Earth Science for STEM

Metamorphism

Metamorphism is one of the geologic processes in which rocks change in form,

composition, and structure due to intense heat and pressure and sometimes
with the introduction of chemically active fluids. While learning through this
module, you can make concept connections between major geologic features
such as tectonic features of Earth and endogenic processes that you learned
previously with the processes that rocks undergo during metamorphism - how
those geologic processes influence the changes that rocks undergo and form the
so-called metamorphic rocks.

Activity 1
Geologic processes that take place underneath the ground are rigid to describe
because we cannot directly observe what’s going on beneath us. Hence, to
visualize the events that are taking place in the Earth’s crust, let us do this
simulation activity.

For this activity, you may ask for the help of your parents or siblings at
home. You may use materials as alternatives if the ones given are not available
at your house. Let’s start.

Follow the procedures for each set-up below. Answer the guide questions
that follow. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Set-up 1

Materials:
● Raw egg white
● A shallow pan (you may use a plate as an alternative)
● Boiled water in a glass jar or bottle

Procedures:
1. Separate the yolk from the egg white (you will use only the egg white) and
pour it into a shallow pan.
2. Transfer your boiled water to a glass jar or a bottle and place it in the
middle of the pan.
3. Observe the changes in the egg white.
4. Include the documentation/Pictures of the Activity.

Guide Questions:
1. What did you notice on the egg white near the glass jar with hot water?
What do you think caused that change?
2. Did you observe any change on the egg white far from the hot glass jar?
How can you explain this observation?
Set-up 2

Materials:
● pieces of sticks taken from walis ting-ting with different lengths
● two rulers (you may use any alternative for the purpose)

Procedures:
1. Drop the sticks onto an even surface and let them take a different direction
or orientation.
2. Using two rulers placed on either side of the sticks, pull them toward the
center while trapping the sticks in the middle.
3. Include the documentation/Pictures of the Activity.

Guide Questions:
1. The sticks represent the minerals present in the rocks. What changes did
you observe on the sticks when you pulled the rulers together towards the
middle?
2. In the activity, the rulers represent the tectonic forces that push rocks.
What can you infer from this activity about the minerals in rocks when
undergoing the same forces?
3. In this process, can you name the factor responsible for the changes that
occurred?
The activity demonstrates how rocks respond to geologic factors such as heat
and pressure in forming metamorphic rocks through metamorphism.
Metamorphism occurs tens of kilometers below the surface, where temperatures
and pressures are high enough to transform rock without melting it. The increase
in temperature and pressure and change in the chemical environment can
change the mineral composition and crystalline textures of the rock while
remaining solid all the while. The metamorphic rocks under these change
conditions depend on the original rock chemistry, the exact pressures, the
temperature to which rocks are subjected, and the amount of water available for
chemical reaction.

Factors Involved in Metamorphism

1. Temperature. It plays a crucial role in metamorphism. The heat affects the

rock’s chemical composition, mineralogy, and texture. For instance,
metamorphic reactions begin at a depth of about 8 to 15 kilometers from the
surface of the crust during burial metamorphism. The rocks adjust to the new
temperature, causing their atoms and ions to recrystallize and form new
arrangements, creating new mineral assemblages. During recrystallization, new
crystals grow larger than those in the original rock.

For example, in Figure 1, when sedimentary rock (mudrock) – shale becomes

buried deeper and deeper, the clay minerals in the rock will begin to recrystallize
and form new minerals, such as micas in slate – a metamorphic rock from shale.
With additional burial at greater depth, where the temperature is higher, mineral
micas transform into a new mineral garnet in schist – another metamorphic rock
with a higher grade. The rate at which temperature increases with depth in the
Earth’s crust is known as the geothermal gradient, which varies on plate
tectonic settings like the thickness of the crust or whether the area is in the
subduction zone between oceanic and continental or under the converging two
continental crusts. Subduction zones, for instance, are characterized by low-
temperature metamorphism, and the area at which collision occurs between two
converging crustal plates is characterized by high-temperature metamorphism.
The higher the temperature, the higher the metamorphism grade until the
temperature is high enough to melt the rocks, resulting in magma formation.

2. Pressure. Like temperature, it changes the composition, mineralogy, and

texture of rocks. Pressure is different in various tectonic settings, like
temperature. For instance, metamorphism in the subduction zone is
characterized by high-pressure metamorphism. In contrast, the collision zone
between two continental crusts is marked by moderate-pressure
metamorphism.

There are two types of pressures known also as stresses that exert force on rocks
causing changes.

a. The vertical stress or confining pressure is the stress or pressure

exerted on the rock by the weight of overlying material such as in burial
metamorphism. This type of pressure is the same in all directions and
makes the rocks to fracture or deform.

b. The directed or differential pressure is imposed by a force in a

particular direction. Differential pressure is dominant at convergent
boundaries where plates move towards each other and collide thus
exerting force and cause rocks to deform. Pressure causes rocks to form
folds in a particular direction as directed by the pressure, thus directed
pressure guides the shape and orientation of the new crystals formed as
minerals recrystallize under the influence of both heat and pressure. This
results in a textural change such that the minerals are elongated in the
direction perpendicular to the directed stress and this contributes to the
formation of foliation.

Foliation is a set of flat or wavy parallel cleavage planes produced by

deformation under directed pressures. In the figure below, the effect of
compression due to pressure aligns the minerals as they recrystallize during
metamorphism. The diagram on the left represents the minerals in shale, a
sedimentary rock with beddings in the direction shown. The diagram in the
middle represents minerals in slate, a low-grade metamorphic rock from the
original rock shale, with mica crystals orientated perpendicular to the direction
of the pressure. The minerals in higher-grade metamorphic rock schist, with very
evident foliation, are represented by the diagram in the far right which shows
larger bandings of minerals caused by even greater pressure.
Hydrothermal fluids also play a role in metamorphism. The dissolved minerals
in the fluids react with rocks causing changes in chemical and mineral
compositions and sometimes completely replacing one mineral with another
without changing the textures of the rocks. This type of metamorphism is known
as metasomatism in which the alteration process is caused by fluids passing
through the rock and catalyzing chemical reactions. For example, when the heat
of the intrusive igneous body heats up the groundwater containing dissolved
minerals, convection of water forms flowing through the surrounding rocks and
penetrating through them. Reactions occur among chemicals in the rocks and
in the water resulting in significant changes in the mineralogy of the rock. An
example is the alteration of feldspars to clays, and deposition of quartz, calcite,
and other minerals in fractures or cracks and other open spaces forming veins
such as represented by the figure below.
Metamorphism caused by hydrothermal fluids also occurs in mid-ocean ridges
where hot lava, coming out of the fissures, reacts with mineral-rich ocean water.
This causes serpentines to form through oxidation and hydration chemical
reaction of peridotites- olivine-rich rocks at the base of the oceanic crust. This is
known as serpentinization.

Types of Metamorphism

Metamorphic rocks are categorized based on geologic origins.

Regional Metamorphism forms foliated metamorphic rocks such as Gneiss and

Schist due to high temperature and pressure imposed on large parts of the crust.
Most regional metamorphism occurs within the continental crust. Although
rocks can be metamorphosed at depth in most areas, deep below the mountains
produced by the collision of two continental crusts is the area of greatest regional
metamorphism. In general, the confining and directing pressures exerted by some
tectonic forces onto rock formations cause new alignment of minerals (foliation)
during recrystallization.

Another type of metamorphism is contact metamorphism which is prominent

in areas where surrounding rocks are exposed to heat coming from magma
intrusion within the layers of the rocks. Marble, quartzite, and other
granoblastic rocks with large visible crystals of minerals may be formed through
contact metamorphism. For example, when the quartz-rich sedimentary rock
encounters enough heat from the presence of igneous intrusions to trigger
recrystallization, all sedimentary structures are destroyed and quartz grains in
the sandstone recrystallize to form an interlocking mosaic of crystals giving it a
granoblastic texture. The resulting rock is white or pale grey known as
metaquartzite. The size of the crystals is larger near to the contact with the
igneous intrusion and smaller when further away from the contact where
temperatures are not as high. The same things happen with limestone, the
parent rock of marble. The heat coming from igneous intrusion destroys the
calcite minerals including the fossils found in the limestone and forms a marble
with an interlocking mosaic of crystals. A limestone made of pure calcite
minerals would transform into pure white marble.

Other types of metamorphism include shock metamorphism which takes place

when the heat and shock waves from meteor or asteroid impact transform rocks
immediately around the impact site. Examples of this are the transformation of
mineral graphite into ultra-high-pressure polymorph diamond and the
conversion of quartz minerals into coesite under high shock pressures. Burial
Metamorphism occurs at lower temperature and pressure which transforms
sedimentary rocks that had undergone diagenesis into low-grade metamorphic
rocks through relatively low temperature and pressure. Partial alteration of the
mineralogy and texture may occur while other sedimentary structures are
usually preserved.
In subduction zones, between two converging plates, high-pressure
metamorphism occurs. Metamorphic rocks created through these processes are
rarely found on the Earth’s surface as they were formed in such a great depth.
Some metamorphic rocks formed through these types of metamorphism contain
bits of microscopic diamonds, an indication that the rock was formed with great
pressure. An example of rock made through this type of metamorphism is the
eglcosite which has transformed with pressure greater than 28 kbar at a depth
of approximately above 80 km.

Based on the discussion presented above. Answer the questions about

metamorphism. You may write your answer on a piece of paper.

Questions:

1. At what depths in the Earth do metamorphic rocks form? What happens

if temperature and pressure get too high?
2. What texture is formed when mineral crystals are aligned with preferred
orientation in a metamorphic rock?
3. How would you relate the grade of metamorphic rocks to the degree of
temperature in which it was made?
4. Which metamorphic rock would you associate with a high grade of regional
metamorphism (phyllite, slate, schist, or gneiss)? Why?
5. Why is it important to study metamorphism? How would you relate your
chosen field (STEM) to this kind of study?