Greenschist
Greenschists are
Greenschist is a general field
Petrology
Greenschist is defined by the presence of the minerals
Greenstone is a
Greenschist facies
Greenschist facies is determined by the particular temperature and pressure conditions required to metamorphose basalt to form the typical greenschist facies minerals chlorite, actinolite, and albite. Greenschist facies results from low temperature, moderate pressure metamorphism. Metamorphic conditions which create typical greenschist facies assemblages are called the Barrovian Facies Sequence, and the lower-pressure Abukuma Facies Series. Temperatures of approximately 400 to 500 °C (750 to 930 °F) and depths of about 8 to 50 kilometres (5 to 31 miles) are the typical envelope of greenschist facies rocks.
The equilibrium mineral assemblage of rocks subjected to greenschist facies conditions depends on primary rock composition.[8]
- Basalt: chlorite + actinolite + albite +/- epidote
- Ultramafic: chlorite +
- Pelites: quartz +/- albite +/- k-feldspar +/- chlorite, muscovite, garnet, pyrophyllite +/- graphite
- , etc.
In greater detail the greenschist facies is subdivided into subgreenschist, lower and upper greenschist. Lower temperatures are transitional with and overlap the prehnite-pumpellyite facies and higher temperatures overlap with and include sub-amphibolite facies.
If burial continues along Barrovian Sequence metamorphic trajectories, greenschist facies gives rise to
Oceanic basalts in the vicinity of mid-ocean ridges typically exhibit sub-greenschist alteration. The greenstone belts of the various archean cratons are commonly altered to the greenschist facies. These ancient rocks are noted as host rocks for a variety of ore deposits in Australia, Namibia and Canada.
Greenschist-like rocks can also be formed under blueschist facies conditions if the original rock (protolith) contains enough magnesium. This explains the scarcity of blueschist preserved from before the Neoproterozoic Era 1000 Ma ago when the Earth's oceanic crust contained more magnesium than today's oceanic crust.[9]
Use
Europe
In Minoan Crete, greenschist and blueschist were used to pave streets and courtyards between 1650 and 1600 BC. These rocks were likely quarried in Agia Pelagia on the north coast of central Crete.[10]
Across Europe, greenschist rocks have been used to make axes. Several sites, including Great Langdale in England, have been identified.
Eastern North America
A form of chlorite schist was popular in prehistoric Native American communities for the production of axes and
During the time of the Mississippian culture, the polity of Moundville apparently had some control over the production and distribution of greenschist. The Moundville source has been shown to be from two localities in the Hillabee Formation of central and eastern Alabama.
See also
- List of minerals
- List of rock types
- Metamorphism
- Pounamu, another type of rock frequently called greenstone
References
- ^ a b c "Encyclopædia Britannica, Metamorphic Rock, Greenschist Facies". Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ "America's volcanic past: Vermont". Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
- ISBN 0922152349.
- ^ Schmid, R.; Fettes, D.; Harte, B.; Davis, E.; Desmons, J. (2007). "How to name a metamorphic rock.". Metamorphic Rocks: A Classification and Glossary of Terms: Recommendations of the International Union of Geological Sciences Subcommission on the Systematics of Metamorphic Rocks (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 7. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Robertson, S. (1999). "BGS Rock Classification Scheme, Volume 2: Classification of metamorphic rocks" (PDF). British Geological Survey Research Report. RR 99-02: 5. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Jackson 1997, "greenstone".
- ^ Jackson 1997, "greenstone [ign], [mineral], [sed]".
- ISSN 0812-0099.
- S2CID 130847333.
- ^ Tziligkaki, Eleni K. (2010). "Types of schist used in buildings of Minoan Crete" (PDF). Hellenic Journal of Geosciences. 45: 317–322. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- Blatt, Harvey and Robert J. Tracy (1996). Petrology; Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic, 2nd Ed., W. H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-2438-3.
- Gall, Daniel G. and Vincas P. Steponaitis, "Composition and Provenance of Greenstone Artifacts from Moundville," Southeastern Archaeology 20(2):99–117 [2001]).
- Steponaitis, Vincas P. Prehistoric Archaeology in the Southeastern United States, 1970–1985. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 15. (1986), pp. 363–404.