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.

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 + quartz → kyanite + talc + water

Epidotisation in Argyll and Bute, U.K

See also

• Index mineral