Metamorphic reaction

A metamorphic reaction is a chemical reaction that takes place during the geological process of metamorphism wherein one assemblage of minerals is transformed into a second assemblage which is stable under the new temperature/pressure conditions resulting in the final stable state of the observed metamorphic rock.[1]

Schematic representation of a metamorphic reaction. Abbreviations of minerals: act = actinolite; chl = chlorite; ep = epidote; gt = garnet; hbl = hornblende; plag = plagioclase. Two minerals represented in the figure do not participate in the reaction, they can be quartz and K-feldspar. This reaction takes place in nature when a mafic rock goes from amphibolite facies to greenschist facies.

Examples include the production of talc under varied metamorphic conditions:

serpentine + carbon dioxide → talc + magnesite + water
chlorite + quartzkyanite + talc + water

See also

Notes

  1. "Types of Metamorphic Reactions". Tulane University. Retrieved 2007-06-22.


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