, biotite, garnet, staurolite, plagioclase

Kyanite zone: quartz, muscovite, biotite, garnet, kyanite, plagioclase, +/- staurolite

Silimanite zone: quartz, muscovite, biotite, garnet, sillimanite, plagioclase

Metamorphic facies represent specific pressure and temperature conditions. Each facies has
several mineral assemblages unique to that facies; the assemblage depends on the parent rock
(shale vs. basalt). Wikipedia has a good list of the minerals possible in each facies. As the chart
below shows, certain facies are associated with certain formation conditions, such as a
subduction zone for blueschists.

Metamorphic facies are a set of associated metamorphic rocks formed over a specific
range of temperatures and pressures that can be distinguished from other metamorphic rocks by
characteristic mineral assemblages. Metamorphic facies are often associated with restricted
range of tectonic settings. Metamorphic facies are named after specific index minerals or fabrics
associated with one or more protolith types, often basalts.
Blueschist and eclogite facies rocks are most commonly associated with subduction zones.
Zeolite facies are associated with burial metamorphism. Greenschist, amphibolite and granulite
facies are related to regional Barrovian and Buchan metamorphism that usually arises during
orogenesis
A metamorphic facies is a set of metamorphic mineral assemblages that were formed under
similar pressures and temperatures.[1] The assemblage is typical of what is formed in conditions
corresponding to an area on the two dimensional graph of temperature vs. pressure (See
diagram at right).[1] Rocks which contain certain minerals can therefore be linked to
certain tectonic settings, times and places in the geological history of the area. [1] The boundaries
between facies (and corresponding areas on the temperature v. pressure graph) are wide
because they are gradational and approximate.[1] The area on the graph corresponding to rock
formation at the lowest values of temperature and pressure is the range of formation
of sedimentary rocks, as opposed to metamorphic rocks, in a process called diagenesis.

Foliation is produced in a rock by the parallel

alignment of platy minerals

Contact metamorphism is the name given to the changes that take place when magma is
injected into the surrounding solid rock (country rock). The changes that occur are greatest
wherever the magma comes into contact with the rock because the temperatures are highest at
this boundary and decrease with distance from it. Around the igneous rock that forms from the
cooling magma is a metamorphosed zone called a contact metamorphism aureole. Aureoles may
show all degrees of metamorphism from the contact area to unmetamorphosed (unchanged)
country rock some distance away. The formation of important ore minerals may occur by the
process of metasomatism at or near the contact zone.

Regional metamorphism, also known as dynamic metamorphism, is the name given to

changes in great masses of rock over a wide area. Rocks can be metamorphosed simply by
being at great depths below the Earth's surface, subjected to high temperatures and the great
pressure caused by the immense weight of the rock layers above. Much of the lower continental
crust is metamorphic, except for recent igneous intrusions. Horizontal tectonic movements such
as the collision of continents create orogenic belts, and cause high temperatures, pressures and
deformation in the rocks along these belts. If the metamorphosed rocks are later uplifted and
exposed by erosion, they may occur in long belts or other large areas at the surface. The
process of metamorphism may have destroyed the original features that could have revealed the
rock's previous history. Recrystallization of the rock will destroy the textures and fossils present in
sedimentary rocks. Metasomatism will change the original composition.