Lecture 7

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6.1 What is metamorphism?

• Rocks exhibit two types of change
• 1. New minerals form at the expense of the old ones
• 2. Rock texture is altered by changes in size, shape, and orientation of constituent minerals
• Significance of the original rock
• Essential to determining what reactions will take place
• By and large, the composition you start with is the composition you end up with
• However, presence of chemically active fluids can cause substantial change